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

Log in Start free

This Way To The Garden

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Stimulating

Exact score locked

Watch on

Save

This Way To The Garden

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 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 busy, with a lot of movement and frequent changes.

One simple thread carries the whole episode: a mole wants a sign pointing to his garden, then realises he needs the garden itself. Each need leads logically to the next, a sign, then a fence, then flowers, grass, bees, butterflies and finally a bird in a tree, so the story builds one clear step at a time. New ideas arrive singly and with plenty of repetition, which keeps it easy for a young child to follow. The gentle running joke about Puppyduck's own garden sits alongside the main thread without pulling attention away from it.

This episode stands out for how steady and kind its emotional world is. Mopatop is patient and attentive with every customer, the mole is met with friendliness rather than frustration, and no one is frightened, shouted at or upset. The few small hitches, a missing fence or a garden that still needs one more thing, are settled warmly and right away, so any little worry passes quickly. Characters behave the same way from one moment to the next, which makes the whole shop feel safe and predictable.

The mole arrives with his own wish, and the episode works through it piece by piece, with the characters reasoning out loud about what a garden actually needs. Puppyduck shows real cause-and-effect thinking, pointing out that flowers bring bees and butterflies, so the garden comes together in visible steps rather than appearing by magic. The mole keeps driving the requests himself, which gives him genuine initiative. The caveat is that Mopatop and Puppyduck do much of the figuring out, so the mole tends to follow their lead more than he puzzles things through on his own.

The dialogue is clear and well spoken, built from short conversational sentences and concrete words a young child knows, like garden, fence, flowers and bees. Mopatop names each object plainly, and the repeated phrase 'this way to the garden' reinforces meaning rather than padding. Most lines carry real information or description, with only a little playful filler such as the string of 'oh's as a parcel is handled. The garden song adds a few richer words like bone china, while the surrounding talk keeps everything grounded.

The garden theme connects to something real, knowing that a garden holds flowers, grass and insects, and the shop models everyday ideas like asking for help and choosing what you need. The limitation is that the gardening is talked about rather than done, so a child hears the pieces named but never sees the planting or building itself. The world is also entirely one of talking puppet animals, and parts of it are deliberately silly, such as Puppyduck growing teapots and toothpaste, which loosens the link to real life. The recognisable shop-and-customer dynamic is the strongest thread a child can carry into their own day.

More information

The cast is a group of animal puppets gathered in a single shop: a green shopkeeper named Mopatop, his assistant Lamont, a duck character called Puppyduck, a mole customer named Rolly Moly, and a mouse family passing through. Both male and female characters take part and the interactions stay friendly and cooperative throughout. The picture is limited in two ways: the action never leaves the one shop, so there is little variation in homes, backgrounds or ways of living, and the male shopkeeper holds most of the initiative while Puppyduck is repeatedly asked to wait before she can speak. The overall result is warm but fairly narrow.

Mopatop Shop stays close to a child's real world: a busy shop full of things to buy, a stream of customers, and the simple project of making a garden with flowers, grass, bees and butterflies. There is no villain anywhere. The gentle story comes from everyday problems, like a mole needing a sign and then a fence before he can have a garden, with Mopatop patiently helping each visitor. The main flights of imagination are the talking puppet characters and a playful song about a garden that grows teapots, cars and pyjamas, which the story itself treats as make-believe and corrects with real garden things. For a young preschooler this grounded, lightly imaginative mix sits comfortably in range.

This is a Jim Henson puppet shop where Mopatop and Puppyduck help a mole, Rolly Moly, work out what a garden actually needs. The craft is the strong point, with expressive puppetry, a densely detailed set and a warm, unhurried narrator voice that sits easily in the room for an adult. The story carries a small logical thread a grown-up can follow, and the garden song that swaps flowers for teapots and stripy pajamas offers parents a moment of their own. A few stretches lean repetitive, but very little here grates on adult ears.

Themes

Gardening

Central

The mole builds a garden with flowers, grass, bees, butterflies and a bird in a tree

Shopping

Central

Mopatop runs a shop and serves the mole a sign, a fence and garden items

Nature

Characters discuss flowers, grass, bees, butterflies and birds as parts of a garden

Helping others

Mopatop finds whatever each customer needs and reassures the mole 'we can try'

Problem solving

The group works out step by step what a garden still needs

Imagination

Puppyduck sings about her own garden full of teapots, pyjamas and saucepans

Activities

Shopping

The mole buys a sign, a fence and garden items across the counter

Gardening

The characters assemble a garden with grass, flowers, bees and butterflies

Singing

Puppyduck sings 'how does my garden grow' about her unusual garden

Emotions

Love

Mopatop warmly greets every customer and thanks them for coming

Joy

The mole delights in his finished garden, saying 'of course it's perfect'

Excitement

Puppyduck repeatedly offers, 'can I tell you about what I planted in my garden'

Curiosity

The mole asks what really belongs in a garden and learns each part

Behaviour

Helping

Mopatop locates a sign, a fence and each garden element the mole asks for

Asking for help

The mole says 'I wonder if you can help me, I'm looking for a sign'

Self regulation

Puppyduck waits through several customers before she gets to tell about her garden

Planning

The characters list what a garden needs before adding each piece

Social lessons

Helping others

Mopatop patiently serves each customer and offers to deliver the goods

Friendship

The mole wants a sign so his mole friends can find where he lives

Taking turns

Puppyduck is repeatedly asked to wait while another customer is served

Mopatop runs a shop where he promises to find whatever a customer could think or dream of. A mole named Rolly Moly comes in wanting a sign that reads 'this way to the garden', then a fence, before realising he has no garden at all. With Mopatop and his garden-loving assistant Puppyduck, he builds one piece by piece, adding flowers, grass, bees, butterflies and a bird in a tree. When the big clock signals closing time, the mole heads off with his finished garden and Mopatop waves him goodbye.

Season 1

5 episodes

Mopatop Shop

Mopatop Shop

Wrong Ringer

recommended age co-watching from 3

Mopatop runs a busy shop with his assistant Puppyduck when they discover the telephone ringer is broken, so customer Claudia Bird cannot get through about her flippers. Odd Job Gerald the repairman arrives with a briefcase of different rings and tries each one, but a fire-engine siren, a cat's meow and other novelty sounds all turn out wrong. Eventually a plain, ordinary ring that actually sounds like a telephone does the job. The call connects, Claudia learns her flippers have arrived, and Mopatop closes the shop with a goodbye to the viewer.

Mopatop Shop

Mopatop Shop

This Way To The Garden

recommended age co-watching from 3

Mopatop runs a shop where he promises to find whatever a customer could think or dream of. A mole named Rolly Moly comes in wanting a sign that reads 'this way to the garden', then a fence, before realising he has no garden at all. With Mopatop and his garden-loving assistant Puppyduck, he builds one piece by piece, adding flowers, grass, bees, butterflies and a bird in a tree. When the big clock signals closing time, the mole heads off with his finished garden and Mopatop waves him goodbye.

Mopatop Shop

Mopatop Shop

Flea Power

recommended age co-watching from 3

Mopatop runs a shop that claims to stock anything a customer could want. A box of jumping fleas arrives and upsets the mice, while a shaggy dog named Dermot visits wishing for a really good scratch he never gets because he is bathed every day. After trying a feather duster and a woolly warmer, Mopatop and the mice realise the fleas are exactly what the dog needs. Dermot gets his scratch, takes the fleas home in their box, and the shop closes for the day.

Mopatop Shop

Mopatop Shop

Hop For The Shop

recommended age co-watching from 3

Mopatop runs a shop full of curious items with his assistant Puppyduck. It is the Hop Holiday, so customers keep popping in to hop while they shop, and a mysterious thumping noise has Mopatop blaming the mice upstairs. The thumping turns out to be Puppyduck, who was unsure about the noisy holiday at first. By the end she is hopping along happily, the holiday closes, and Mopatop shuts up the shop.

Mopatop Shop

Mopatop Shop

Hiccups

recommended age co-watching from 3

In Mopatop's shop, a monster named Rudy asks to buy some hiccups because everyone he knows has had them. He gets his wish, but the hiccups will not stop, and Mopatop and Puppyduck try cure after cure without success. In the end Moosey Mouse sneaks downstairs and gives Rudy a small fright that does the trick. Rudy thanks everyone with a cheese sandwich and the shop closes for the day.

Related media

Other series that fit this age group

Jessica's Big Little World

Jessica's Big Little World

recommended age co-watching from 2

Jessica's Big Little World follows a young girl eager to do things herself, with her family and toys at home and around town. Warm and playful for preschoolers, with gentle lessons in independence and perseverance.

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.

Paprika

Paprika

recommended age co-watching from 2

Paprika follows twins Stan and Olivia and their friends through pretend play in a soft, candy-coloured make-believe world. The tone is cheerful and gentle, aimed at young preschoolers, with playful lessons about friendship and honesty.

Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig

recommended age co-watching from 2

Peppa Pig follows a young pig and her family through small adventures at home and outdoors. The tone is light and playful, made for preschoolers, with gentle lessons about family and friendship.

Explore more

From this series Mopatop Shop

By age 3 years

By platform YouTube

By theme Friendship Helping others Music Patience 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