If you have a pre-schooler, and watch television, either across the Internet or terrestrially with them, thank you are probably familiar with Arthur. He is an incredibly popular cartoon character, and alongside his friends, they have adventures that have entertained children for many years. Now the creator of this show is embracing a new project aimed at the same age range and featuring characters who have disabilities. There is to be a strong message on embracing differences and accepting people as they are. As NDIS providers on the Gold Coast, this is excellent news, and we look forward to hearing reviews from our staff members who have preschool-age children.
Hop!
The new series will be called Hop and has been picked up by the streaming service Max, formally known as HBO Max. The animation will surround a group of friends who have plenty of adventures, all designed to teach pre-schoolers lots of different things, including the fact that being different is okay and that we should embrace any uniqueness. The lead character is called Hop, and he is a frog who has one leg shorter than the other but is always very happy and enthusiastic. According to Max, the show tackles problems that children can relate to with a light-hearted approach, featuring lots of silliness, adventure, and laughter.
Filipa
It’s not just about physical disabilities, one of Hop’s friends is called Filipa, and she is a squirrel who is very intelligent and always says what she thinks. Although she has not been diagnosed with anything in particular, she is described as being neurodivergent and struggles with large crowds and lots of noise.
Creator Marc Brown
Speaking about his new series, the creator, Marc Brown, said that as part of his time with Arthur, he did periodically bring in new characters who may have had disabilities; however, he admits that they were side liners which were never really part of the main cast. This show is designed to balance the media for underrepresented children who may have disabilities. Brian has been working on this project for many years, and Hop has been a character he had been looking forward to developing even before he created Arthur.
The Voice
It has been confirmed that David Connolly will voice the character of Hop. Connelly is Broadway’s first amputee performer. In order to maintain authenticity and be accurate, RespectAbility which is a disability nonprofit, will be consulting on the series. Brian was also keen to point out that, although there are characters with disabilities in the Hopf series, the writers are keen to ensure that this is not how they are defined. He said, “Kids are kids, and each one is unique and filled with potential,” Brown said. “And kids love to have fun; that’s what ‘Hop’ is all about!”. We are sure there is a whole generation of preschoolers who are going to fall in love with these characters and really enjoy watching the shows as they unfold.