Slowscreen SlowScreen
Toggle sidebar

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Start free

Race Rescue

In this episode

This episode is one video with 2 short stories. Each story gets its own review and score.

Sufficient

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 5

Overstimulating

Exact score locked

Watch on Netflix
Save
Race Rescue

Share

Pass this find on to another parent

Link preview

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5 - Slowscreen

Sufficient · Co-watching from age 5. Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the ru...

slowscreen.com

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/big-tree-city/s1/e2a-race-rescue

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/big-tree-city/s1/e2a-race-rescue

Slowscreen

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5 - Slowscreen

Sufficient · Co-watching from age 5. Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the ru...

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5
Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5

slowscreen.com

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5 - Slowscreen

Sufficient · Co-watching from age 5. Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the ru...

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5
slowscreen.com

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5 - Slowscreen

slowscreen.com · Posted by you

Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5 - Slowscreen

0 Share
Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5
To
Subject Big Tree City: Race Rescue | Sufficient, co-watching from age 5

Sufficient · Co-watching from age 5. Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the ru...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/big-tree-city/s1/e2a-race-rescue

Share on WhatsApp Share on X Share on Facebook Share on Telegram Share on Reddit Share on Email

See the exact scores

The review is yours to read. Create a free account to reveal the exact SlowScreen score and every pillar score.

Create free account
This program is highly stimulating. It may be difficult to calmly process everything. For the recommended age, this can feel clearly intense. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is intense and continuously present. The visuals are well-balanced, with a clear overall view.
One thread runs from start to finish: Kit wants to win the Big Tree City Race by following the rules, and everything that happens tests that. The build is clear, first a small rescue that introduces the Mayor's reckless driving, then the qualifying lap where Kit is pushed off the track, then the temptation of the gadget upgrades, then the final race. Cause and effect are easy to follow, because every action has a visible result: the Mayor rams Kit, so Kit ends up last; Kit fires the gadgets, so every other competitor is knocked out of the race. The one caveat is the race itself, where new gadgets, new obstacles and new competitors arrive in quick succession and a child has more to keep track of than in the calmer dialogue scenes.
The emotional core is warm, but there is a real amount of tension to sit through: cars crash, Kit is knocked off the road twice, and the Mayor ends up dangling in serious danger near the finish line. Each of those moments does get resolved, usually straight away, and the Major offers Kit steady encouragement rather than pressure ('I know that sticking to the rules, racing fair and square, you'll triumph in the end'). What holds this back is Pecky, who keeps pushing Kit to cheat and never really learns anything from it, and the Mayor, whose dangerous driving is played entirely for laughs and is never named as a problem. Kit's own frustration ('Fair and square got me nowhere') is honest and relatable, and she comes back to herself by the end.
Kit does think for herself, but a lot of her problems are solved by pressing a button rather than by working something out. When she falls behind, the answer is a cable rocket, a turbo boost and a glue missile, each one a single instant fix rather than a series of tries and adjustments. The genuinely strong part is the moral reasoning: Kit refuses the upgrades, gives in under pressure, notices what her choice has cost everyone else, and then decides to stop and help the Mayor instead of crossing the finish line. That last decision is hers alone, and she names her own mistake afterwards with 'I shouldn't have cheated with fancy upgrades'.
The dialogue is clear, well articulated and easy to follow, with characters saying what they mean and sticking to it. Kit's principle is stated plainly and repeated in different ways ('I win by following the rules, careful consideration and being really good at driving'), which gives a child a firm anchor to hold on to. Sentences are complete and the exchanges between Kit and Pecky are proper back-and-forth conversations. The commentator brings in some words that will sail past a four-year-old, such as 'chicane', 'qualifying lap' and 'reigning champion', and a fair share of pure hype rather than information.
Almost nothing here can be carried into a child's own day. The activities are racing a souped-up vehicle, firing glue missiles and clearing a jump called the leap of madness, none of which connect to anything a child can do or recognise from real life. The world runs on cartoon logic, with animal characters and vehicles that sprout rockets on command, though it does stay consistent with its own rules. What does land is the social side: wanting to win, being tempted to bend the rules, feeling that fairness got you nowhere, and then apologising, are all patterns children genuinely meet in the playground.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
Big Tree City is populated entirely by animals, so there are no human markers of ethnicity, culture or family life to read. What variety exists comes from character design and species: a fox, a lion, a bird, a pig, a flamingo, with a crowd of many shapes and sizes filling the grandstands. Kit leads the rescue team and drives the race herself, while the surrounding cast of officials and competitors leans male, and Mayor Timestamp stands out for a flamboyant look with pink feathers and pearls that sits outside the usual boxes. Homes, caregivers and everyday family routines never appear, so the picture of how people live together stays narrow.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
Big Tree City runs on a made-up animal city where a rescue team drives gadget-loaded vehicles, so the world itself is invented, but the story underneath is one children know: a race, an accident, and the question of whether it is worth cheating to win. Conflict comes from choices rather than from a bad guy, and Kit's rival Mayor Timestamp is careless and cheerful rather than mean, so no villain figure appears. The invented parts stay consistent, with the vehicle upgrades introduced clearly before they are used and behaving the same way each time. The one caveat for the youngest watchers is that the racing action leans on rockets, glue missiles and crashes, which sits further from everyday life than the fairness lesson at its heart.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
There is more here for a grown-up than the bright packaging suggests. The race commentary parodies live sports broadcasting, Mayor Timestamp's breezy posh obliviousness carries most of the comedy, and the story takes a real turn when Kit gives up the win to help the driver who knocked her off the track. The animation is polished enough that you can glance up without wincing. The cost is volume: engines, crashes and shouted commentary run almost wall to wall, and Pecky yelling for more speed will wear on you before the end.

Themes

Racing

Central

The Big Tree City Race, its qualifying lap and its final are the spine of the episode.

Telling the truth

Central

Kit insists 'I will win that race fair and square' and later admits she cheated with the upgrades.

Competition

Central

Ralph, Snappy, Mr Pig, Kit and the Mayor all line up on the grid to decide a champion.

Winning & losing

Central

Kit finishes the qualifying lap in last place and gives up the win in the final to help the Mayor.

Rescue

Recurring

Kit is sent to check on a crashed driver at the start and abandons the finish line to save the Mayor at the end.

Making mistakes

Recurring

Kit fires the gadgets at the other racers and afterwards says 'I shouldn't have cheated with fancy upgrades'.

Consequences

Recurring

Using the glue missiles knocks every other competitor out of the race and leaves the Mayor in danger.

Vehicles

Recurring

Rescue trucks, race cars and a gadget-loaded vehicle fill nearly every scene.

Safety

Recurring

Kit tells the Mayor 'Driving isn't all about fun, you have to be careful' after the roadside crash.

Helping others

Recurring

Kit stops within sight of the finish line to pull the Mayor out of danger.

Emotions

Behaviour

Social lessons

Danger

The Mayor spins out and crashes at the roadside, and cars are rammed off the track repeatedly during both races.

Fast pacing

The qualifying lap and the final race are built from rapid cuts between speeding vehicles and roaring engines.

Competition

The whole episode is structured around who wins the Big Tree City Race.

Risky action modelling

The Mayor drives recklessly and laughs it off with 'It's just a bit of fun', and is never told off for it.

Mild violence

Kit fires glue missiles and a cable rocket to blast rivals off the road while Pecky cheers 'Blast them out of the way!'

Loud sounds

Engine roars, crashes and a shouting commentator dominate long stretches of the race.

Mild conflict

Kit and the Mayor argue about careful driving, and Kit and Pecky disagree about the upgrades.

Property destruction

Race cars are wrecked and knocked off the circuit until every competitor is out.

Misbehavior without correction

The Mayor knocks Kit off the track twice and still ends the episode celebrated as the fair winner.

Stereotypes

Incompetent authority

The Mayor crashes into the roadside, admits to 'a little too much fun around that last corner' and treats the race as a joke.

Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the rules. After the Mayor rams her off the track during the qualifying lap and leaves her in last place, her friend Pecky fits her vehicle with rockets, turbo boosters and glue missiles. Kit refuses them at first, then uses them mid-race and knocks every other competitor out of the running. When she sees the Mayor stranded in danger, she stops short of the finish line to help, lets him take the win, and apologises for cheating.

Season 1

6 episodes

Big Tree City
S01 E01 Story A

Big Tree City

Parade Pop!

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

In Big Tree City, Splash the frog has been looking forward to the annual balloon parade all his life, but team leader Major Prickles books him for Bonding Day at headquarters instead. When Mr Pig gets stuck in a bin on the parade route, Prickles reroutes the parade, secretly steering it away from headquarters because he is terrified of balloons, and the new route sends it over Windy Bridge, where the wind lifts the balloons and eventually the whole bridge into the air. Prickles admits his fear and his cover story to Splash and apologises, then lets the team launch him at the giant balloons so his spikes can pop them and bring the bridge down. The bridge lands safely, Splash finally sees the balloons up close, and Prickles discovers that popping them is fun.

Big Tree City
S01 E01 Story B

Big Tree City

Power Struggle

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

Major, the leader of Big Tree City Rescue, secretly exercises alone because he is embarrassed about how much he sweats. When the power fails at the music stadium hours before pop star Lil' JJ's concert, the team splits up: Major and Kit head to the power station while Flame and Trix bring a backup generator that promptly breaks. With no other option, the team powers the concert by pedalling an exercise bike, and when everyone runs out of energy Major has to take over. He admits his fear of being laughed at, Kit reassures him, and he pedals hard enough to save the show.

Big Tree City
S01 E02 Story A

Big Tree City

Race Rescue

Overstimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

Kit, a rescue driver in Big Tree City, is the reigning champion of the city race and insists on winning by following the rules. After the Mayor rams her off the track during the qualifying lap and leaves her in last place, her friend Pecky fits her vehicle with rockets, turbo boosters and glue missiles. Kit refuses them at first, then uses them mid-race and knocks every other competitor out of the running. When she sees the Mayor stranded in danger, she stops short of the finish line to help, lets him take the win, and apologises for cheating.

Big Tree City
S01 E02 Story B

Big Tree City

Secret Inspection Day

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

The Big Tree City Rescue team suspects that Major Prickles has launched his yearly secret test, so when they are sent to save a squirrel dangling from a multi-storey car park they treat the bananas, bouncing balls and giant hammer as planted traps. The rescue turns out to be a dummy, the team goes on strike, and the Major eventually admits he set it up. A second call brings a real emergency, a clown trapped inside an overinflated balloon drifting above a child's birthday party, which the team almost ignores as another trick. They turn back, bring the clown down, and the Major tells them they have finally passed secret test day.

Big Tree City
S01 E03 Story A

Big Tree City

Cake Escape

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

On Major Prickles' birthday, the Big Tree City Rescue team gives him a cushion, a sleeping mask and a giant cake, joking that he is old and slow. Stung by the teasing and unable to finish the Fun Zone obstacle course, Prickles announces over the radio that he is retiring from the team. While he sits alone with a cup of tea, the giant cake breaks loose and rolls toward the Fun Zone, and the leaderless team argues its way through the city without stopping it. Prickles realises his years of experience are exactly what is needed, radios back in, and directs a bounce-and-catch rescue that halts the cake before the birthday party finally goes ahead.

Big Tree City
S01 E03 Story B

Big Tree City

Action!

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 5

News reporter Ted Lister spends a week filming Big Tree City Rescue, and the flashier rescuers get all the camera time while Kit the medic is edited out. Determined to prove he is worth watching, Kit takes over a call-out about a stuck ball and then sets Ted's cart rolling downhill to create a rescue worth broadcasting. When the cart heads for the river and a busy roundabout, Kit admits he cannot handle it and calls Becky, Flame and Splash, who catch Ted in mid-air. Kit treats Ted's injuries as the medic, apologises, and Ted signs off saying it made great television.

Explore more

From this series Big Tree City
By age 4 years
By platform Netflix

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Create your account

Search by title, show, tag, or topic

We use functional cookies and Google Analytics to improve our site. Learn more