Dads Review the Cartoons: Tumble Leaf
If you are a dad of small humans there are a lot of ways that your life is different from before you had kids. One of those ways is your television viewing habits. Gone are cop shows, medical procedurals, and anything resembling reality TV. Now, in their place are talking dogs driving cars, the island of Sodor where anthropomorphic trains live, cat sheriffs, and something called a vegimal.
Often the only way to get through the shows that your kids absolutely love is to spend the time that they are on your TV dissecting them. Sadly, as a father I can confirm that I have spent too much time taking apart the plots, and way too much of my mental well-being has paid the price for the inevitable theme song that gets stuck in my head. So, what happens when two dads decide to have a conversation about a kid's show? Follow along with me and my good friend Dave Atkins, as we find out.
About the Dads
Dave and I have a lot in common. We became friends over a decade ago while we were attending Dallas Seminary, we both married out of our leagues, and thanks to the great delight of fatherhood we both spend an inordinate amount of time watching cartoons with our kids. Dave is the guy who I trusted to hide in the bushes and take pictures of the moment that I proposed to my wife.
About the Show
For our first cartoon review we chose the show Tumble Leaf. Dave and
his crew are big Tumble Leaf fans, and this was the Sharp clans first exposure. For a summary of the show let’s go to Wikipedia:
Tumble Leaf is an Emmy-winning Amazon Studios original series that premiered in 2014. It is a stop motion animated series for preschool-aged children and is based on the short film Miro. Created by animator Drew Hodges (Saturday Night Live, Community) and stop-motion studio Bix Pix Entertainment, Tumble Leaf features an anthropomorphic blue fox named Fig and his caterpillar friend Stick (both voiced by child actor Christopher Downs), along with other residents of the island of Tumble Leaf, helping preschoolers learn basic science lessons through playful examples. Additional regular characters include Maple (Brooke Wolloff), Rutabaga (Jodi Downs), Hedge (Landon Clay), Pine (Addie Zintel), and Ginkgo (Gary Littman). Each episode consists of two 11-minute stories with Fig learning the mechanics of various items discovered in a special room on board the abandoned shipwreck where he resides.
Follow along as Dave and riff on blue foxes, shipwrecks, and all things Tumble Leaf.
Aaron Sharp
Ok Dave, this morning the kids and I digested the first episode of Season 1 of Tumble Leaf. This episode’s two stories were Shiny Coins and Fig Finds a Shadow. Let’s get started with three questions. First, there are three seasons of Tumble Leaf, have you watched all of them? Second, is there any other circumstance in life where uttering the phrase “anthropomorphic blue fox named Fig” doesn’t end up with a drug test? Third, am I a total idiot because I didn’t realize that Fig’s friend named Stick was a caterpillar until I read it online?
David Atkins
In answer to your first question, yes, I have watched all three seasons of Tumble Leaf, though the third season isn't so much a season as much as it is one show. The big difference is that rather than two stories, it is only one. How that counts as a season is beyond me, but there you are.
I imagine that in a situation where as an international spy you utter that phrase to someone in a trench coat on a park bench as the secret phrase to let each other know you're on the same side could you say that and not get drug tested. You say it to the cop who pulls you over? He asks you to step out of the vehicle, sir.
"Total idiot" is, I think, too strong. The trilling tongue noises (is that even what it's called?) throws you off. Plus, he moves so fast and jumps around. None of these are traits are indicative of a caterpillar. But, of course, if a phrase such as "anthropomorphic blue fox named Fig" is used to describe any aspect of a show you're watching, you shouldn't be surprised if some of mother nature's other laws get stretched a bit.
Honestly, my favorite part was the crab at the beginning of each story. He uses a crab trap to catch random junk from the ocean. I mean, he doesn't use it to catch other crabs, because that would be... messed up.
But, Aaron, what do you think of the whole "discovery through play" theme running through these two stories? And, do you remember the last time you threw a coin into a fountain and made a wish? Do you remember the wish?
Aaron Sharp
I see your point about “anthropomorphic blue fox named Fig” being good for spies. I see it going down like this:
Spy #1 (sitting on park bench reading a newspaper)
Spy #2 (walks up and sits down on bench)
Spy #1: I’m reading a story about an anthropomorphic blue fox
Spy#2: Named Fig
Spy #1: Here are the codes
Spy #2: Dasvidaniya
This conversation caused me to google “trilling.” So kudos to you, and yes I believe you used it correctly.
Ok, so I’m glad you brought up the crab. The crab is cool, and the use of the crab trap is quite funny. If he caught other crabs it would be a little bit reminiscent of Pig from Pearls Before Swine who loves BLTs. Anyway, the one thing about the crab is that its wooden pincher bothers me a little bit. I feel like I need some sort of backstory on this Long John Crab. What type of accident was this poor crab involved in? He seems to have adjusted well, but how did this happen? He’s very happy go lucky in spite of whatever happened to him in his dark past.
I really like the discovery through play idea that they use in Tumble Leaf. The Sharp kids love nature so they really got into it. The six-year-old Zoologist said he liked the show because “They went exploring.” I also really like how Fig does his whole, “Let me figure this out” thing. I’m pretty sure at some point in the next few days I am going to respond to a kid’s question with, “You figure it out Fig.”
I could be wrong about this, but I am pretty sure that the last time I threw a coin into a fountain was a few months back at the mall with the kids. And I’m pretty sure the wish I made was that no one would have to go potty before we got home.
One thing I really like about Tumble Leaf is the absence of an opening theme jingle. I mean it kind of has one, but it is so understated that the odds of it getting stuck in your brain are a lot less than most other kids shows. Aside from the phrase “Tumble Leaf, rumble leaf” being stuck in my head I am pretty unscathed from watching an episode.
So here are questions for you, Dave. How does a blue fox who knows enough to make his home in an abandoned shipwreck, and apparently tie a tie, not know that shining a flashlight in a cave would make a shadow? And how do you like the stop motion animation when compared to other kid’s shows that use regular animation? Is it more interesting for adults or kids with this style?
David Atkins
If I may, it may be that Long John Crab (LJC) was at one point trapped himself. It may be that in the course of the trapper removing LJC from the trap that LJC got a grip on his hand. Rather, than sticking around to duel it out with the trapper, LJC dropped his claw and scurried away. Now, having discovered the therapy of imaginative play and the usefulness of the crab trap to gather fuel for his imaginative play, he uses what was once a source of terror as a means of moving forward with his life. And, he unknowingly fuels the imagination of an anthropomorphic blue fox named Fig and his friends. That might be off, but that's my take on it.
I personally don't remember the last time I threw a coin into a fountain. My boys each grabbed my coins and threw a handful in each and were then sad I wouldn't let them go in and retrieve them. I'm not sure they've quite got the concept.
You mentioned no jingle at the beginning, and it reminded me of the opening music. True, "Rumble leaf, tumble leaf... sitting on bubble? or something." gets stuck in your head, but I just want to talk about the sounds of Tumble Leaf. My wife introduced it for our kids while I was in another room. So, I never saw the show until my boys were a few episodes in. But, I remember the sounds: ocean waves, gentle tinkling of bells, coos and ahhs from LJC and the chickens. Gentle words and expressions of ah and wonder. It's soft, tender, soothing sounds. Nothing harsh or gritty or pulse-escalating. The music itself is flowing and almost breeze-like. It's inviting and calm. I just appreciate something that isn't simply looking to hype my kids up.
Regarding Fig's apparent mastery of many things yet not shadows or even that bright, polished coins reflect light, maybe he's more of a hands-on kind of blue fox. He learns as he goes. I mean the whole shipwreck looks like the result of countless tries and failures. He's learned some stuff, but still learning, and we're invited on his journey. Or, more tragically, his parents rigged the shipwreck as their home with their new fox pup, but were killed, and Tumble Leaf is the grand story of an orphan learning about the world without parental guidance but still in the context of a community of families who are all caring for and serving one another.
There's something about the stop-motion animation medium that is engaging. It's very three-dimensional which is great for the setting itself as well as the characters. The colors and details are also way more apparent. But, overall, it seems like stop-motion animation on the whole comes across at a much slower pace than regular animation which allows for a fuller experience. Maybe that's just me. It wouldn't surprise me if it was just me. Also, for my boys, I love the idea of something they can savor with their sense rather than a skittles gatling gun to the brain.
My concern with LJC is how he operates the wooden claw. The biotechnological advancements of crabs really is top notch.
David Atkins
Aaron, what are your thoughts on stop-motion animation as a story medium? I'm curious.
Aaron Sharp
Your backstory on LJC makes sense, and your observation about the biotechnological advancements among crabs is something I haven’t thought of. Apparently Tumble Leaf is home to the Johns Hopkins of crab medicine.
I think you are onto something about the sound in Tumble Leaf. It is funny that it does have an opening jingle, but it doesn’t really feel like one because I am used to everything from Nick Kids and Disney that all seem to have an insanely loud and catchy theme song. I think my favorite word to use to describe Tumble Leaf is “understated,” which is something I am growing to appreciate. God knows that nothing in the adult world is understate in 2017.
I don’t know that I feel strongly about the stop-motion animation. I like it on Tumble Leaf because it fits what they are doing. I wouldn’t love it for everything, but for the storytelling on Tumble Leaf I think it works well. Just as an aside, the woman that I am related to marriage doesn’t like the stop-motion, she thinks it moves too slow.
So here is my final question to you about Tumble Leaf before we move on to another cartoon. Instead of a boring star rating let’s use food. What food would Tumble Leaf be for you? I am going to go with a nice club sandwich, perhaps with a baked potato. It isn’t necessarily the flashiest thing on the menu, but it is reliable quality, and you always walk away feeling like you made a good decision.
David Atkins
For me, Tumble Leaf is more than just a food dish, it's an experience. I would say that Tumble Leaf is a stack of banana pancakes with peanut butter mixed with hive hollow honey. And, I'm eating them while in my pajamas on a lazy Saturday morning with loved ones and lots of laughter. It's more than sustaining. It's revitalizing.