How we score
Every show gets three scores from 1 to 5, and can carry three flags. We read what parents and reviewers write about each show on forums, blogs and review sites, turn each useful observation into a short note in our own words, and score the show from those notes using the rubric below.
The three scores
- Good influence
- Does it show behaviour you'd be happy to see copied?
- Parent appeal
- Will you enjoy watching it with them?
- Well made
- Are the writing, animation and sound made with care?
Good influence
What behaviour does the show treat as normal? We look at how characters treat each other, how conflicts are resolved, and what is rewarded or played for laughs. Characters can misbehave; what matters is what the story does with it. A 5 shows kindness, honesty and making up after a fight, without lecturing. A 1 rewards cruelty or disrespect and makes it look appealing.
Parent appeal
Can an adult enjoy watching alongside their child? We look for humour that works on two levels, real emotion and stories with some shape. A 5 is a show adults choose to put on. A 1 is one that parents dread or leave the room for. Expectations rise with the age of the audience: a gentle toddler show doesn't need layered jokes.
Well made
Is it made with care? We look at the writing, animation or filming, music and sound, performances and pacing. We judge care rather than budget, so a cheap show can still score well. A 5 has a distinctive style and thoughtful sound. A 1 is low-effort, with recycled assets and filler scripts. Slow pacing and repetition can be good choices for very young children.
The three flags
Flags call out a specific problem. A flag is only raised when several sources describe a pattern, never because of one complaint. If there isn't enough evidence to say either way, we mark it unknown rather than guessing.
- Overstimulating
- Frantic pacing, judged by what you can observe: very fast cutting, constant loud noise, flashing visuals and no quiet moments.
- Toy-led
- Made mainly to sell merchandise or to game the YouTube algorithm. Having a toy line isn't enough; a successful show that got merchandise later isn't toy-led.
- Grating audio
- Songs, voices or sound effects that parents consistently find annoying, such as whiny voices or a theme tune repeated many times an episode.
Ground rules
- Judged for the intended age. "Good" means good for the ages the show is made for.
- The whole show, not one moment. One bad scene doesn't sink a show. What it repeatedly rewards and treats as normal does.
- Evidence, not vibes. Scores must be backed by what people have written. If there isn't enough, we say "Not enough data".
- The full scale. A 3 means fine and unremarkable. A 5 is rare and earned.
Sources
We use pages found through web search and on sites we search directly.
Data and attribution
Show details come from TheTVDB. Please consider adding missing information or subscribing.
Streaming availability, with direct links, comes from Watchmode.