The Fairly OddParents - TV-Y

Creative and fun, with occasional mature humor.

TV Rating: TV-Y Network: Nickelodeon Genre: Children, Cartoons, & Animation
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that there's a lot of cartoon roughhousing and physical comedy. Characters get injured but recover instantly. There's also some fleeting innuendo and mature humor. Timmy often learns a thing or two from his misguided wishes, but the focus here is on cartoon zaniness more than education. Timmy's parents are portrayed as clueless and foolish, in keeping with the style of the show. Timmy's biggest enemy is his cruel babysitter Vicki -- the youngest viewers may need reassurance/reminding that their real-life babysitters are friendly.

Families can talk about Timmy's wishes and what he learns from making them. They can also talk about what they would wish for and why. How would life change if these wishes came true?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Betsy Wallace

Nickelodeon airs some of the most creative and expertly animated cartoons on television, and it has another winner with THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS.

Grade school-age viewers love watching Timmy (voiced by Tara Strong), a normal little boy trying to grow up and figure out the world, wish for crazy things he imagines will make his life more bearable. Timmy's fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda (Daran Norris and Susan Blakeslee), grant his wishes, but Timmy inevitably wants life back to normal again.

Rather than immediate gratification, Timmy's wishes are more like experiments. He usually thinks he's wishing for something useful or helpful, such as a world without sleep or a cool job for his dad. The results of his wishes help Timmy make discoveries such as why kids need sleep, or why just being Timmy's dad is a cool enough job.

Much like SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents can be fast-paced, raucous, and contain mature humor. Violence played for laughs -- characters squashed, clobbered, blown up, etc. -- is not unusual, though no one is ever hurt permanently.

Because Nickelodeon is such a good network for kids' programming overall, parents may be tempted to let toddlers and preschoolers watch any cartoon on Nick. But only shows designated as "Nick Jr." programs are really designed for children under 5.

Kids who like The Fairly OddParents may also enjoy Johnny Test and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some fleeting innuendo.
Violence A lot of cartoon roughhousing and physical comedy. Characters get injured but recover instantly.
Language Occasional crude language, but nothing more serious than "butt-ugly."
Message
	Social Behavior Timmy has one African American friend; other characters are white. The town depicted is retro, white bread, and suburban. Timmy's wishes gone awry often teach him a lesson about respecting others and himself.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco