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

Log in Start free

Hoopin' Hopper

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Balanced

Exact score locked

Watch on

PBS Kids

Save

Hoopin' Hopper

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 stimulating. It actively demands attention and can feel intense. For the recommended age, this may be on the more intense side. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is soft and supportive. The visuals are calm and well-organized.

The episode follows one clear thread: the troupe's visit to Beijing and the sports challenges they take on there, with a recognisable beginning, middle, and end. Events connect logically, so a child can see how one moment leads to the next, like working at their shots before the big table-tennis match against Fong. New cultural facts and ideas arrive in an orderly way, though the learning does layer in a fair amount for the youngest in the range to hold onto. A brief stop-motion legend sits inside the main story without pulling the plot in two directions.

The tone stays warm and friendly between the characters, who cheer each other on through the games rather than putting one another down. Feelings do run a little high during the competitive table-tennis match, and the Moon's face swings through big, exaggerated reactions that can land somewhat abruptly. These moments settle again without delay, the match ends on good terms, and friendships stay intact. There is no real meanness or lasting upset for a child to carry.

The young characters take the lead in deciding to play and in working at the sports, so the initiative comes from them rather than being pushed on them by outside events. The problem-solving itself stays fairly light: they try, adjust, and improve, but the steps are quick and the Moon often nudges things along rather than letting them puzzle it out at length. Cause and effect is visible, such as practising leading to a stronger game. A child sees trying and getting better, without a deep, worked-out, multi-step solution.

The language is clear and well-suited to this age, with full sentences and a friendly, easy-to-follow delivery. Words are used correctly and consistently, and the episode brings in new ideas, such as Chinese cultural references and the sport of table tennis, in a way a four-year-old can pick up from what is happening on screen. Most of the talk does real work: describing, explaining, and moving the story forward, with only a little filler. The clear voice acting keeps every line easy to understand.

The episode links to the real world in useful ways: basketball and table tennis are real games a child could go and try, and the setting shares genuine details about Beijing and Chinese culture. Social situations, friends practising together, competing fairly, and supporting one another, mirror everyday relationships children know. A talking Moon and animal friends add a layer of fantasy, but it stays internally consistent and sits comfortably next to the real activities at this age. The hands-on sports and cultural details give parents clear things to talk about and do off screen.

More information

This episode follows a group of animal friends as they dive into a Chinese setting, trying table tennis and basketball and meeting the place through its parks, a temple, and a craft-style folk story with human characters. Diversity here comes mainly from cultural exploration, one country shown with real specificity, rather than from a wide range of people, families, and backgrounds appearing together. Roles are shared evenly among the friends, with no fixed split between who leads and who follows, and the human girl in the folk story acts with clear purpose. The result is a respectful, curious look at one culture, strong on cultural detail but narrower when it comes to showing many kinds of people side by side.

This world mixes the familiar with the imagined. Children see recognizable activities like shooting baskets, swimming and table tennis, plus a tour of countries on a world map, all carried out by talking creatures and watched over by a moon with a face. No villain drives the action; the stakes come from friendly competition and curiosity rather than a character coded as bad. The fantasy stays internally consistent, and the light imaginative layer sits comfortably for a four-year-old.

The animation is crude and the runtime stitches together loosely connected bits, from egg-headed characters bouncing a basketball to a separate folk-tale segment tacked on at the end, with little holding it together for an adult in the room. The humor stays at the level of exaggerated screaming faces and pratfalls, offering nothing for a parent watching alongside. Repeated reaction shots and a thin sports premise leave scant story to invest in. The harsh palette and constant loud reactions wear on adult patience.

Themes

Sports

Central

Characters shoot baskets on outdoor courts and play a scored table-tennis match shown on a board reading 'Fong' versus 'Luna'.

Different cultures

The episode is set in Beijing with Chinese flags, pagoda rooftops, lanterns, and dragon imagery throughout.

Travel

Recurring

Luna and her friends arrive as a travelling troupe whose circus tents are marked 'Circo Fabuloso'.

Friendship

Luna, Andy, Leo, and Carmen spend the whole episode together as a close group.

Winning & losing

Luna plays a table-tennis match against an opponent named Fong that is resolved by the end, framing competitive winning and losing.

Activities

Sports

Outdoor courts with hoops and characters dribbling and shooting appear across the episode.

Table tennis

A sports-hall match with paddles, a red table, and a banner reading 'TABLE TENNIS'.

Traveling

The troupe arrives in Beijing with its tents and moves around the city.

Emotions

Joy

The Moon and friends smile and celebrate during play, including a wide grinning night-time shot.

Excitement

Energetic faces and quick reactions accompany the basketball and table-tennis action.

Determination

Characters focus intently during the competitive match against Fong.

Behaviour

Practising a skill

Characters repeatedly work at basketball shots and table-tennis rallies to improve.

Competing

Luna faces an opponent named Fong in a scored table-tennis match in a sports hall.

Encouraging

The friends cheer one another on during the games rather than criticising mistakes.

Exploring

The group moves through Beijing's parks, basketball courts, and an indoor table-tennis hall.

Social lessons

Accepting differences

The story shows real details of Beijing and Chinese culture, including a countryside legend with a farmer and water buffalo.

Teamwork

The friends back each other up through the sports challenges.

Sportsmanship

The competitive table-tennis match plays out in a friendly way without hostility.

Friendship

The group acts as a tight-knit, supportive set of friends throughout.

A travelling troupe led by Luna the Moon, with her young friends Andy the frog, Leo the wombat, and Carmen the butterfly, spends the episode in Beijing. They take on the city's love of sport, shooting hoops on outdoor courts and facing a table-tennis match where Luna plays an opponent named Fong. A short felt stop-motion legend set in the Chinese countryside is woven in, and the story closes with the match resolved and the friends together before the credits and a closing logo.

Season 1

5 episodes

Let's Go Luna

Let's Go Luna

Hola Mariachi!

recommended age co-watching from 3

In Mexico City, circus children Carmen, Leo and Andy learn that the circus band has the hiccups from eating spicy salsa and cannot perform for the visiting president. Carmen leads a search across the city for her guitar teacher Elena and her mariachi band, asking a music shop owner named Julio for directions along the way. They find Elena at Plaza Garibaldi, and when one guitarist is missing, Carmen fills in herself so the mariachi band can play and save the show. The episode closes with a short folk tale Carmen retells about five silly travelers resting under a tree.

Let's Go Luna

Let's Go Luna

Loco for Cocoa!

recommended age co-watching from 3

Three children who travel with a circus arrive in Mexico City, where they meet Pico, an armadillo trying to return a cocoa bean his mother dropped. Guided by Luna the moon, they follow the mother's delivery route through a chocolate shop, a mole restaurant and a flan shop, learning how cocoa is used in Mexican food along the way. After a parrot briefly snatches the bean, it is returned and Pico reunites with his mother. The episode closes with a family dinner and a short folktale told by Carmen.

Let's Go Luna

Let's Go Luna

Hoopin' Hopper

recommended age co-watching from 3

A travelling troupe led by Luna the Moon, with her young friends Andy the frog, Leo the wombat, and Carmen the butterfly, spends the episode in Beijing. They take on the city's love of sport, shooting hoops on outdoor courts and facing a table-tennis match where Luna plays an opponent named Fong. A short felt stop-motion legend set in the Chinese countryside is woven in, and the story closes with the match resolved and the friends together before the credits and a closing logo.

Let's Go Luna

Let's Go Luna

A Chopsticky Situation

recommended age co-watching from 3

Three children who travel with a circus, Leo, Andy and Carmen, spend a day in Beijing, China, where Leo's dad serves a Chinese breakfast of dim sum eaten with chopsticks. Everyone but Leo quickly gets the hang of the chopsticks, and he grows frustrated and convinced he will never learn. Their friend Luna, the Moon, encourages him and walks him through a memory rhyme and a steadier grip. By the end Leo eats happily with chopsticks and the group enjoys more food, learning that practice and patience pay off.

Let's Go Luna

Let's Go Luna

Speaking Wigglewalker

recommended age co-watching from 3

Andy, Carmen and Leo, travelling with Luna the Moon, stop in London where Andy eats a circus troupe's juggling food. To replace it before showtime, the friends ride the underground to a market and discover that British English uses different words for familiar things, summed up as 'same thing, different name.' When the performers are short a treat during the finale, Andy uses the lesson to realise candy floss is cotton candy and saves the act. The episode closes with Andy reciting the poem 'Foreign Lands' to the viewer.

Related media

Other series that fit this age group

Bluey

Bluey

recommended age co-watching from 2

Bluey follows two heeler sisters and their playful parents through everyday life and made-up games at home, in the park and at daycare. The tone is warm and imaginative, aimed at preschoolers, with social and emotional learning woven through.

Curious George

Curious George

recommended age co-watching from 3

Curious George follows a playful monkey and the Man with the Yellow Hat through everyday city and country adventures. The tone is gentle, aimed at young preschoolers, teaching curiosity and everyday problem-solving.

Phoebe & Jay

Phoebe & Jay

recommended age co-watching from 2

Siblings Phoebe and Jay solve everyday problems with their dad and grandmother in a busy apartment building. The tone is warm and encouraging, aimed at preschoolers, teaching perseverance through small everyday challenges.

Llama Llama

Llama Llama

recommended age co-watching from 2

Llama Llama follows a young llama and his mama through everyday moments at home, school and around the neighbourhood. The tone is warm and reassuring, aimed at preschoolers, with gentle lessons about feelings and friendship.

Explore more

From this series Let's Go Luna

By age 4 years

By platform PBS Kids

By theme Adventure Apologising Different cultures Friendship Helping others Music Perseverance Problem solving

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

Create your account

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