Frog and Toad Are Friends

I'm a perfectionist when it comes to children's programming. And my opinion of the genre is generally low.

That's why I was so particularly delighted to find this gem. It's charming and very true to the book. The voice acting is marvelous, although I have to wonder if whoever voiced Toad has a medical problem with his throat; I know from painful experience that it's really hard to sound THAT gravelly! But the voice is perfect for Toad. I just wish the IMDb's credits included the voice actors.

If you're looking for something for a child ages 2-6, I think you'll be very happy with this. It has a nice old-fashioned (but not stale or lame) claymation style, and is clearly a labor of love. It's nice to find a treasure like this amidst all the hyped-up commercial garbage that's being pushed on children these days.

You can also find some of these Frog and Toad episodes on the DVD "Curious George Comes to America", which is NOT the recent movie, but rather a couple of stop-motion animated episodes from the 1980s. It's being sold cheaply in stores right now (10/10/06). If you find it, grab it! Your child will love it.

I also hear that even more Frog and Toad episodes are on the Curious George collector's edition DVD, but I haven't seen that one myself - yet.

The two main characters are written and performed incredibly well in a way where they find the complexity in something that seems so simple on its surface. Frog is always such a positive force trying to make sure everyone is having a good time, while occasionally dipping into moments of mischief to show how that aspect can be taken a little bit too far. While Toad is much more of a perfectionist, wanting to make sure everything is just right to be fully enjoyable to him. He tends to complain for most of his dialogue, but it's still written in a way where it's either very identifiable or comes from a place of caring for Frog. Both characters are vast in terms of how they represent types of people, but bring plenty of charm and innocence to make them incredibly likeable. This can also be seen in their performances, with Will Ryan having so much energy and genuine happiness in his performance as Frog, and Hal Smith giving us plenty of grogginess but the occasional burst of excitement and sincere kindness as toad. The music does so much to compliment the rural location of the forest, with a band that carefully uses selective instruments to help the scale feel quaint and small yet appropriate. The way it transforms throughout the picture also acts as a great extension of the mood of the characters or the excitement of each situation. The set designers also did a great job at placing objects in a way that feels very naturally scattered, while conforming to fit the frame well. There's way too much goodness to talk about, so I might go back and add more after a rewatch.