That's a mighty fine 9 out of 10 over there, and if you need to know to what kind of shows I reserve the honour of a 10 out of 10, check out the Backyardigans. Not that the Backyardigans have a LOT more going on than Pinky does, and that's why they are just one star apart. And see, Pinky Dinky Doo is one heck of an original show, and I don't think I can really compare it to any other children's show. The Backyardigans are right-wing conservative and traditional compared to this show's hyperactive and reckless style of creativity and originality. Perhaps not innovation, but who needs that?
Pinky is a heck of a character. And I'm generally not too excited by the "main" characters of shows. When characters are designed to steal the spotlight, they always run the risk of becoming overbearing. Pinky doesn't. Pinky is not overbearing because she has no fear in being silly, ridiculous and downright outrageous with the stories she makes up in the "story" box, whenever her little brother Tyler faces some kind of problem. Usually she's the centre of the story, and just like Tyler, is faced with some kind of problem to solve. Some of them are rather normal-sounding, like a missing musical instrument or daddy not taking his special shirt to a reunion; others are just bizarre, like a sudden surge of silly hairdos all over the town, or people who have to wear food on their feet and eat shoes. This means that the episodes all follow a moderately strict formula, but believe me, that's only for the better - I'll explain later. Every story presents a new, big fancy word ("vanished", "exasperated", "xylophone", "voracious" and so on), which every time is introduced by a little trumpet fanfare by Pinky's adorable mascot, Mr. Guinea Pig, and the story's main problem is resolved as Pinky "thinks big", rather literally. As the story reaches its end, she, Tyler and Mr. Guinea Pig play a few games on a cheese sandwich... Wha? See, that's why the formula works: the show is quirky to the extreme, in almost every aspect. You hardly ever know in which weird direction the episode will turn, even if you already guess what'll be the next plot point. And it's not just the wildness of Pinky's stories, you know. The animation is done a bit in South Park style, in which most of the characters and scenery look like handmade drawings coloured with crayon, but with the jarring, hilarious inclusion of realistic photographs (the cat portraits next to the kids' beds alone are worth the price of admission already). When reasoning about what to do next, Pinky will often come up with absurd ideas that come to fruition in big thought balloons, and there are several other little quirks that easily become memorable if you really get into the show. Add to that the trumpet fanfare, the catchy-as-I-can't-believe-this-is-possible "Yessarooni Positooni" main tune, the jaunty Caribbean-style music (with a sitar!) and the "cheesy game show" sung vignettes before each cheese sandwich game and you have a kind of show you don't see everyday.
That is Pinky Dinky Doo, highly recommended to anyone with a sense of humour, as well as anyone with kids who want them to watch smart and fun entertainment: vocabulary, stimulus to the creativity, healthy humour and imagination never harmed anybody, and Pinky knows that. And, yes, believe them whey they sing that every story rocks. They do.
