Superkitties

I would have gift it a 5/10, but I remembered there are even worse pre-schooler shows (paw patrol, ariel, the new Disney Jr. Cartoon, wtf's wrong with these people? Spidey and his friends? Bro literally ruined my childhood). My actual problems with this show is that these characters are using every single expression with the word "kitty" included, the kitties have basic backstory, and the action is too childish. I cringed really hard, but at LEAST it's not as bad paw patrol which is 2 times worse than this one (but the movie was kinda good though). If you're a 3-year-old, it's worth watching, but if you're a parent or you're born in the 90s - 2000s, warning: cringe alert.

Four cute kittens who live at a cat day-care have secret identities as super heroes. When duty calls, they jump down secret tubes where they suit-up and become Super Kitties. They have two adventures each episode. Sometimes they face a random trouble-maker, and sometimes they fight the super-villain Lab Rat.

The animation is high quality 3D CGI and the kittens are adorable. The simple city setting helps educate preschool children about the world around them and the stories give lessons on good behavior.

My only criticism (based on two episodes) is the stories are very simple and I think older children will quickly lose interest. If you need to satisfy multiple children at one time, you might do better with Puppy Dog Pals or Sophia the First.

I'm not crazy about how flashy and stimulating some of the animation is, which we generally try to avoid in kids' shows. However, I absolutely love the messaging of this show. The Superkitties not only solve the problem they've been called in to help with, but also work to solve the villain's problem too. Every single time, the villain is revealed to have been acting out in an attempt to solve their own problem which is such a great lesson in empathy and understanding. It's a great way to reinforce the idea to our three year old that sometimes people act out in bad ways, but that doesn't mean they're bad people, rather they are good people who make mistakes or bad choices.

Call me a manchild all you want but this show is so sweet and entertaining I can't help but love it. Obviously it still has the DJr faults like repetitive plots, corny endings and predictable episodes but everything outside of those negatives is just great. If you want to show your kid a great show, turn this on.

Another one of the things I have to complain about is the animation, while it's nothing too offensive, being the regular DJr animation we've known to expect from the program, I feel like "SuperKitties" could've done better with an animation more similar to "The Lion Guard" or "Bluey", having more freedom to do more cartoon-y and wacky stuff with the characters.

This show really raises the bar for preschool series in every way. It looks amazing. Beautiful animation. Just look at the fur on the kitties in this series and compare it to other preschool shows. They're gorgeous. The storytelling is spot on with pitch-perfect messaging about friendship, teamwork, empathy and forgiveness. It's also unbelievably cute with stellar songs, and it's something parents can watch and enjoy with their kids without losing their minds because it's smart and funny. The "brave, smart, strong, kind" mantra is a great one to impart to young kids. Best preschool show out there right now.