The TV show you should actually let your kids watch

Kiri and Lou from the tv show

Jacinda Ardern loves the show and Hillary Barry thinks ‘doctors should prescribe it’. 

Kiri and Lou is the locally made pre-school claymation show which has become a runaway hit in the UK as well as over a dozen other countries. Now new episodes are coming to TVNZ On Demand, offering New Zealanders another opportunity to see what makes this international success so remarkable.

Like a calming oasis in a sea of shouty pre-school programming, Kiri and Lou is an animated series about empathy, hand-crafted in stop motion with creatures made of clay, in a forest of cut out paper. The series offers charming five minute stories which aim to help pre-school children understand and manage their emotions.

Kiri and Lou is written and directed by expat New Zealander Harry Sinclair with a song for each episode written by Sinclair and Don McGlashan. The star cast features some of New Zealand’s best comedy talent, including Jemaine Clement (Lou) and Olivia Tennet (Kiri), along with Rima Te Wiata, Jaquie Brown, Josh Thomson and Mark Wright. Acclaimed international animator Antony Elworthy (Coraline, Corpse Bride, Isle of Dogs) leads a stop motion animation team in Christchurch.

Each five minute story is told with humour and joy, about the friendship of two prehistoric creatures and their adventures in the forest a long, long time ago.  The stories normalise the tumultuous emotions of childhood, without preaching or judging, and show how feelings can be accommodated and equilibrium restored. This series aims to be quiet and calming, with natural sounds and beautiful music, drawing children into the emotion of the stories and helping them slow down and focus. Catch new episodes, starting January 18th 2021  TVNZ On Demand.

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