Wunderkind Little Amadeus (PBS)

The real Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who wrote his first symphony at the age of 4. He was also reportedly quite the prankster, a fact that this series -- which aims to interest children in classical music -- runs with, making a genial 8-year-old scamp out of the historical figure. In each episode, Amadeus, as he's known to his family and friends, gets into scrapes and faces off with the jealous Lorenzo Devilious while using his musical ability to save the day.

WUNDERKIND LITTLE AMADEUS is fairly standard animated fare, with a regular villain and fun-but-spunky heroes (the soundtrack, provided by one of the world's greatest composers, lifts things up a notch). The good news is that it seems to have a strong footing in the actual history of the day, in spite of the odd anachronistic language -- it's a bit jarring to see someone in a wig and knee breeches refer to something as "lame," for example.

The only question is whether kids addicted to Pokemon, Batman, and the like are going to put their cards down for this gentle little show about a type of music that plenty of folks (both old and young) find boring. Which is too bad, because both the music and the show are worth enjoying.

TV Rating: TV-G
Network: PBS
Genre: Kids' Animation
Where to watch: PBS