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I Don't Want To Go To The Pool

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 3

Balanced

Exact score locked

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Netflix

Disney+

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I Don't Want To Go To The Pool

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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 storyline: Simon insists he will not go to the pool, faces his fear by helping a friend, and ends up enjoying himself. Events unfold in a recognisable order, from home to classroom to pool, with explanations that link each step to the next. New information arrives one moment at a time, well within what a four-year-old can hold. A brief 'superpowers' aside slightly bends the realism, but it does not break the cause-and-effect chain.

Simon and Lou both name their fear of the pool, and the people around them respond with patience and warmth. Daddy admits he was scared the first time too, and the swimming instructor speaks in steady reassuring tones. Simon turns his own fear into care for Lou, which gives both children a recovery moment within the same scene. The repeated 'never ever' stubbornness is met with kindness rather than mockery, and no character is set up as the butt of a joke.

Simon's problem, his fear of the water, is named clearly, attempted in steps, and resolved across the pool sequence. He takes the initiative by deciding to help Lou get in, then the instructors guide both children through kicking, floating, jumping, and the slide. The thinking is visible: Simon promises to protect Lou, jumps in first to demonstrate, then offers his arm to hold. The brief 'superpowers' framing slightly softens an otherwise grounded set of steps that a child can recognise.

The dialogue uses short clear sentences with concrete vocabulary about pools, swimming trunks, noodles, and slides. The teacher and instructor give functional cues ('move your legs and one and two'), and Daddy explains in simple terms what tomorrow will look like. Repeated phrases like 'never ever' and the sung refrain are used purposefully to show Simon's emotion rather than as filler. Words are spoken clearly throughout, with the small caveat that some sung lines run quickly past a young listener.

The episode mirrors a very recognisable situation: a school class going to a public pool for the first time, with a parent helping prepare at home. Children see concrete steps for getting in the water, kicking, floating, and using a slide, and the dynamics of a teacher leading a class are familiar. Although the characters are rabbits, the activities, objects, and feelings transfer directly to daily life. A short aside about Simon's 'superpowers' is the only real break from realism.

More information

The show takes place in a world of nearly identical white cartoon rabbits, so the kind of visible diversity a parent might look for, different skin tones, body types, cultural backgrounds, or family structures, is largely absent by design. The episode focuses on one nuclear family (Simon and his dad) and a classroom of similar-looking bunny classmates, with a teacher and a swimming instructor as the adult figures. Roles lean into a mild but familiar pattern: the boy Simon, after overcoming his own fear, casts himself as 'super rabbit' and 'protects' his scared friend Lou. The pattern is softened because Simon openly admits he was scared first and Lou ends up swimming and enjoying the slide on her own.

The episode follows Simon, a young rabbit, as he resists and then embraces his first swimming lesson at a real pool. The world is grounded in everyday family and school life, with talking-animal characters as the main fantasy concession. There is no villain at all; the only obstacle is Simon's own fear, which his dad and the swimming instructor calmly help him work through. The realism/fantasy mix lines up well with a 4-year-old's experience of starting something scary for the first time.

The Simon series offers parents a recognisable, well-crafted preschool show with a real emotional arc about facing fear at the pool. The cyclical ending and Dad's gentle parenting give adult co-viewers occasional moments to enjoy, though most of the humour stays firmly aimed at small children. The animation is clean and intentional, and irritation factors stay limited apart from the catchy opening jingle and the recurring 'never ever' refrain.

Themes

Overcoming fear

Simon and Lou both refuse the pool, then face the cold water and end up swimming and sliding.

Swimming lessons

Simon goes to the pool with his class to learn to swim, and with the instructor learns to float, kick, jump in and ride the slide.

Friendship

Simon helps Lou into the water and tells her 'you can hold on to me if you want'.

Becoming more capable

The instructor walks the class through kicking ('move your legs and one and two') so they swim forward by themselves.

Family

Daddy prepares swimming trunks at home and reassures Simon about the next day.

Trying new things

Simon dreads swimming 'in a real pool for the first time' but tries it and ends up loving it.

Kindness

Simon helps his equally scared friend Lou into the cold water, saying 'don't be scared Lou I'll help you' and letting Lou hold onto him.

School

Incidental

The teacher tells the class 'put away your things children, we're all going to the pool now'.

Activities

Swimming

The instructor leads the children through getting in, kicking their feet, and jumping in together.

Going down a slide

The class climbs onto the pool slide and slides into the water one by one.

Preparing for pool

At home Daddy shows Simon a pair of swimming trunks for the next day.

School field trip

The teacher gathers the class to walk together to the pool.

Teaching younger sibling

At the end Simon offers to teach his little brother Gaspard how to swim.

Emotions

Fear

Both Simon and Lou say they do not want to go into the water and stand frozen at the pool edge.

Joy

Children laugh and shout 'this is so super cool' after going down the slide.

Pride

Simon beams when Lou tells him 'wow you're super strong Simon'.

Empathy

Daddy calmly tells Simon 'I was scared the first time too'.

Excitement

The class cheers 'Yahoo, wow amazing, this is so much fun' on the slide.

Behaviour

Helping

Simon tells Lou 'don't be scared, I'll help you' and offers his arm in the pool.

Refusing

Simon repeats 'no way, never, ever' when his father shows the swimming trunks.

Trying something new

Simon jumps into the pool first to show Lou it can be done.

Bravery

Simon demonstrates floating and kicking so Lou is willing to copy him.

Encouraging

Daddy says 'don't worry Simon, everything's going to go really well' before the pool day.

Social lessons

Courage

Two scared children give each other courage to step into the pool.

Supporting a friend

Simon and Lou face the cold water together after one encourages the other.

Mentorship

The swimming instructor patiently teaches each step of getting into the water.

Role models

Daddy normalises being scared by saying he felt the same as a child.

Simon refuses to go to the pool with his class, telling his father 'no way, never, ever'. The next day his teacher leads the children to the pool, where Simon finds his friend Lou is just as scared. Simon decides to help Lou into the cold water, and together they learn to float, kick, jump in, and ride the slide with the instructor. The episode closes with Simon offering to teach his little brother Gaspard, who replies 'never ever'.

Season 1

5 episodes

Simon

Simon

Merry Christmas

recommended age co-watching from 3

Rabbit brothers Simon and Gaspard help their parents decorate the Christmas tree and then go to bed waiting for Father Christmas. Worried that the heavy snow will stop the reindeer from finding their house, Simon comes up with a plan and the two brothers slip outside to turn Daddy's Christmas lights into a 'landing strip' in the garden. Father Christmas arrives, lands neatly on their improvised runway and delivers presents. The episode ends with Daddy discovering that all his outdoor lights have vanished and being sent to look outside.

Simon

Simon

No More Stabilisers

recommended age co-watching from 3

Simon, a young rabbit, sees his friend Ferdinand riding a bike without training wheels and decides he wants the same. After Dad removes the stabilizers at home, Simon tries again and again, falling and crying but always getting back up while Dad steadies the bike and offers encouragement. That night Simon wakes Dad for one more try, hears the tip to look straight ahead instead of down, and finally rides on his own. The episode ends with Simon laughing about Ferdinand's earlier doubt.

Simon

Simon

Tomatoes

recommended age co-watching from 3

Simon and his little brother Gaspard are playing in their grandparents' garden when their grandfather explains that a tiny elf comes out at night to paint the green tomatoes red. Convinced the elf might be real, the brothers sneak outside with a blanket and hide under a table to keep watch. They get spooked by an owl, fall asleep, and miss the elf entirely. In the morning the tomatoes are red, the grandparents are revealed to have slept nearby the whole time, and the boys find a small pot in the garden that convinces them the elf exists.

Simon

Simon

I Don't Want To Go To The Pool

recommended age co-watching from 3

Simon refuses to go to the pool with his class, telling his father 'no way, never, ever'. The next day his teacher leads the children to the pool, where Simon finds his friend Lou is just as scared. Simon decides to help Lou into the cold water, and together they learn to float, kick, jump in, and ride the slide with the instructor. The episode closes with Simon offering to teach his little brother Gaspard, who replies 'never ever'.

Simon

Simon

The Teeny Weeny Incy Wincy Bugs

recommended age co-watching from 3

Simon, Lou and Ferdinand play a series of games together in the garden, including tag, Blind Man's Bluff and hide and seek. Ferdinand keeps pranking the others by revealing a worm, a beetle and other small bugs, sparking loud screams and short arguments about whether the jokes are mean. When the group hides in the attic, they spot a real spider, and Simon decides to carry it outside rather than squash it. The episode closes with Simon telling his friends that spiders really aren't that scary.

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