animation

Frog and Toad faithfully adapts the classic book series [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★★

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Episode 2. Toad (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) and Frog (voiced by Nat Faxon) in ★★★★★
A delightful children's book series comes to life in Frog and Toad.
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ children’s show Frog and Toad, based on the classic book series by Arnold Lobel about two amphibious friends, is smartly and simply animated in the style of the Caldecott Award-winning author.

Frog and Toad is a real gem — a welcome inclusion in the Apple TV+ lineup, and an honorable adaptation of a classic.

Charming animation and solid life lessons make Eva the Owlet a winner [Apple TV+ review] ★★★

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Episode 4. Eva (voiced by Vivienne Rutherford) in ★★★
Bird's the word in new Apple TV+ animated show Eva the Owlet.
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ children’s show Eva the Owlet is a typically cute entry into the streaming service’s very respectable collection of kiddie fare. Eva and her friends, her family and her pet bat, Baxter, get into one misadventure after another in the little village of Treetopington.

The animated show, which premiered Friday, is about creative problem-solving and making room in your heart for everyone. Memorably animated and earnestly performed, this one’s an easy recommendation for kids.

Pinecone & Pony will whisk kids off on whimsical adventures [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★☆

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A still from Pinecone & Pony shows the animated stars of the whimsical Apple TV+ kids show.★★★★☆
What a pair!
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewMarvelous Apple TV+ children’s show Pinecone & Pony returns for an energetic second season this week. The animated show, based on the popular book by writer and cartoonist Kate Beaton, centers on a hero-in-training in a world based on Viking lore and Lord of the Rings-style fantasy.

The series continues to combine cute animation and vocal performances with good-natured social lessons. It’s a winning and whimsical escape for kids and adults should also have a very nice time indeed.

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is a perfect gift for the holidays [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★★

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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse review on Apple TV+: This animated short film hits all the right notes.★★★★★
This animated short film hits all the right notes.
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, a half-hour animated short based on the book by Charlie Mackesy, is a heartfelt and splendidly drawn detour into melancholy holiday cheer.

Beautifully drawn, sensitively acted by an all-star voice cast, and written to carefully corral the emotions of viewers young and old, this one is quite the Christmas miracle. Premiering December 25 on Apple TV+, it’s one of the best animated films the streaming service has yet produced.

For Central Park, the third time’s definitely not a charm [Apple TV+ review] ★☆☆☆☆

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Central Park season 3 review Apple TV+: Here we go again ...★☆☆☆☆
Here we go again ...
Image: Apple TV+

Central Park returns to Apple TV+ on Friday with more singing, dancing, rapid-fire jokes that aren’t funny and plots that go nowhere.

The third season of the cartoon from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, star Josh Gad and writer Nora Smith does the usual spinning in extravagant circles without gaining any momentum. And unfortunately, the songs don’t forward the plot, such as it is.

Get ready to sing along with Central Park season 3 in September

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Get ready to sing along with 'Central Park' season 3 in September
Central Park season 3 premieres on Apple TV+ in only a few weeks.
Photo: Apple TV+

Central Park is coming back with more musical adventures. Season three of the highly rated animated comedy will return to Apple TV+ in early September, and a trailer offering a glimpse at the upcoming fun premiered Wednesday.

The second season of Central Park scored an amazing 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Bad Luck for Apple TV+ and Skydance [Apple TV+ review] ★★☆☆☆

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Luck review: Skydance is going to need a lot of Luck to sell unimaginative movies with a problematic CEO.★★☆☆☆
Skydance is going to need a lot of Luck to sell unimaginative movies with a problematic CEO.
Image: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s newest film is the streamer’s big flagship collaboration with Skydance Animation under the new leadership of disgraced former Pixar chief John Lasseter.

Can the film’s relative charms tip the scales in favor of a new endeavor, instead of back toward the hasty assembly of a company around a man who never really answered for his allegations? Unfortunately, Luck, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, would have had to have a lot more going for it to get people talking about the movie on pure merit.

Feel lucky? Watch the teaser trailer for Apple TV+ animated comedy Luck.

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Do you feel lucky? Watch the teaser trailer for Apple TV+'s animated comedy 'Luck'
All is not going as expected in the Land of Luck.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Apple TV+ teaser trailer for the upcoming animated film Luck explains how luck really works: it’s controlled by magical creatures. The star-studded film by Skydance Animation will be about the unluckiest person in the world visiting the Land of Luck.

Watch the trailer to see more – and learn more about luck.

Kids learn to make life an adventure with Pinecone & Pony on Apple TV+ in April

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Kids learn to make life an adventure with ‘Pinecone & Pony’ on Apple TV+ in April
Pinecone & Pony set off for adventure April 8 on Apple TV+.
Photo: DreamWorks Animation/Apple TV+

DreamWorks Animation created Pinecone & Pony, the animated adventure of a girl learning that there’s more than one way to be a warrior. The series for kids and families premieres on Apple TV+ on April 8.

A trailer for the upcoming series gives a taste of the fun to come.

The Snoopy Show returns along with new Peanuts holiday specials

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‘The Snoopy Show’ returns to Apple TV+ in March
New episodes of The Snoopy Show premiere on Apple TV+ in March.
Screenshot: Apple TV+

Season two of The Snoopy Show premieres on Apple TV+ in March, with fresh adventures of Charlie Brown’s irrepressible pooch, his pal Woodstock and the rest of the gang. A new trailer shows the fun to be expected.

It’ll soon be followed by a pair of new Peanuts holiday specials for Earth Day and Mother’s Day.

Dachshunds get their time to shine in Pretzel and the Puppies on Apple TV+

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Dachshunds get their time to shine in ‘Pretzel and the Puppies’ on Apple TV+
Pretzel and the Puppies scampers onto Apple TV+ on February 11 .
Photo: Apple TV+/HarperCollins Productions

Beloved dachshund Pretzel from Pretzel and the Puppies is hopping from the classic book of the same name to an Apple TV+ series. He and his family are set for new adventures!

A trailer released Monday shows how much fun preschoolers will find in the series, which will debut soon on Apple’s streaming service.

Star-studded animated film Luck gets August release date on Apple TV+

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‘Luck’ is coming to Apple TV+.
Luck, coming to Apple TV+, takes a trip to a world of good and bad luck to discover there are more powerful things than luck.
Photo: Apple/Skydance Animation

Skydance Animation’s Luck will be the second full-length animated film on Apple TV+ when it premieres in August 2022. The story of the unluckiest person in the world will feature the voices of Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg and other stars.

While the release date and additional details on the film were revealed Wednesday, there is as yet no trailer.

The musical comedy of Central Park returns to Apple TV+ in March

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The musical comedy of ‘Central Park’ on Apple TV+
Central Park returns with eight all-new episodes on March 4.
Photo: Apple TV+

The interrupted second season of Central Park will resume on March 4. The Apple TV+ musical comedy has eight more episodes with the madcap adventures of the Tillerman family.

The series has garnered multiple Emmy nominations, and the first half of the second season has a amazing 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stream El Deafo and take a sensory journey to empathyville [Apple TV+ review]

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Enter the magically ordinary world of El Deafo
Enter the magically ordinary world of El Deafo.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s newest animated kids show is all about accessibility. El Deafo, based on the book by Cece Bell, focuses on a little girl who loses her hearing just before the start of school. She goes on misadventures as she learns to navigate the world with the help of her imaginary superhero alter ego. And she learns to love herself in the process.

The show is, if anything, a little too effective at making you feel for this young girl’s struggles. El Deafo is at times too affecting and sad for words — much to the credit of the writer, performers and animators. But it’s an open question whether kids are ready to feel so much on top of everything they’re already dealing with.

Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne appeals to Peanuts fans old and new [Review]

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Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne appeals to Peanuts fans old and new [Review]
Start a new tradition: watch Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne with your family tonight.
Photo: WildBrain/Apple TV+

You should ring in the New Year with the first new Peanuts special since 2011. In Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, Lucy is having a party but everything is going wrong. It’s her fault but she blames everyone else. So the gang has to come together to save the day.

As a Peanuts fan going back decades, I watched the new holiday special with a skeptical eye. I found a lot to like, whether this is your introduction to Charlie Brown and his friends, or you’re a long-time watcher like me.

New animated show Harriet the Spy takes one for the tweens [Apple TV+ review]

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Harriet the Spy review: The new kids show serves up some important life lessons.
This one's for the tweens!
Photo: Apple TV+

The Jim Henson Company and Apple TV+ teamed up to resurrect Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh’s teen sleuth who’s out to help her friends and neighbors.

Can new animated series Harriet the Spy, which premieres today, secure itself the fanbase other Apple TV+ kids shows have yet to accrue? And is there any way this show could be as big as the books that spawned the series?

Sneak a peek at Apple TV+ coming-of-age adventure Harriet the Spy

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Sneak a peek at ‘Harriet the Spy’ in trailer for coming of age adventure
Harriet the Spy will premiere November 19, 2021, exclusively on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ released the first trailer for its adaptation of the children’s classic Harriet the Spy. The animated series about the irrepressible Harriet M. Welsch is set to debut on the streaming service on November 19.

Plenty of talent is involved. It’ll star Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee Beanie Feldstein, and include Emmy winner Jane Lynch. The series will be produced by The Jim Henson Company.

Cute animated sci-fi short Blush orbits planet Pixar [Apple TV+ review]

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Apple TV+ wants to make you Blush
Apple TV+ wants to make you Blush.
Photo: Apple TV+

Animated sci-fi short Blush is small, cute and full of heart. And it’s also a gauntlet thrown down to let the competition know Apple TV+ is getting serious about winning awards.

The long-in-the-making story debuted Friday on Apple’s streaming service, and it definitely swerves into Pixar territory — for better or worse.

Adorable sci-fi romance Blush warms up Apple TV+ on Oct. 1

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Skydance Animation is producing ‘Blush’ for Apple TV+.
Skydance Animation produced Blush about a stranded astronaut meeting an ethereal visitor. Coming soon to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple and Skydance Animation teamed up to create Blush, the story of a stranded astronaut falling in love. The sci-fi short debuts October 1 on Apple TV+.

The trailer dropped Tuesday with a first look at the adorableness. Watch it now:

Wolfboy and the Everything Factory will charm kids who love cartoons [Apple TV+ review]

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Wolfboy and the Everything Factory
Wolfboy and the Everything Factory is the newest Apple TV+ children's show
Photo: Apple TV+

The latest Apple TV+ children’s show, the joyously analog Wolfboy and the Everything Factory, is a celebration of creativity. Will it be the first of the Apple TV+ kids shows to make a splash outside of its subscriber base? Time will tell, but its heart is in the right place.

Apple TV+ kids show Stillwater wins a Peabody

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Apple original series Stillwater won a Peabody Award.
Apple original series Stillwater won a Peabody Award.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ original animated series Stillwater won a Peabody Award today for excellence in storytelling, and for work that encourages empathy. Actor Goldie Hawn, who has worked extensively with kids on various forms of programming, presented the award in a video.

Get ready for more musical fun with Central Park Season 2 trailer

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Get ready for more musical fun with Central Park Season 2 trailer
The Tillermans are back to sing and dance their way through Central Park Season 2, coming next week.
Photo: Apple TV+

The trailer for the second season of Central Park debuted Tuesday to get fans ready for the imminent return of the musical comedy to Apple TV+. The first season of the animated series scored an Emmy nomination and praise from critics.

Check out the trailer for a taste of what to expect in season two.

Skydance Animation produces sci-fi film Blush for Apple TV+

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Skydance Animation is producing ‘Blush’ for Apple TV+.
Skydance Animation produced Blush about a stranded astronaut meeting an ethereal visitor. Coming soon to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple and Skydance Animation teamed up to create Blush, a short film about a stranded astronaut. It’s written and directed by Joe Mateo, whose credits include Big Hero 6 and Prep & Landing.

The upcoming film is the first in a multiyear partnership to create animated movies and shows for Apple TV+.