The Mr. Men Show

On the surface, there's a lot to like about this lighthearted cartoon, and the good news is that it has the potential to appeal to kids from preschool through grade school. The bold, "retro" animation and simple storylines play to the attention span of very young viewers, who will easily grasp the basics of how the characters' actions match up with their personalities. (Parents may even find that the show helps them relate certain characters' negative traits -- like Mr. Messy and Mr. Rude -- to their young kids' behavior.) Meanwhile, older children can look deeper into the characters' relationships and figure out how personality differences impact their encounters.

But don't search too hard for meaningful content here: Since the characters never alter their behavior to better suit any situation, the show makes no real attempt to instill values or demonstrate lessons learned. Characters remain consistently one-dimensional, and even those with obvious negative behavior aren't encouraged to change their ways.