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Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk

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

Very good

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Co-watching from age 2

Balanced

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Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2

Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Very good · Co-watching from age 2. Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandp...

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https://slowscreen.com/en/series/molly-of-denali/s4/e7a-tusk-tusk-and-more-tusk

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/molly-of-denali/s4/e7a-tusk-tusk-and-more-tusk

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Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Very good · Co-watching from age 2. Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandp...

Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2
Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2

slowscreen.com

Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Very good · Co-watching from age 2. Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandp...

Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2
slowscreen.com

Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

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Subject Molly of Denali: Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk | Very good, co-watching from age 2

Very good · Co-watching from age 2. Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandp...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/molly-of-denali/s4/e7a-tusk-tusk-and-more-tusk

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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 soft and supportive. The visuals are calm and well-organized.
The episode follows one clear line from finding the tusk to identifying, freeing, and naming it, with a recognizable beginning, middle, and end. Cause and effect is spelled out plainly, such as how the warming ground melts the permafrost, which washes the riverbank away and uncovers the tusk. That makes the events easy to follow and link together. The main caveat is how much new science and how many new terms arrive in one sitting, which is a lot for a five-year-old to absorb at once.
The emotional tone stays warm and supportive from start to finish. Adults and children speak to one another with respect and encouragement, and the playful mud monster game is clearly pretend and friendly. The few bumps, like getting stuck in the mud or the four-wheeler splashing everyone, are met with humour and a quick new plan rather than distress. Feelings shift gently here, with nothing abrupt or frightening for this age.
This episode hands the children real thinking to do. They examine the mystery object, rule out a tree root because it is too big and too smooth, and then work through freeing it by trying their hands, then a four-wheeler, and finally spruce boughs for grip when the wheels keep slipping. The children generate the ideas themselves and learn from each failed attempt before adjusting. The closing segment carries this further by showing kids answering a question with several sources rather than just one.
The language is clear, purposeful, and full of real information. New words are introduced and explained in plain terms, as when 'excavate' is described as carefully removing the earth around an object so it does not get damaged. Sentences are mostly complete and the speech is easy to understand. A few advanced terms land close together, but each one is unpacked the moment it appears.
The episode is firmly rooted in the real world, from the Alaskan riverbank and the genuine science of mammoths and permafrost to the live-action museum visit at the end. Children see habits they can carry over, like measuring an object with their own bodies, solving a problem step by step, and looking facts up in books and from experts. The Gwich'in language and the respect shown to the land give it real cultural and social grounding. The one stretch is that excavating a mammoth tusk is not something a child does at home, though the underlying skills transfer well.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
This episode centres an Alaska Native community, where the Gwich'in language, an elder and ordinary village life are treated as a normal part of the story rather than something exotic. People of different ages and backgrounds appear: the children digging in the mud, Molly's father, the grandfather, and a visiting archaeologist, with a closing live-action segment that shows real children of varied backgrounds. The work of figuring things out is shared evenly, as the kids lead the discovery while adults and the elder supply expertise, and boys and girls cooperate as equals. Together it gives a broad, grounded picture of who belongs and who gets to take part.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
This episode stays close to the real world, following children in an Alaskan village who find a woolly mammoth tusk in an eroding riverbank and work with an archaeologist to dig it out and learn its story. There is no villain; the problems come from the situation, like a tusk wedged solid in the mud, and are solved through teamwork and trying one idea after another. The few imaginative touches, a pretend mud monster and a shared mental picture of mammoths grazing in the Ice Age, stay grounded and are clearly framed as play. The realism-led blend fits a young child well, with new science words explained as they come up.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
This one holds up better than most when you are stuck on the couch beside your child. The story has a real spine, the kids find a mysterious object buried in the mud and work out, step by step, that it is a woolly mammoth tusk, and the gentle voices and warm, earthy palette keep it easy on the ears and eyes. The grown-up jokes are thin, but the subject matter carries genuine weight for a curious adult, with talk of melting permafrost, eroding riverbanks and what Alaska looked like in the Ice Age. Clean animation and a closing visit to real children at a museum round out a watch that respects the parent in the room.

Themes

Discovery

Central

The children find a large object in the mud and Grandpa Nat calls it 'a very special find and in excellent condition'.

Animals

Central

The whole story centres on a woolly mammoth tusk, and the closing segment explores the pterosaur.

Science

Central

The archaeologist explains fossils, the Ice Age, permafrost, and how mammoths went extinct from a changing climate.

Curiosity

Central

Molly says 'I wonder if we can get it out' and the kids keep investigating what the object is.

Problem solving

Central

Freeing the tusk takes several different attempts before it comes loose.

Nature

Recurring

The setting is an Alaskan riverbank with birch and spruce trees, and the prehistoric land is shown as grassland.

History

Recurring

Olin explains the tusk is estimated to be 17,000 years old, dating back to the Ice Age in Alaska.

Different cultures

Recurring

Molly asks how to say 'gentle' in Gwich'in and learns 'Trilzok', and the village honours that the mammoth 'lived here too'.

Dinosaurs

Recurring

The kids first shout 'We found the tusk of a dinosaur!' and the museum segment investigates whether dinosaurs lived in Alaska.

Museum

Recurring

The closing segment is set at the Museum of Science and Nature in Anchorage.

Pretend play

Recurring

Tooey covers himself in mud and plays 'the mud monster of Kaia' chasing the others.

Activities

Behaviour

Social lessons

Mild violence

Characters get stuck in the mud, the four-wheeler splashes everyone, and there are comedic stumbles during the dig.

Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandpa Nat and an archaeologist named Olin Benedict identify it as a woolly mammoth tusk and explain the Ice Age, permafrost, and how the warming climate erodes the riverbank. The children help free the tusk through trial and error, measure it, photograph it, and give it the Gwich'in name 'Trilzok', meaning gentle. The episode ends with a separate live-action segment where children visit a museum to learn whether dinosaurs once lived in Alaska.

Molly of Denali
S01 E03

Molly of Denali

Grandpa's Drum

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly finds an old photograph of her grandfather Nat as a boy, singing and drumming with a young girl, and learns that he no longer sings because he gave his drum away long ago. With her friend Tooey, she uses clues in the photo (mountains, a water tower, train tracks, and partial letters on a sign) to locate the town of Tiritchik and find the now-grown woman who still has the drum. The elder Shyahtsoo explains that at boarding school Native children were forbidden from singing their own songs, which is why Grandpa stopped. Molly returns the drum, and during the community show Grandpa rediscovers his songs and drums alongside her, followed by a live-action segment of Alaska Native children sharing their own traditions.

Molly of Denali
S03 E06 Story A

Molly of Denali

The Qyah Ice Classic

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In a small Alaskan village, Molly and her friends start their own Ice Classic, setting up a tripod on the frozen river and guessing when the spring ice will break and topple it. Each child uses a different method, looking up past dates, measuring the ice, watching for signs of spring, and building a model, while their friend Oscar helps everyone without entering himself. In the end Oscar wins by combining all the information his friends gathered, and they share the ice cream prize together. A closing live-action segment shows real children in Nenana explaining the real Ice Classic tradition.

Molly of Denali
S03 E06 Story B

Molly of Denali

The Great Qyah Cleanup

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In the Alaska Native village of Qyah, Molly helps with the spring cleanup after winter. When Mr. Rowley's grill turns up broken and missing a part, Molly uses the instruction manual to reassemble it, then goes looking for litter with a friend and finds a mystery piece. After asking several neighbors what it is, she realizes it is the grill's missing regulator dial, which had fallen from her bag and been used as a scarecrow's face out at the dump. She retrieves it, the grill works, and the community cookout goes ahead.

Molly of Denali
S03 E08 Story A

Molly of Denali

Puppy Sitting

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Trini agrees to look after Tooey's puppy Key while Tooey's family travels to Japan for a wedding, working from a training checklist Tooey made. At first she spoils Key with cheese and pizza crust and skips his runs, then realises her mistake and trains him hard for several days to get back on track. When Tooey returns, Key responds to his commands and Trini has even taught her own puppy Four Spots a new trick. The episode ends with a live-action visit to the tundra near Nome, where Molly and local children learn about musk ox and their qiviut fur.

Molly of Denali
S03 E08 Story B

Molly of Denali

Big Dreams And Blue Skies

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly, an Alaska Native girl, hears how a pilot named Ellen Peniak inspired her mother to fly. When the library's books leave women pilots out, Molly digs deeper online and through Auntie Midge's stories, then flies along on a mail run where her mom lands safely by reading the wind off a lake. Together they write a booklet about Ellen and two other women pilots and leave it at the library so others can learn about them.

Molly of Denali
S03 E09 Story A

Molly of Denali

Sticker Shock

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In the Alaskan village, Tui borrows his older brother's label maker and starts naming all his belongings, then labels seats at the shared picnic table so friends know where to sit. When Molly is left with nowhere to sit, the labelling causes a falling out, and the device jams and breaks. The children fix it by following the troubleshooting steps in the instruction manual, and Jay explains that shared spaces belong to everyone. The episode closes with Molly answering a viewer's question and a live-action trip where children go dog sledding.

Molly of Denali
S03 E09 Story B

Molly of Denali

A Song for Lola

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly helps her friend create a special song to honor her grandmother, Lola Miranda, who is returning to their Alaskan village from the Philippines. Following an Alaska Native tradition explained by Grandpa Nat, the children secretly gather family stories, then worry the funny ones are not serious enough for a gifted song. They learn that a song should match the person it honors, so a cheerful Lola deserves a cheerful song. At the welcome-back dinner they perform it, and Lola calls it the best gift she has ever received.

Molly of Denali
S04 E02 Story A

Molly of Denali

Steam Bath Ch'oondaii

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly, an Alaska Native girl, wants to help her mother recover from a cold so she can pass the annual medical exam she needs to keep flying. With advice from Auntie Midge and her mom, Molly and her friend set out to build a traditional steam bath, first trying shop-style instructions, then realising those don't fit their village or their age and returning to Auntie Midge for the traditional willow-frame method. They gather volcanic rocks with Grandpa Nat's help, build the bath in clear steps, and the warm steam helps mom breathe and feel close to her own mother. The episode closes with a short 'Ask Molly' segment exploring real Alaska Native houses at a heritage center.

Molly of Denali
S04 E02 Story B

Molly of Denali

In the Dark of Day

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly, Trini and Oscar walk home from school in an Alaska village where the winter sun sets in the early afternoon, and Oscar is sure a monster is waiting in the dark. The friends look up sunset times on a weather website, learn about the winter solstice, and try several plans to face the creature. Auntie Midge tells a story about a wolf pup who overcomes its fear of the dark by finding a pack. Emboldened by his friends, Oscar finally confronts the monster and finds it is just a large pile of snow.

Molly of Denali
S04 E07 Story A

Molly of Denali

Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly and her friends Tooey and Trini discover a large tusk buried in the mud near the river in their Alaska village. Grandpa Nat and an archaeologist named Olin Benedict identify it as a woolly mammoth tusk and explain the Ice Age, permafrost, and how the warming climate erodes the riverbank. The children help free the tusk through trial and error, measure it, photograph it, and give it the Gwich'in name 'Trilzok', meaning gentle. The episode ends with a separate live-action segment where children visit a museum to learn whether dinosaurs once lived in Alaska.

Molly of Denali
S04 E07 Story B

Molly of Denali

The Jökulhlaup Is on Us

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly, an Alaska Native girl, learns that a glacial flood called a jokulhlaup could wash away Auntie Cecilia's old fishing cabin by Lake Kaya. Using Nina's 3D topographical map, Molly and her friends find higher ground out of the flood zone, then work out how to slide the cabin there on a bed of logs. The cabin is moved safely and Molly discovers the family doll she lost as a baby. The episode ends with the family settling the cabin into its new home.

Molly of Denali
S04 E20

Molly of Denali

Happy Birthday, Qyah!

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Molly and her best friend Tui set out to answer one question: how old is their Alaska Native village of Qyah, really? After Molly's dad finds a cave revealed by an earthquake, the two join archaeologists Nina and Olin to investigate signs that ancestors once sheltered there. They uncover a painted pictograph that matches an oral origin story, get briefly trapped by an aftershock before climbing out, and help carbon-date the find. The episode ends with a new museum exhibit, a corrected town website, and the news that people have lived in the area for at least 13,000 years.

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