Life has become a circus act in our household… quite literally. Ethan has taken a liking to – or should I say, is addicted to – Hoopla Doopla.
If you haven’t had the pleasure (or pain) of watching this ABC Kids show, let me explain. Firstly, it’s a joint venture between the ABC and Chinese TV network CCTV; secondly, none of the characters talk. They use acrobatics, contortion and body language while a narrator tells the story; and thirdly, five out of the six characters look far too old to be in a children’s television series.
Ethan has particularly taken a liking to Mimi – a brightly dressed juggler who runs the town café (well they do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach), and it’s all we hear about: “Mimi this, Mimi, that… Mimi cook…”
Now, I’ve been known to absent-mindedly sit in front of Sesame Street after putting Ethan down for an afternoon nap, or break out into a Wiggles song or two on the way to work in the morning, but there is nothing adult-pleasing about this kids’ show. Aussie creator Melinda Wearne says the show is aimed at 2-5-year-olds, and I think that’s where the appeal ends.
But Ethan LOVES it, and as a result, Hoopla gets put on the TV whenever we need a spare 12 minutes to have a shower, start dinner or simply encourage Ethan to have a rest after running around ALL day. And because we only have a few episodes backed up on our Foxtel, we’ve watched over and over as Bop catches a butterfly, Jango pretends to be a King and Mimi tries skiing in the middle of summer. In other words, we desperately need a Hoopla DVD (are you listening ABC Kids).
In the meantime, we’ll just hit the replay button over and over (and over), and as they say in the colourful town of Hoopla…
HOOPLA DOOPLA!
