I am saddened that "Madeline" isn't as more highly regarded than it is. It is a lovely, cute and positively charming children's series. I remembered watching it every day and loving it for a number of reasons:
1) I loved the simplicity of the stories. There is nothing complicated about these stories at all, they are easy to understand and handled effectively. Plus they keep true in spirit to the picture books.
2) The animation is lovely. Fluid, colourful backgrounds and simple, sweet character animation are things to like. Once again, the drawings and backgrounds are true in style to the picture books, and I appreciated that.
3) The music is memorable, and really pleasant to the ear. When I watch a cartoon series I like to hear a theme tune that is simple and easy to remember. "Madeline" does that, and the incidental music is very well composed as well.
4) The characters are engaging, particularly Madeline who is cute as a button and sometimes mischievous yet she means well. Miss Clavel is a wonderful supporting character, a woman who is firm and sincere, yet has a love for the girls, who are very endearing.
5) The scripting is well done. No complicated language or obscenities, something that kids and adults can understand, and I also like it that the odd message is taught and in a subtle way too.
6) The voice acting is quite excellent. All the voice actors bring enthusiasm to their characters, instead of being bland like they could have been they are emotive and like the characters they are engaging.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend this show, if given the chance it is well worth watching. It is definitely better than any of the terrible or the excellent-gone-mediocre cartoons now. If only the cartoons of the 80s and 90s could be brought back to us. Those were the best times, how I miss them. 9/10 Bethany Cox
