Os Heróis da Cidade

I am the mother of a 2-year-old who loves "Higgy-tow hewos" as she calls it.

The show revolves around four preschool friends (a multi-racial group, by the way) who learn to call on the people of the town to help them, and in the process learn about different professions -- plumber, librarian, tow-truck driver, mail carrier. There are no superheroes here, just people doing their jobs and thus becoming heroes to the children to need their help.

I particularly like Fran, the squirrel who plays with the children. She is an adult voice in the group, who manages to point out flaws in their often outlandish solutions without hurting their feelings. (Twinkle: "We could get friendly mice in pretty pink tutus to fly in a spaceship..." Fran: "That's a very creative solution, Twinkle, but it would take a long time to train the mice to fly a spaceship. I think we need to find something faster." Twinkle: "Aw, pickles!") [Note: That's not an exact quote from the show, just the gist of some dialog.]

From the perspective of someone interested in the careers of actors and actresses, it's fun to listen to the voices of the various heroes the children encounter, then read the credits to see who it is. Camryn Manheim voiced the plumber in one episode; Kathy Lee Gifford was the mail carrier in another. Betty White provided the voice of Eubie's Grand-Mama in at least two episodes.

Overall, a show that my daughter and I enjoy watching together.

I watched this program for the first time this morning with my 11-month-old and she never took her eyes off it. I think she liked the bright colors and she loved the music. I think it's a great new show for toddlers and she will learn a lot from it over the next couple of years.

While it is a little odd how the characters jump inside of each other, it's still a great show that teaches children all about the heroes of their town, such as police officers, firemen, store owners and even their own family members. I hope it stays on for at least four or five years. I think my daughter will really enjoy growing up watching it.

Thanks Playhouse Disney for this new wonderful show!

I love how every episode teaches kids the value of everyday heroes. I also think Wild Brain Entertainment is a good name for this show's production company, as I always found it funny when Twinkle comes up with a silly genius idea for a solution to their problem, but then someone else (usually Fran) tells her one problem with the plan she just drew up, and she says "Aw, pickles."

My 3-year-old liked this show at first. The bright colors and basic shapes are easy to watch for really small children. After a while though, her interest waned and my patience for this show is at an all-time low.

My main complaint is the all-too-obvious attempt to be politically correct. Besides all the family and ethnic stereotypes, all of the unusual or "cool" heroes (astronauts, zoo-keepers, doctors, nuclear physicists) are all women while men fill the more mundane, everyday roles (bakers, gardeners, garbage collectors). I just think it's weird and silly to try so hard.

The other thing that drives me crazy is the animation. The character's arms disappear whenever they are at rest. If you haven't noticed this, keep an eye on their arms. When someone puts their arms at their side, the arm gets sucked into their body and leaves only a hand sitting on the side of the character. It's strange, distracting and makes me think that the animators could have tried to perfect their technology before making hundreds of shows.

All in all, I don't think this is a terrible show, but I don't like it as much as others. I think it teaches kids some valuable lessons (positive thinking, respect for others) but also implies that every kid needs to find an adult or "hero" to solve every single one of life's problems. I"d like to see the kids (or Pizza Guy for heaven's sake!) succeed on their own every once in a while.

My son and I stumbled onto this show one morning and he's been watching it ever since. We watch it twice a day. And seeing its not out on DVD or video we have been recording it so he can watch it throughout the day if he wanted to. I love the concept of the show also. Show's him that there are many heroes in his town. I hope that they will be bringing this out on video soon. I know it will be a hit. I know we will be buying several copies. I've even told friends about it and their children have started watching too. Please Please Please bring this out on DVD/video. Or even some music. I know my son would love that. Again, this is a wonderful concept showing kids what wonderful heroes they have around their neighborhoods.