PB&J Otter

As Disney Junior's airing of the series comes to the finale and they prepare to cycle back to season one, I can't help but gush a bit about well this show stands up. I first saw this show around the time when it was originally on the air, when they still called it Playhouse Disney, but unfortunately I missed a number of episodes in both the first and second seasons. The show, which was by the creators of and many of the same people who made Doug, really has a bit of everything - good jokes and humor, catchy songs and instrumentals, engaging stories, and likeable characters. There were also some real standouts, such as "Hope Castle," "Kid Court" and "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's an... Elephant?"

For those that get Disney Junior, Otter is on weekdays at 11 A.M. and weekends at 11:30 P.M. For those that don't get it, you can find a fair bit posted by people online who were disappointed that the show was off the air for so long.

edited 10th Nov '12 1:26:36 PM by JMQwilleran

I remember watching this when I was bored. I do not remember if it was actually any good.

It was good when I was a kid.

There are often miles between "good when I was a kid" and actually good.

Well, why not give it a shot and see what you think now, if possible? I recommend starting with any of the installments I mentioned, or tomorrow night's airing, which is also very good. You could also check out the existing detailed show page here and see if anything strikes your interest or funny bone (I'd be surprised if there wasn't anything that did.)

This is one of those shows that as a kid I snubbed for looking too kiddie but deep down really wanted to see because it looked so cute. I might just give it a look sometime.

All I remember about this is the Noodle Dance.

The Noodle Dance is great, and it's always a bit different in every episode. When it gets really fun is when other characters, especially the adults, join in the dance, or when they throw the holiday or special occasion theme into the dance, like on the episode that's airing today.

One other thing I find interesting about the show is the sense of southern hospitality, which I described on the show page. The show is set in the fictional "Lake Hoohaw," but has a "Sweet Home Alabama" feeling, with a focus on neighborliness and southern hospitality and many of the characters speaking using U.S. regional southern accents.

In terms of Playhouse Disney cartoons, I personally preferred Stanley, but I watched this plenty. I think my main thought as a kid was how cool it was to have a slide in your house. From my recollection, it was somewhat repetitive but still a nice show.

Also, from what I've read, wasn't this the show where Disney screwed over Jim Jinkins? I'm a bit confused since didn't his company continue to make cartoons for them?

I remember the noodle dance. Also otters are my favorite animal.

I like Stanley too, but I like this show more. As for the show that Disney screwed them over on, that was JoJo's Circus (which is also worth a look). Basically, what happened was they put some of the characters in a video more-or-less supporting gay rights that the powers-that-be at Cartoon Pizza didn't approve of.

Ah, so it was kind of "exec vs exec"?

Yeah, sorta like that. Basically, since Disney owned the rights to the characters, they had the rights to do what they wanted with them. And, of course, in return, the studio had the right to license anymore cartoons to them, which they chose not to. And then develop a direct-to-DVD Christian series called HoopDogz and fade into obscurity.

Okay, saw a couple now and...I think I kinda like it better than Doug. It's just so...cute.

Ya'ay, a convert. It is cute, isn't it? And I like that the Aesops usually teach something important and don't feel forced, and they weren't afraid to do a Spoof Aesop on occasion.