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The Giant Squid

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Balanced

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Netflix

BBC

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The Giant Squid

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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 calm and well-organized.

The story follows one clear thread from start to finish: figure out what grabbed the submarine, then find and help Professor Inkling's cousin Irving. Each step builds logically on the last, with the sucker marks pointing to the giant squid, the family photo confirming the identity, and the smell of fish biscuits leading the crew to him. New marine biology facts arrive at a manageable rate for preschoolers, with the photo-album scene a small exception where several creature names are introduced in close succession.

The tone stays warm and supportive across the episode, with Captain Barnacles checking on the crew right after the impact, Professor Inkling gently explaining that his cousin was likely frightened, and Peso voicing his worry openly. The opening mystery attack carries some tension, especially in the dark caves, but the recovery arrives quickly when Irving turns out to be hungry rather than threatening, and characters welcome him with food and a family photo. A small caveat is that the unseen-attacker beat may feel intense for the youngest end of the four-to-six band before the reassurance lands.

Characters take visible initiative, with Professor Inkling deciding to leave his usual post because 'Irving is family' and the crew working through investigation, planning, and search as a sequence the viewer can follow. Cause and effect is laid out explicitly: the marks identify a giant squid, the ink shows fear, the hunger explains why he grabbed the Gup-A in the first place. Solutions are reached through observation and conversation rather than gadgets alone, with a small caveat that the 'creature detector' and similar tech sometimes do the work that thinking could.

Dialogue is clear, purposeful and consistently used, with the cast teaching real facts about marine life inside the story (suckers help hold on, giant squid have the biggest eyes in the ocean, ink lets them hide). Sentences are mostly complete and age-appropriate, and unfamiliar words like 'tentacle reach' or 'octo alert' arrive with enough context for a four-year-old to map them. The brisk speaking rate and some in-world jargon ('octolords', 'Gup-A') are the main caveats, slightly crowding the language load for the youngest viewers.

This pillar scores in the middle because the world is largely fantasy: talking sea animals, a submarine called the Gup-A, an octopus-shaped underwater base and missions that no child can replay offline. The real-life hooks are the marine biology facts (octopus and squid are relatives, ink as defence, smell as a sense) and the social moments around family loyalty and hospitality (Inkling baking biscuits for the trip, welcoming a relative rather than fearing him). Practical, imitable actions are limited, which is what holds the pillar back even though the social reflection is recognisable.

More information

The cast is a team of talking animals with clear roles, but human diversity (ethnicity, family forms, body types) is not directly portrayed because no humans appear. Within the crew there is some gender variation: a female engineer (Tweak) and a female photographer (Dashi) work alongside the male captain, medic, scientist and adventurer. Roles are distributed by character rather than tightly bound to gender clichés, and the story is resolved through empathy and curiosity instead of force. Still, leadership, action and discovery stay mainly with the male-coded characters, and any broader sense of cultural or family diversity sits in the background.

The Octonauts mixes a fantasy crew of talking sea animals operating a high-tech underwater base with genuine ocean biology, so the world itself is imagined but the creatures and facts inside it are real. There is no villain in this episode: the 'monster' grabbing the submarine turns out to be Professor Inkling's cousin Irving, a giant squid who was simply hungry, and Captain Barnacles explicitly corrects the crew with 'we don't know that it was a monster'. The fantasy stays internally consistent and the gentle resolution through empathy fits a four-year-old well.

Octonauts holds up well as background viewing for adults sharing the couch. The episode runs on a genuine mystery plot rather than looped activity, the British voice cast keeps everything calm and measured, and the animation is polished. There are not many jokes aimed over the heads of children, but the show is pleasant company and easy to follow alongside a young viewer.

Themes

Family

Professor Inkling joins the mission because his cousin Irving 'is family' and ends with a new family photo together.

Marine life

Recurring

Professor Inkling teaches that octopuses and squid are relatives, both have suckers, and giant squid have the largest eyes of any sea creature.

Adventure

The crew launches the Gup-A on a mission into underwater caves to find a missing creature.

Helping others

The Octonauts mission is to find Irving and 'make sure he's all right' once they realise he may have been asking for help.

Mystery

Recurring

The crew investigates strange sucker marks and slimy ink on the Gup-A to figure out what grabbed them.

Activities

Underwater exploration

The Gup-A travels through reefs and into underwater caves searching for the giant squid.

Searching

Kwazii and Peso are sent into separate caves to look for the missing creature.

Baking

Inkling is asked to 'take the fish biscuits out of the oven' and later bakes more for Irving.

Photography

The episode ends with a posed family photo using the Octopod's tentacle reach, with the cue 'say seaweed'.

Radio communication

Captain Barnacles tells the team 'we'll call you on the radio if we find your cousin'.

Emotions

Curiosity

Professor Inkling reacts to the discovery of underwater caves with 'oh excellent' and the crew studies the marks closely.

Anxiety

Inkling says 'I've been so worried about you' when he finally finds Irving.

Fear

Peso whispers reassurance to himself in the dark caves and the crew startles at large rocks and a passing eel.

Joy

After the attack the captain calmly says 'Octonauts, we're okay' and the crew settles.

Behaviour

Teamwork

Captain Barnacles assigns Kwazii and Peso to search separate caves while keeping watch and using the radio to coordinate.

Helping

The whole mission is launched to check on Irving and offer him food when he turns out to be hungry.

Investigating

Characters examine the marks on the Gup-A, study the family photo album, and use clues to identify the giant squid.

Greeting

Professor Inkling offers Irving fresh fish biscuits and Captain Barnacles immediately calls for 'another basket'.

Self regulation

Peso says aloud 'just a little dark down here, nothing to be afraid of' while searching the cave.

Social lessons

Family

Inkling leaves the Octopod because Irving 'is family' and the episode ends with a shared family photo.

Accepting differences

The crew first assumes a monster attacked them, then realises Irving was scared and hungry rather than dangerous.

Teamwork

Each crew member takes a defined role on the mission, with the captain coordinating and the medic checking on safety.

Empathy

Once they understand Irving is hungry, they immediately offer baskets of biscuits and welcome him.

Scary scenes

An unseen creature grabs the Gup-A in dark water and the crew can't see what has them before escaping.

While Professor Inkling bakes fish biscuits on the Octopod, the Gup-A is grabbed by an unseen creature near a set of underwater caves and escapes coated in slimy ink and ringed sucker marks. Inkling recognises the marks as belonging to his distant cousin Irving the giant squid and joins Captain Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso on a search mission. The crew explores the dark caves, mistaking a manta ray and an eel for the squid, until Irving follows the smell of the biscuits and reunites with his cousin. Irving explains he was simply hungry, eats several baskets of biscuits, and the episode ends with a posed family photo at the Octopod.

Season 1

5 episodes

Octonauts

Octonauts

The Undersea Storm

recommended age co-watching from 3

Tweak finishes upgrading the GUP-B with a new turbo button just as Dashi spots a big storm on the tracker. Kwazii takes the vehicle out for a test drive and stays in the reef to check on the lobster family while the rest of the crew shuts the Octopod down for the storm. With the countdown nearly at zero, Captain Barnacles launches the GUP-C, attaches a tow line, and uses the little lobster's strong grip to help pull both submarines back through the octo hatch. The episode closes with everyone safe inside, the lobster family included, sharing hot chocolate.

Octonauts

Octonauts

The Giant Squid

recommended age co-watching from 3

While Professor Inkling bakes fish biscuits on the Octopod, the Gup-A is grabbed by an unseen creature near a set of underwater caves and escapes coated in slimy ink and ringed sucker marks. Inkling recognises the marks as belonging to his distant cousin Irving the giant squid and joins Captain Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso on a search mission. The crew explores the dark caves, mistaking a manta ray and an eel for the squid, until Irving follows the smell of the biscuits and reunites with his cousin. Irving explains he was simply hungry, eats several baskets of biscuits, and the episode ends with a posed family photo at the Octopod.

Octonauts

Octonauts

The Great Algae Escape

recommended age co-watching from 3

Captain Barnacles and the Octonaut crew investigate an underwater area choked with algae where the crabs and lobsters are too sick to move. While they explore, a group of crabs hijacks the Octopod to escape the polluted water. The crew chases down their ship in a gup vehicle, hears the crabs out, and traces the algae back to a leaky pipe. They fix the pipe, clean the excess algae, and the creatures return to health.

Octonauts

Octonauts

The Walrus Chief

recommended age co-watching from 3

Peso, the Octonauts' penguin medic, loses his medical bag in Arctic waters when a walrus mistakes it for a clam. Captain Barnacles and Kwazii put on a two-person walrus costume to sneak into the walrus colony, learning their customs along the way. They eventually meet the chief, who has the bag and is also nursing a twisted flipper that has kept him from hunting. Peso treats the injury, the chief returns the bag, and the colony makes the Octonauts honorary walruses.

Octonauts

Octonauts

The Flying Fish

recommended age co-watching from 3

Professor Inkling shares an unsolved mystery from his great-grandfather's travel book with the Octonauts crew, who set off in the Gup-B to investigate. A school of flying fish accidentally snatches the book, and one of them is left behind with an injured tail fin. The team brings him back to the Octopod, Peso treats him, and Tweak uses what he teaches them about pectoral fins and tail fins to modify the Gup-B so it can leap and glide. The crew finds the school again, recovers the book, and Professor Inkling adds the ending to his great-grandfather's story.

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