'ToddWorld' teaches social lessons to kids

The cartoon is about diversity and acceptance.
By DAVID HILTBRAND
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Todd is an average kid. Loves skateboarding (while wearing a helmet) and drawing (which he does while sticking out his tongue & agrave; la Michael Jordan) and eating macaroni and cheese. When he's enthused (which is often), he says, "Neato mosquito!"
He does have a couple of peculiarities, though.
His skin is a striking shade of Prussian blue. And he lives alone in a rambling two-story doghouse. But those eccentricities only make him that much more special.
He's in "ToddWorld," a delightful addition to The Learning Channel's commercial-free preschool programming block. The cartoon runs at 8:30 a.m. weekdays, and will also be on Discovery Kids Channel starting at 8 a.m. today.
Wacky world
Everybody is a little different in "ToddWorld," which is based on the artwork of Todd Parr, author of such children's works as "The Mommy Book," "The Okay Book," and "The Best Friends Book."
Todd's buddy Pickles has green skin and always wears a crown. Todd's best friend is Benny, a multicolored pup with a circle around his eye (like Pete, the "Our Gang" mascot).
The animation is crude, drawn with a relaxed doodler's hand, but it is spectacularly vibrant, with more bright hues than a pack of LifeSavers. Nothing is too square or severe in this setting. All is soft and forgiving.
Todd's is a chimerical and sometimes zany world where spiders dance the funky boogie, monkeys ride the carousel, flying saucers buzz around, squirrels carry purses, alligators play saxophones, porcupines like to square dance, and green hippos remind us to recycle.
Oh, and you can get ice-cream cones with 10 scoops if you want (although, as you might imagine, that gets kind of messy).
"ToddWorld" is also significantly a place of action. The kids are always doing stuff -- playing ball in the park, toboganning in the snow, going to the fair, having fun together outdoors.
Solid message
The sweet core of this show, however, is its message. "ToddWorld" is all about diversity and acceptance. As its theme song, liltingly sung by Smokey Robinson, says: "It's a colorful world we live in/ There's a rainbow of faces everywhere."
The cartoon teaches valuable and age-appropriate social lessons without condescension.
In one episode, for instance, Todd wants to build a fort, but after all his friends' alterations, he hardly recognizes the joint. "If nobody's going to listen to me, then I'm out of here," he says, storming off.
Subsequent experiences teach him to be flexible and to accept the suggestions of others. "Sometimes other people's ideas can help make your idea even better," he concludes happily.
In another installment, Benny loses Todd's favorite mittens. Afraid to own up, the pooch makes up an elaborate lie. Eventually Todd instructs him, "Everyone makes mistakes ... but tell the truth about what happened and try to make things better."
For kids, "ToddWorld" is a wonderful destination. The primary lesson: Not only is it OK to be different, it's neato mosquito.