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The Koala and the Ostrich

Mediocre

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Stimulating

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The Koala and the Ostrich

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This program is stimulating. It actively demands attention and can feel intense. For the recommended age, this may be on the more intense side. The pacing is moderate. The story remains easy for a child to follow. The sound is soft and supportive. The visuals are busy, with a lot of movement and frequent changes.

The episode is built from many separate blocks, an interview, a quiz, a cooking sketch, a song, a trip to Australia and a bedtime story, loosely held together by a Mother's Day idea, so there is no single thread to follow from beginning to end. New facts also arrive thickly, the ostrich that swallows watches and coins, the eucalyptus diet, which animals carry babies in a pouch, which is a lot for a three-year-old to absorb. Each segment is announced clearly by the hosts, which gives some signposting, but the jumps between unrelated topics are frequent. A young child is likely to follow individual moments rather than the episode as a whole.

The emotional register stays warm and light throughout, with friendly welcomes, gentle humour and an affectionate focus on animal mothers and their babies. Nothing frightening or sharply upsetting happens, and small letdowns, like Stinky still waiting for his own mum, are handled softly. The hosts tease each other now and then and the cockroach chef plays things up for laughs, but the banter stays good-natured. The closing note, where Stinky's mum does not arrive, is a mild and open disappointment rather than real distress.

The episode mostly delivers facts rather than showing characters work through problems, so there is little visible trying, failing and adjusting for a child to learn from. The quiz segments do invite the viewer to think before the answer is revealed, and a hatching chick briefly works out how to leave its egg, but these moments are short and lightly drawn. Most of what happens is presented and explained rather than puzzled out. A child watching sees information handed over more than independent thinking modelled.

The script is well written and clearly spoken, with words used correctly and a steady mix of information and playful chatter. The drawback for a three-year-old is the level: terms like eucalyptus, hemisphere, echidna and platypus, plus idioms such as 'drove her cuckoo', sit well above what a toddler will grasp. Full, complete sentences and genuine animal facts give the language real substance for an older child. For this age the meaning will often land only in part.

The strongest real-world link is the genuine wildlife footage and the true facts woven around it, real koalas, ostriches, kangaroos, a platypus and an echidna, alongside recognisable family ideas of mothers caring for their young. What it offers less of is things a child can copy or do at home, since most of the content is knowledge about animals rather than everyday actions with clear steps. The talking-puppet hosts add an imaginative layer over an otherwise factual core. It builds curiosity about the natural world more than hands-on, repeatable activity.

More information

This is an animal talk show built around puppet hosts and nature footage, so children see no human faces and none of the variety in skin tone, age, or body type that human characters would bring. Within the animal world, though, the show presents a real spread of family and caregiving setups, including a seahorse father who carries and births the babies, ostriches who share a single nest, and a crocodile who carries her young in her mouth. Leadership and the presenter chairs sit mainly with male characters such as Jake, Stinky, Yves and Armstrong, while the female guests appear as mothers describing their own lives. The result is a narrow picture on the human side, with some welcome variety in how the animal families are shown to live and raise their young.

Most of this episode is grounded in the real world, showing actual koalas, ostriches, crocodiles, seahorses and platypuses alongside true facts about how they raise their young. The only imaginative touch is the cast of talking puppet animals, like the hosts Jake and Stinky and guests such as Flora the koala, and this light frame stays consistent throughout. There is no villain and no good-versus-bad struggle; the problems are small and everyday, such as a young character missing his mom. For children at this age the realistic focus with a playful hosting layer is a comfortable fit.

This talk show built around puppet animals offers parents plenty to enjoy alongside a child. The comedy works on two levels, from a cooking parody hosted by a chef cockroach called 'Eve Saint Lauroach' to the steady banter between the two hosts, and a running thread about Stinky waiting for his mother to visit ties the segments together. The puppet craft, wildlife footage, and original songs are polished, and the warm voices and gentle music keep it easy company in the room. There is little here to wear on an adult co-viewer.

Themes

Animals

The whole episode centres on real animals, with a koala and an ostrich interviewed and kangaroos, a platypus and an echidna shown.

Learning facts

Central

Facts are shared about ostrich diets, koala sleep, animals with pouches and Australian wildlife.

Nature

Real documentary footage of natural habitats runs throughout, including koalas in eucalyptus trees and ostriches on the plains.

Family

Flora the koala and Lydia the ostrich describe raising their young, and Stinky keeps hoping his own mum will visit.

Activities

Interviewing

The hosts sit with Flora the koala and Lydia the ostrich and ask them about raising their young.

Singing

Musical numbers include 'the ostrich song' and a feathered bird's-eye-view song over flying footage.

Quiz

Tizzy poses questions like which animal does not have a pouch and which animals lay eggs, then gives the answers.

Watching animals

Real footage shows ostriches running, a crocodile carrying babies and koalas climbing in trees.

Cooking

Yves St. La Roach presents a comic eucalyptus 'recipe' segment in a chef's hat.

Emotions

Joy

The hosts and guests laugh, sing and react with delight, as in the upbeat 'a bird's eye view' song.

Love

Flora speaks fondly of her cubs and Lydia proudly points out 'that's my boy norbert'.

Excitement

Stinky reacts with 'whoa that's a great idea' when told he can call his mum to visit.

Disappointment

The episode closes on Stinky quietly saying 'no mommy' when his mother does not appear.

Behaviour

Greeting

Jake and Stinky welcome each animal mother warmly with 'so nice to be here' and ask them about their lives.

Caregiving

Flora describes how koala babies ride in a pouch then on her back, and Lydia explains parents taking turns sitting on the eggs.

Exploring

Armstrong and Ollie travel to Australia to point out koalas, an echidna, a platypus and sugar gliders.

Teasing

Stinky and Jake trade light jabs, such as the joke that the cuckoo story 'reminds me of my mom because you drove her cuckoo'.

Social lessons

Family

The animal mothers explain how they raise and protect their babies, and the episode is framed around Mother's Day.

Parent child bond

Stinky repeatedly wishes for his mum, calling out 'hey ma it's me your little stinkbot, I miss you'.

Learning together

The hosts and viewer are walked through facts and quiz answers side by side, with 'give it a think, back in a buzz'.

Stereotypes

Traditional gender roles

Lydia's ostrich song frames nest duties as 'a job for the husband, a job for the wife'.

Two puppet hosts, Jake the polar bear and Stinky the skunk, present an animal talk show on a Mother's Day theme. They interview a koala mother and an ostrich mother about raising their young, broken up by a quiz, a cooking sketch, songs, a trip to Australia and a bedtime story, all mixed with real wildlife footage. Along the way they share facts about what ostriches eat, which animals carry babies in a pouch and which lay eggs. The episode ends with Stinky still hoping his own mother will visit.

Season 1

5 episodes

Animal Show

Animal Show

Cheetah and Gazelle

recommended age co-watching from 3

Stinky the skunk and Jake the polar bear host a puppet talk show and welcome two guests, Swifty the cheetah and Tommy the Thomson's gazelle. Between interviews the episode breaks into a bee quiz, a cockroach exercise class, songs and a tour of the African plains, all built around how cheetahs hunt and how gazelles stay safe. Real wildlife footage is woven through the puppet segments. The cheetah wins the fastest-runner award, and both guests head home unharmed as the hosts wave goodbye.

Animal Show

Animal Show

The Dolphin and the Fruit Bat

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two puppet hosts, Jake the polar bear and Stinky the skunk, run a talk show that welcomes a dolphin named Fluke and a fruit bat named Leia. Between the guest interviews the episode cuts to real wildlife footage explaining how dolphins and bats both use echolocation, along with facts about caves, the Galapagos Islands and the rainforest. A running joke has Stinky trying to make forty different sounds to be as clever as a dolphin. It closes with an animal awards round for the fastest swimmer, a bee's quiz and the hosts waving goodbye.

Animal Show

Animal Show

The Koala and the Ostrich

recommended age co-watching from 3

Two puppet hosts, Jake the polar bear and Stinky the skunk, present an animal talk show on a Mother's Day theme. They interview a koala mother and an ostrich mother about raising their young, broken up by a quiz, a cooking sketch, songs, a trip to Australia and a bedtime story, all mixed with real wildlife footage. Along the way they share facts about what ostriches eat, which animals carry babies in a pouch and which lay eggs. The episode ends with Stinky still hoping his own mother will visit.

Animal Show

Animal Show

The Crocodile and the Armadillo

recommended age co-watching from 3

Stinky the Skunk and Jake the Polar Bear host a wildlife talk show, and this episode's theme is armor. They interview Sly the Crocodile and Dooley the Armadillo between stretches of real animal footage, a quiz about endangered gharials, a worm-cooking sketch, a 'Dillo Day' song, an award for the best digger and a story about a pangolin. Facts about how tough skin and shells protect animals run through the whole episode. It closes with the hosts thanking their guests and waving the viewers goodbye.

Animal Show

Animal Show

The Aardvark and the Chameleon

recommended age co-watching from 3

Puppet hosts Stinky the skunk and Jake the polar bear present a wildlife talk show built around animals with long tongues. They interview a guest aardvark named Arlene and a chameleon named Chas, run quizzes about a woodpecker and a cuttlefish, watch a chef try to cook with ants, sing a bug song, hand out an award for the longest tongue and tell a story about a record breaking pangolin. Real nature footage of savannas, forests and termite mounds is woven between the puppet segments. The episode closes with the hosts thanking their guests and signing off.

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