Fifty-five years ago, preschoolers were captivated by the TV performance of a fuzzy blue monster, two striped shirt-wearing best friends and a big yellow bird. Today, in the now-crowded field of children’s media, one big-headed, animated toddler named JJ is running to the top. Born from YouTube, JJ and his friends in the animated kids’ franchise “CoComelon” represent a new wave of children’s programming.
Focused on songs, bright colors and a world with no sharp edges, “CoComelon” has become a children’s media juggernaut, spawning spin-offs , video games, toys, a live tour and a story-time podcast. Although its multimedia approach to kids’ content has helped expand its audience, it has also raised questions about screen time and what kind of content — if any — very young children should be watching. Reflecting on the brand’s growth, CoComelon General Manager Patrick Reese said the company is thoughtful about the needs of its young audience and its own legacy in children’s media.
“We very much stand on the shoulders of giants in this space, like ‘Mr. Rogers’ and ‘Sesame Street,’” he said. “If you learn to be kind and open in those early years, if you learn that growth mindset way of thinking, that becomes your behavior for the rest of your life.
And if we can create an environment and create these various shows and these various different streams of content that just make the world 1% kinder, 5% kinder, 10% kinder ...
we’re going to sei.
