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Cheesy Con

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

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 2

Balanced

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Cheesy Con

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Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2

Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor a...

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https://slowscreen.com/en/series/donkey-hodie/s1/e28a-cheesy-con

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/donkey-hodie/s1/e28a-cheesy-con

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Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor a...

Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2
Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2

slowscreen.com

Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor a...

Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2
slowscreen.com

Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Subject Donkey Hodie: Cheesy Con | Good, co-watching from age 2

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor a...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/donkey-hodie/s1/e28a-cheesy-con

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This program is well-balanced. It remains mostly easy to follow and process. It is a good fit for the recommended age. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is clearly present and regularly draws attention. The visuals are well-balanced, with a clear overall view.
One clear storyline runs from start to finish: Donkey Hodie hurts her hoof, cannot get to CheesyCon, and her friend finds a way to bring the celebration to her. Events follow a logical order with a recognizable beginning, middle, and end, and each new idea grows out of the one before it. New information arrives in small, manageable pieces, so a young child can follow what is happening without getting lost. The embedded sing-along and puppet play sit inside the main story rather than splitting it, keeping the thread simple to hold.
The emotional tone stays warm and consistent throughout. Purple Panda meets Donkey's disappointment with patience and support, repeating that he wants to be a helpful friend and staying by her side instead of leaving for the event. The mild upsets, a sore hoof and a missed outing, are answered with comfort and reassurance and are smoothed over soon after they appear. A brief spell in the pretend play turns one character mean, but a friend sets it right within the same scene, so nothing lingers as unresolved tension.
The friends do real thinking on screen. Purple Panda names the problem, talks himself through it ('Think, Don Quixote, think'), tries carrying Donkey two different ways, notices both are uncomfortable, and changes course when a delivery sparks a new idea. The initiative comes from the characters themselves rather than from outside events, and the final answer is built from several visible steps: a sing-along, a play, and a pretend hero visit. A child sees that a first attempt can fail and that a better solution comes from trying again.
The dialogue is clear and well spoken, with short conversational sentences a young child can follow, and the words stay consistent within the cheese theme. The back-and-forth between Donkey and Panda mostly carries real meaning, explaining plans and narrating the little play. The heavy cheese wordplay, with terms like 'gorgonzola', 'camembert' and 'cheeserific', sits above a two-year-old's everyday vocabulary, and the long 'cheese, cheese, cheese' refrains lean more on playful repetition than on content. Speech itself is easy to understand from start to finish.
Much of the episode lives inside a make-believe cheese celebration, so its direct link to a child's own day is only partial. The strongest real-world thread is social: caring for a hurt friend, resting an injury on a doctor's advice, and making the best of a plan that falls through are all things a toddler can recognize. Around that core, the talking-animal puppet world, the invented convention, and a magic spell in the play sit further from daily life. The friendship and comfort carry over well, while the cheese pageantry mostly stays on the screen.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
This episode stays with two friends in a puppet world, the donkey Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda, who spend the day together at home after Donkey sprains a hoof. The cast is small and the setting single, so the breadth of people, backgrounds, and ways of living stays limited. Where the episode does better is in sharing roles fairly: Donkey leads and drives the plans, Panda cares and improvises a whole homemade CheesyCon, both move through a full range of feelings, and they work as equals. A grandfather on the phone and a doctor add a light touch of generational and working variety without falling into clichés.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
This episode keeps one foot firmly in everyday life. A sprained hoof, a call to the doctor, and a friend who refuses to leave your side are all things a small child recognizes, even though the characters themselves are talking puppet animals in the made-up world of Someplace Else. There is no villain at the heart of the story; the problem is a practical one and kindness solves it, with only a brief pretend wizard turning up inside a play that Purple Panda puts on. The gentle blend of real feelings and light make-believe sits comfortably for this age.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
This is an easy one to share the couch for. The steady run of cheese puns and the song parodies hand a co-viewing parent a few real smiles, and the story of a friend bringing the celebration to an injured pal has a genuine shape with a warm payoff. The puppetry and sound are nicely put together. Only the looping 'cheese, cheese, cheese' refrain near the end tests adult patience, and gently at that.

Themes

Behaviour

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor advises her to rest at home. Determined to be a helpful friend, Panda stays with her and brings the event to her instead, with a cheese sing-along, a puppet play, and a pretend visit from Captain Cheese. Along the way he tries and abandons ideas that do not work, like carrying her, before landing on one that does. The episode ends with Donkey calling Panda the most helpful hero as the two sing a cheese song together.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E07 Story A

Donkey Hodie

The Yodel Birds Are Coming

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her friends Bob Dog, Duck Duck and Purple Panda wait for the yodel birds to fly past their hills. They discover the birds never sing here because they are too tired from the long journey, so the friends decide to build a rest nest where the birds can stop. The two building teams keep rushing and their tower falls down, until they learn to slow down and sort the blocks by size. The nest is finished, the yodel birds rest, and they finally yodel before continuing their trip.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E07 Story B

Donkey Hodie

A Lot of Hot!

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

On a sweltering day in the puppet town of Someplace Else, Donkey Hodie decides to cool everyone down by opening a lemonade stand with her friend Duck Duck. Duck Duck wants to follow a careful step-by-step plan, but Donkey rushes ahead her own way, grabs an enormous lemon, and ends up with no lemonade and a wrecked stand. Duck Duck is hurt that Donkey did not listen, so Donkey finds her, apologizes, and admits the plan would have worked. Together they follow the plan, make the lemonade, and cool down the whole town.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E13 Story A

Donkey Hodie

The Royal Sandcastle Builders

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

At a sunny beach, King Friday sets out to build a royal sandcastle but keeps getting frustrated when it does not work. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda join him as the Royal Sandcastle Builders and discover that each of them calms down a different way, by running in small circles, by playing the bongos, or by doing a slow stretch. Once they have managed their frustration, they work out that adding water makes the sand hold together. They finish a castle that looks just like King Friday's real one.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E13 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Bobski Bounce

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie is set on completing the Bobski Bounce challenge: bouncing on a ball ten times in a row to earn a place on the 'big board.' With her friend Bob Dog cheering her on, she tries again and again and falls every time. Bob Dog shares how he learned to balance a bone on his nose by keeping his head still and focusing on a tree, and Donkey realizes her own head has been moving. She focuses on a fixed point, bounces ten times in a row, and the friends celebrate with a song about learning from mistakes.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E28 Story A

Donkey Hodie

Cheesy Con

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor advises her to rest at home. Determined to be a helpful friend, Panda stays with her and brings the event to her instead, with a cheese sing-along, a puppet play, and a pretend visit from Captain Cheese. Along the way he tries and abandons ideas that do not work, like carrying her, before landing on one that does. The episode ends with Donkey calling Panda the most helpful hero as the two sing a cheese song together.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E28 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Stanley's One-Dragon Show

Stimulating
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Stanley the dragon prepares a one-dragon show in the park and insists on performing every act by himself. When the orchestra, the magic trick, and a dramatic chicken scene each go wrong, his friend Donkey Hodie and others, Harriet and DuckDuck, coach him through them step by step. Stanley discovers that some problems need help and finishes the full show to a puppet audience's applause. He thanks each friend by name before the closing credits.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E29 Story A

Donkey Hodie

Acornball

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda are eager to play Game Show Gator's new game, but the Penguin Referee keeps telling them it is not ready yet. To make the wait fun, Donkey Hodie invents a game called Acorn Ball, tossing acorns into a bucket, and the friends keep adding new rules like an excited dance, a Stinky Cheese Rock sniff, and a yodel. By the time the new game is finally ready, everyone is enjoying Acorn Ball so much that Game Show Gator joins in too.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E29 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Super Duper Magic Fun Box

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Best friends Donkey Hodie and Panda receive a Super Duper Magic Fun Box from Uncle Panda that produces a bouncing ball, a music baton, and a coconut robot at the push of a button. They discover they don't enjoy the same things, with Donkey loving the baton while Panda finds it too loud, and Panda loving the robot that frightens Donkey. Believing this means they can no longer be best friends, they are saddened until Grampy helps them, through a song, see that friends can disagree if they talk and listen. They reconcile, agree that liking each other matters most, and end by sharing Squishy Lemon Hugs.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E30 Story A

Donkey Hodie

The Potato Stand

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda set up a potato stand in the puppet world of Someplace Else to share Donkey's home-grown potatoes with the neighbours. They try a potato call, a song and a disco dance, but every neighbour already has potatoes and complains about the long job of washing, drying and sorting them. The friends change their plan and use Grampy's potato washer-dryer-sorter-dumper machine to do that chore for everyone instead. The neighbours are grateful, and Donkey ends the day feeling potato proud, just like Grampy.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E30 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Clyde's Surprise Playdate

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie learns that his friend Clyde the Cloud has never had a playdate, so he floats up into the sky to give him one. The two discover they are very different, a cloud who drifts and rains and a donkey who runs and plays, and their first tries at catch and spinning do not work. A song about differences and a flashback to Donkey's first playdate with Purple Panda help them see that being unalike can lead to new games. They end up inventing floating tag, bird-call games and Ring Around the Rainbow, and plan another playdate for the next day.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E33 Story A

Donkey Hodie

Yodel Bird Sitting

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie is babysitting a baby yodel bird in the puppet world of Someplace Else. When it is time for the baby's nap, he refuses to settle, so Donkey Hodie and her friends Purple Panda and Duck Duck each try the tricks that helped them sleep as little ones: quiet peekaboo, a slow nap dance and a nap book. Nothing works until they decide to think about what the baby himself needs, soothing him with rocking, a gentle breeze and a yodel lullaby. The baby finally falls asleep, and the tired friends admit they feel like napping too.

Donkey Hodie
S01 E33 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Superhero Squabble

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her best friend Panda play superheroes and invent a mission to protect a mailbox from a made-up 'mailbox snacker'. They disagree about whose pretend power is better, and the argument grows until they declare maybe they should not be friends anymore. Each one takes a deep breath to calm down, sings about whether their friendship is over, and works up the courage to apologize. They make up, agree that friends can argue and still be best friends, and team up to finish their superhero game.

Donkey Hodie
S02 E14 Story A

Donkey Hodie

Cousin Hodie's Rainy Day

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her visiting cousin plan a day of outdoor games, but rain cancels everything and the cousin feels let down. Donkey Hodie introduces a 'rainstorm brainstorm' and together they find rainy-day fun: splashing in puddles, smelling flowers, sharing a snack with Purple Panda, and reading a story with Grampy about a magical rainbow tree. When the rain keeps them from seeing the real rainbow, the friends make their own friend rainbow out of friends in every color. The rain finally stops, the rainbow tree bursts into color, and the cousins celebrate their day together.

Donkey Hodie
S02 E14 Story B

Donkey Hodie

Grampy's Guppies

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Cousin Hodie head to Grampy's house for game day and play 'Grampy's Guppies,' a fishing game where you take turns catching guppies. Cousin is new and keeps missing, reeling in a radio and windows instead, while Donkey grows frustrated waiting for his turn. Grampy helps Donkey see that learning something new takes time, and Donkey starts cheering Cousin on instead. Cousin finally catches a guppy, and the cousins keep happily playing together.

Explore more

From this series Donkey Hodie
By age 2 years
By platform PBS Kids

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