
Yo Gabba Gabba! takes everything people love about classic kids’ TV—creative design, novel animation, and catchy tunes—and cranks it up a notch. Or three. It’s easily the most pop-saturated, design-savvy entry into the genre since Pee-wee’s Playhouse brought its production designer, Gary Panter, into millions of suburban homes every week. Yo Gabba Gabba! features taped appearances by The Shins, Rahzel of The Roots, Cornelius, and actor Elijah Wood, who demonstrates a dance called “The Puppet Master” in one of the instructional bits that punctuate each half-hour episode. Hip-hop legend Biz Markie has a recurring role in a segment called “Biz’s Beat of the Day,” which teaches kids how to beatbox.
The children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba!, which debuts this fall, is putting its candy-colored design front and center. Nickelodeon is betting that kids—and their parents—will gobble it up.
- Steve Dollar for PRINT magazine
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