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Pogo the Poltergeist

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Pogo the Poltergeist

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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 clearly present and regularly draws attention. The visuals are calm and well-organized.

One thread carries the episode: Pogo orders a ghost disguise after seeing it advertised, then uses it to frighten the neighbourhood while Newt and Bubbles try to track the ghost down. Side gags, such as Jeff on his go-kart or a passer-by knocked over by a rolling bin, step away from that thread before it picks up again. Events mostly link in a way a child can follow, the parcel arrives, Pogo tries the gadget, Newt panics and flees her house, but consequences run on cartoon logic rather than everyday logic. The closing moment introduces a real ghost with no build-up or explanation, which leaves the story without a clear finish.

Fear drives the whole episode: characters scream, faces freeze in panic, and Pogo giggles at the friends he has just terrified. Nobody is comforted afterwards and Pogo is never corrected, so one fright is simply followed by another without anything to settle it. Newt is chased out of her own home and later ends up needing a first aid kit during the ghost hunt, and the final shot leaves her and Pogo face to face with a real ghost, still frightened. Children take their cues from how characters treat each other, and here frightening a friend is framed as the joke.

The characters run everything themselves: Pogo spots the gadget on television, orders it by phone and puts his plan into action, and Bubbles assembles goggles, a detector and a ray device, testing them on a target before the hunt begins. That initiative is genuine, but the thinking behind it stays thin, since most attempts collapse into chaos instead of into a check and an adjusted next try. The detector points the pair somewhere, they charge in, wreck a kitchen and take nothing from it. The problem they set out to solve is never actually resolved.

There is no spoken language in this episode. The characters communicate through gasps, grunts, giggles and shrieks, so there are no words, sentences or explanations for a child to follow. Everything is carried by pictures and sound effects. What a child hears is expression, not content.

The activities on screen are pranks and a gadget-driven ghost chase, and almost none of it carries over into a child's own day. What is imitable, sneaking up on someone to frighten them, or spraying and toppling furniture inside a friend's house, is not behaviour worth copying. The surroundings are recognisable enough, a suburban street with picket fences, a parcel delivery, a television, a kitchen and a bedroom at night. The underlying social situation, one friend playing a trick while the others team up to find out what is happening, has a real-world echo, but the slapstick pulls it far away from anything a child would recognise from daily life.

More information

The cast is a group of colour-coded friends, each one shape with a different colour and a small styling detail, living side by side in a cartoon neighbourhood. There are no human ethnicities, no families, no adults and no differences in age or body type, so the picture of who lives in this world is very narrow. Roles are spread more evenly: the yellow friend builds the ghost-detecting gadget and leads the hunt, the blue one drives the mischief, and the others take turns being scared or bold. One familiar pattern does show through, with the pink, bow-wearing character in a pink, heart-covered house doing most of the screaming and panicking.

The setting is an everyday neighbourhood of houses, post vans, kitchens and living rooms, but the episode is driven by a gadget that makes Pogo invisible and by the ghost hunt that follows. There is no villain here; the trouble comes from Pogo pranking his friends, though his tricks run on unanswered for most of the episode and the others answer with goggles, a tracking device and a homemade blaster. The invented parts mostly keep their own logic, until a real ghost turns up in the closing moments with nothing leading up to it. Children at the younger end will need the whole ghost premise explained, and the frightened reactions ask more of them than the everyday setting suggests.

Good news for the grown-up on the couch: there is almost no dialogue here, so no catchphrase drills into your head, and the comedy is physical enough that you can follow it from across the room. The craft is genuinely strong, with polished animation, moody night lighting and sound design that carries the entire story by itself. The ghost hunt also has a real shape, including a closing reveal that works for an adult as much as for a child. The cost is the noise: shrieks, cackles and crash effects run nearly wall to wall, and the candy-bright interiors plus brisk cutting can wear on you by the end.

Themes

Mischief

Central

Pogo uses a mail-order disguise to float around the neighbourhood and frighten his friends.

Slapstick

Central

Bins roll over passers-by, a kitchen is wrecked during the ghost hunt and characters are flung across rooms.

Monsters

Newt believes her pink house is haunted when her teddy bear and other objects move on their own.

Deception

Recurring

Pogo hides inside a see-through ghost gadget so nobody knows the haunting is him.

Invention

Recurring

Bubbles puts together goggles, a handheld radar and a ray device to hunt the ghost.

Nighttime

Recurring

The last part of the episode plays out on a dark street and in a bedroom with the lights off.

Problem solving

Newt and Bubbles follow the radar blip from room to room trying to locate the ghost.

Activities

Pretend play

Pogo hides inside a ghost gadget and drifts around pretending to be a haunting spirit.

Investigating

Bubbles scans room after room with a handheld radar that shows a red blip.

Searching

Newt and Bubbles comb the kitchen and living room looking for the source of the noises.

Inventing

Bubbles assembles ghost-hunting gear from a case and tries it out on a target.

Watching tv

Pogo sits on the sofa watching an advert with a phone number on the screen.

Racing

Jeff drives a small go-kart along the street in one short scene.

Playing with toys

Newt's teddy bear is picked up and moved around during the haunting.

Emotions

Fear

Newt and Jeff freeze with wide eyes and open mouths whenever the ghost appears.

Excitement

Pogo bounces on the sofa and waves his arms when the parcel arrives at his door.

Surprise

Characters jolt backwards when objects lift off tables by themselves.

Joy

Pogo grins widely after each successful scare.

Determination

Bubbles pulls on goggles and grips the detector with a set jaw before searching the house.

Anger

Newt clenches her fists and bares her teeth at Bubbles during the hunt.

Anxiety

Pogo lies awake in bed clutching the covers when the room goes dark.

Behaviour

Scheming

Pogo grins at the television advert, orders the gadget and immediately plans who to frighten first.

Deception

Pogo lets his friends believe a real ghost is loose while he is the one moving the objects.

Investigating

Bubbles sweeps rooms with a radar screen while Newt follows close behind.

Using tools

Bubbles tests a ray device on a paper target before taking it out on the hunt.

Running away

Newt bolts from her own house and boards a bus to get away from the haunting.

Hiding

Pogo ducks behind furniture and under bedcovers to stay out of sight.

Chasing

Newt and Bubbles charge through the kitchen after the signal on the detector.

Teasing

Pogo laughs to himself each time a friend panics at one of his tricks.

Social lessons

Teasing

Pogo's whole plan is built on frightening his friends and enjoying their reactions.

Teamwork

Newt and Bubbles join forces and search the house together with the detector.

Conflict

Newt shouts at Bubbles in frustration when the search goes wrong.

Friendship

The group gathers on the street at night to stand watch together.

Consequences

Pogo's tricks end with him alone in the dark, frightened by something he did not create.

Scary scenes

A glowing ghost figure appears repeatedly in dark rooms and on a night street, with terrified faces in close-up.

Loud sounds

Bins crash, a kitchen appliance explodes and screams punctuate most scenes.

Mild violence

Characters are knocked flat by a rolling bin and thrown across a room during the ghost hunt.

Minor injury

A first aid kit is brought out after a character is hurt in the middle of the search.

Property destruction

Newt's kitchen and living room are wrecked while Bubbles chases the signal on the detector.

Deception

Pogo hides his identity so his friends believe a real ghost is haunting them.

Misbehavior without correction

Pogo terrifies the whole neighbourhood and is never found out, told off or asked to apologise.

Mischief

The entire plot is one prank carried out at the expense of the other characters.

Weapon

Bubbles fires a handheld ray device at a paper target before taking it into the house.

Unresolved ending

The episode closes with a real ghost hovering beside Newt and Pogo and no explanation or comfort.

Fast pacing

Gags and scares follow one another with barely a still moment between them.

Stereotypes

Feminine pink aesthetic

Newt's home is entirely pink with hearts on the walls, flower motifs and a teddy bear, marked off from the other houses.

Pogo sees an advert for a ghost gadget on television, orders it by phone and starts haunting the neighbourhood in disguise. Newt is his main target: her teddy bear and household objects move on their own until she flees her house. Bubbles builds goggles and a detector, and the two search the pink house together, wrecking the kitchen and leaving Newt needing a first aid kit. The episode ends at night with Newt and Pogo standing on the street as a real ghost floats up beside them.

Season 1

21 episodes

Oddbods

Oddbods

It's My Party

recommended age

Jeff, the purple Oddbod, counts the days down to his party on a calendar hanging by the door. He prepares everything himself, a cupcake with one candle from the fridge, a tray of sandwiches cut into squares, a table laid with plates and cups, and he waits with a wrapped gift while his housemates throw a loud party of their own around him. Each time he tries to join in he is bumped aside, left out of a photo or simply not seen, and at one point he sits down to a tea party with a suit of armour and a doll for guests. The episode ends with the disco at full tilt and Jeff flattened on the floor, his own party never happening, followed by a short gag after the closing logo.

Oddbods

Oddbods

A Good Heart

recommended age

After finding Zee collapsed in the street from chasing an ice cream truck, Newt straps a heart monitor on his wrist and puts him through a home fitness routine of vegetable smoothies, a punching bag, dumbbells and an exercise bike. Zee resists, and one night he climbs out of his bedroom window to follow the ice cream truck down the road. Newt catches up and both end up racing after the vehicle, which hits a ramp and overturns. The episode closes with the two of them standing amid ice cream scattered across the road.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Marooned

recommended age

Pogo and Zee take a hot air balloon ride that goes wrong when the balloon is punctured over the sea, and they crash onto a small, empty tropical island. They spend what looks like a long stretch there, working out how to get coconuts down and open, building a bamboo shelter, fishing, and marking the passing days on a rock wall. A pufferfish they encounter puffs up large enough to lift their basket, and they finally float away from the island. From the air they spot the other Oddbods lounging on a nearby beach.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Parental Instinct

recommended age

Fuse is chopping firewood outside his cabin when he knocks a nest out of a tree and an egg drops to the ground. The chick that hatches decides Fuse is its parent and follows him everywhere, taking over his couch, his food and his bed. After a long stretch of feeding, cleaning and sleepless nights, Fuse rescues it from a larger bird and helps it learn to fly. The bird joins a flock on a wire, and in a closing gag Fuse's living room fills up with birds.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Sheriff of Oddsville

recommended age

Jeff finds a sheriff helmet and star badge and appoints himself the law of Oddsville. He patrols the town on a small scooter and plants prohibition signs on everything his neighbours enjoy: the ice cream van, Slick's boombox, Newt's painting, watering the garden and Zee's monster truck, until red circles line every street and a metal cage is towed in for offenders. After dark he sneaks into a shed and does all the banned things himself, blowing bubbles, wearing a sombrero, skateboarding and setting off fireworks. The others catch him in the act, and the episode ends with Jeff behind the bars of his own cage while the neighbourhood goes back to normal.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Alien Abduction

recommended age

Oddbods

Oddbods

Slick Moves

recommended age

Slick spends his days dancing to a boombox in the neighbourhood, wearing headphones and sunglasses wherever he goes. His music keeps landing on top of whatever Jeff is trying to do, from reading in the library to raking the lawn, and the two end up chasing each other through the street. When Slick performs alone on a talent stage, the audience boos and throws fruit at him. Jeff steps on stage, the two dance as a pair, and the crowd cheers.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Perfect Night's Squeak

recommended age

Fuse, the red Oddbod, is kept awake in his own house by a mouse squeaking behind the skirting board. He tries a baited trap, chases it through the kitchen with a pot, swings a wrecking ball through his living room and builds a wheeled launcher, and every attempt fails while the damage grows. In a final attempt he wires explosive charges to the outside of his house and detonates them from the street, destroying the building while the mouse walks away unharmed. The episode ends at night with Fuse asleep in bed and the mouse curled up against him.

Oddbods

Oddbods

A Newt to Remember

recommended age

Fuse smartens up in his car and drives to collect Newt for an evening out, leaving Slick standing in the road with his keys. Slick chases them through the neighbourhood, to a drive-in cinema showing a black-and-white wolf film, and on to a roadside burger stand. Out in the forest under the full moon, Newt grows fangs, pointed ears and claws, and Slick, after fleeing and then photographing her, comes back and stays. The night ends with the characters heading home in the car, yawning.

Oddbods

Oddbods

One Two Many

recommended age

Bubbles builds a machine in her attic workshop that copies whatever it points at, testing it first on a green apple and then on a small figure. Pogo climbs in through her window to see what she is doing and ends up duplicated, and soon a crowd of identical Pogos spreads across the neighbourhood playing tricks on Fuse, Zee and Jeff. Bubbles and the original Pogo spend the night tracking the copies down and firing the machine in reverse to remove them. The episode ends back at the workshop window with the neighbourhood quiet again.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Pogo the Poltergeist

recommended age

Pogo sees an advert for a ghost gadget on television, orders it by phone and starts haunting the neighbourhood in disguise. Newt is his main target: her teddy bear and household objects move on their own until she flees her house. Bubbles builds goggles and a detector, and the two search the pink house together, wrecking the kitchen and leaving Newt needing a first aid kit. The episode ends at night with Newt and Pogo standing on the street as a real ghost floats up beside them.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Robobuddy

recommended age

Fuse is worn out from hauling his loaded trike around the neighbourhood, so when he sees a television advert for a Robobuddy he phones in an order. The robot arrives in a box, takes over his work, plays badminton with him and provides the music at a garden party, but its eyes keep flashing red and it starts wrecking gardens and turning on the other Oddbods. It ends up chasing everyone through a smoke-filled street, firing beams from its eyes. Fuse flies a kite in a thunderstorm so the lightning strikes the machine, Zee and Newt finish it off, and the group gathers around him afterwards.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Pain in the Arts

recommended age

In an art class, Jeff knocks over a pot of blue paint and the splattered canvas is hailed as a masterpiece, launching him into billboards, trophies and a television interview. Zee, watching from the sidelines, buys fresh paints and a beret and works late to produce a carefully painted apple, but at the outdoor exhibition nobody stops to look and Pogo eats it. Furious, Zee drives his car straight through the display, flattening every easel and canvas into a smoking heap. The crowd declares the wreckage brilliant, and the other Oddbods immediately grab blank canvases to copy the new style.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Zeellionär

recommended age

Zee is sitting in his junk filled yard when black oil suddenly bursts out of the ground and makes him instantly rich. He buys out a hot dog truck, a mansion, a sports car and a couch that flies, wears a crown and gold sunglasses, and throws a party while Pogo, Slick and the other Oddbods try to get close to the money. The oil well blows up in a huge black cloud and everything he bought is hauled away again. Zee ends up back on his old brown couch with a few loose banknotes around him and his friends gathered beside him.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Bad Medicine

recommended age

Zee sees Newt cooking and fakes a collapse in the road outside her house so she will take him in and look after him. Newt carries him to her bed and waits on him with soup, sweets and cake, but Zee keeps ringing for more, orders pizza and turns her bedroom into a party. Newt works out what he is up to and sets up a mock examination room with a spotlight, an X-ray and a tray of instruments. Zee panics, bolts out into the night and runs home, and a closing gag leaves him bandaged after another accident.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Fuse Ruse

recommended age

Fuse notices his friends slipping away without him and sets out to find out why. He trails them through an art gallery, a field, an outdoor cinema and a diner, at one point putting on glasses and a moustache so they will not recognise him, growing angrier each time they give him the slip. His search leads him to a house at night, where the group is revealed to have been preparing a party for him all along. He is handed a framed photograph of everyone together and the episode ends with the whole group celebrating.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Narco Klepto

recommended age

Belongings start vanishing from homes across the Oddbods neighbourhood, and Bubbles decides to find out who is responsible. She installs cameras, studies the recordings, pins up photographs of every neighbour and crosses them off one by one until only Zee is left. Following him at night, she discovers he is taking everything while fast asleep, and she trails him into a large building to get proof. The security system catches Bubbles instead, and the episode closes on Zee dozing on his sofa with the missing remote in his hand.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Bubble Trouble

recommended age

Pogo sneaks into Bubbles' attic laboratory and starts fiddling with her age-changing machine, and a stray beam turns Bubbles into a baby. She crawls off, gets behind the wheel of a buggy and tears through the neighbourhood while Pogo chases her, eventually catching her and keeping her in a pet carrier with a lollipop. Pogo then rewinds the lab footage and works through the machine's manual until he can reverse the setting and restore her. Once Bubbles is back to normal, she turns the same ray on Pogo, leaving him first old and then a baby.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Double Date Trouble

recommended age

Fuse invites both Newt and Bubbles to dinner on the same evening and seats them at separate tables in the same restaurant. He spends the night sprinting between the two, hiding behind doors and improvising distractions, while an escaped lobster adds chaos in the kitchen. The two eventually find each other and corner him outside. The episode closes on Fuse screaming as they advance on him, with no apology or resolution shown.

Oddbods

Oddbods

My Hero

recommended age

Slick wants Newt to see him as her hero, so he quietly creates the emergencies he then solves: he lets her pet mouse out of its dome, unscrews a wheel from her scooter and carries her cat up a tree. Each time he appears at the right moment and is thanked for saving the day. A photograph that would reveal what he has been doing turns up, and he tears it into pieces before Newt can look at it properly. The episode ends with the two of them standing outside her house together, followed by a daydream in which a caped Slick flies to her rescue.

Oddbods

Oddbods

Florence Newtingale

recommended age

Newt calls Fuse over to her pink house to deal with a cockroach in her kitchen sink, and the visit ends with Fuse gulping chilli sauce and storming home. After Newt turns up with apology flowers, Fuse has an accident at his own door and she wraps him in bandages. She then nurses him around the clock, feeding him, plumping his pillows and vacuuming up after him, while he quietly enjoys every minute and never admits he has recovered. Newt finally drops asleep from exhaustion, and Fuse rolls off to be looked after somewhere else.

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From this series Oddbods

By age 4 years

By theme Adventure Anger Animals Bedtime Being alone Big feelings Curiosity Disagreements Disappointment Ending screen time Friendship Getting out the door Helping others How things work Imagination Jealousy Mealtimes Overcoming fear Patience Perseverance Problem solving Pushing boundaries Responsibility Sharing Telling the truth

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