Ada Twist, Scientist

Show does not understand science as it relates to some important topics. Not great if you're wanting your kids to learn something valuable. The original Magic School Bus is a better source for kids learning. As it relates to some important topics, however, this show is completely misses the mark. It is frustrating to have a show for your kids that you're hoping they can watch without having to correct critical aspects of the show on a regular basis. It also applies science to areas that are not related to science, like trying to answer philosophical questions and other things that are far outside the applicable purview of the scientific method.

Ada Twist, Scientist is based on the book of the same name by Andrea Beatty. It also features the titular characters of her other books - Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect.

Writing - 2/2. Highly clever and entertaining dialogue and stories. It's not overly saccharine - it's just the perfect amount of sweet and spicy. The show does a good job of conveying science lessons. Asking questions, forming a hypothesis, experimenting, and most importantly - teamwork.

Characters - 2/2. Don't expect lengthy character development arcs, but do expect entertaining, well-written characters that stand out from the crowd. Special mention goes to Ada herself. She's curious, intelligent, and never gives up, like in 12 Angry Birds where she keeps trying to prove her cat's innocence (it makes sense in context, trust me)

Animation - 2/2. Brown Bag Films did a good job of making the illustrations come to life. The way the animation is textured reminds me of Doc McStuffins, but with more realistic hair.

Voice acting - 1/2 the only reason this get a point deducted is Iggy's voice actor. No offense to the actor, but I don't feel like Iggy's voice really fits him. Nonetheless, the child cast are talented.

Music - 2/2 very catchy theme song that's been stuck in my head since I watched the first episode

Overall, 9/10.

Ada Twist Scientist is about a curious girl named Ada discovering the world through the lens of a scientist. I read the book first which I thought was adorable and I hoped that the show would be similar. I was pleased to see so many elements and ideas from the book portrayed in the show. The characters look exactly how they did from the book and Ada even still has the problem of the terrible stink to solve in the show. The book left this question open where Ada was still experimenting and wondering what the stink could be but in the show she finds the stink and solves the problem. Ada is also still portrayed as a very curious girl who is eager to learn how the world works. I have only read Ada Twist Scientist but in the show Ada is accompanied by her friends Rosie Revere and Iggy Peck who are from different books and they help her brainstorm ideas to find solutions to everyday problems. Rosie and Iggy were never mentioned in the Ada Twist Scientist book but I think they add a lot to the show as they help Ada solve problems and model how different people can bring different perspectives to situations. In the book, it was mostly Ada's family that helped Ada with all her questions but the show seems to be much more focused on Ada and her friends. Something else that was added in the show was the real life scientist talking about their work at the end of each episode. This adds a lot of value as kids can see what scientists do at their jobs and the different fields of science you can study. This might help kids imagine what a job in STEM might look like and how interesting science can be. I would highly recommend this show for kids especially if they are fans of the book as it brought all those characters to life. Ada Twist, Scientist is an all around excellent show and great for kids with lots of curiosity!

Can't believe this is only a 7/10 as I write this. Easily deserves to be 8 or 9 out of 10, especially compared to the relative garbagio that most kids are digesting on a daily basis (Paw Patrol anyone?)

This is a quality production. Creative plots, well crafted characters, good animation and the voice work is on point. Nice to have some educational element included as well. Candidly I'm not the biggest fan of the computer-based animation style - personally I prefer Peppa Pig and Bluey's look more, but it's certainly superior to the aforementioned Paw Patrol.

Ada has earned a spot in the rotation for my 4.5 year old daughter. It's not every day, but it's often enough to be worthwhile.

My 6-year-old loves this and we love to watch it with her. Songs about science that are catchy and that teach the basics about how to come up with experiments to test ideas with the lovable / relatable characters from the book - can't go wrong. I have no idea what the 1-star reviews are for...