Octonauts: Above and Beyond

TV review by Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media
Octonauts: Above and Beyond Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 3+

Lessons about science, nature in gentle adventure show.

Netflix Kids' Animation 2021
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Parents say

age 3+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 4+

Based on 1 review

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

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What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Octonauts: Above and Beyond is an adventure show aimed at preschoolers and featuring the setup and characters of Octonauts, except that the crew rescues animals on land instead of in the sea. Courage, compassion, and teamwork figure largely in the Octonauts' adventures, and on each episode the gang meets a scientific expert who explains why animals are caught in a predicament and relates information about particular species. Every team member has a part to play in rescue missions, and each contribution is treated with respect. There's occasionally some insulting language when a character does something foolish ("scurvy thief!" "scallawag!"). Most of the main characters are male. There's some danger, like when a large wave threatens the Octopod, but menace is softened with music and visuals to an overall mild effect. Characters and other aspects of this show are based on a series of children's books, so if your kid is a fan, this could spark some reading sessions, too.

Community Reviews

afransella
afransella Adult
September 11, 2021
age 3+

Infected by Netflix

Big fans of the original series, this one disappoints in multiple ways, mostly due to Netflix's focus on agendas. What we enjoyed about the original was it's focus on marine biology, the importance of team and service leadership, focus on roles and responsibilities, and the lack of agenda. Structurally the show is the same: some minor disaster occurs and the team has to work together to solve it. Very Scooby Doo in that the scary things resolve to be misunderstood animals. The new show falls flat in a couple ways. First, the primary legacy character they kept as a regular was the most boring one. The others make appearances, but they aren't big parts of the show. The new characters are fine, although the monkey's annoying. Either way it's the typical trap of introducing new characters to sell new toys instead of developing the old characters in interesting ways. Secondary, the show relies on textbook style exposition too much. The original had a bit of this, but now it's like a read along in places. Lastly, every show just about has some climate doomsday plot point. It's a kids show, you don't need to be trying to scare them that the world is ending. I know Netflix has to push their checklist of agenda items, but it doesn't make it appropriate or palatable. To summarize, if your kids are into Octonauts you won't be able to avoid this one, but if you can I'd skip it. It's lost its charm.
2 people found this helpful.
frolickingferns
frolickingferns Adult
December 26, 2021
age 3+

BEST show ever!

My kid and daycare kids LOVE this show. It teaches them A LOT and my kids go around giving facts about critters. It inspires hero play! I love how it inspires my kids to work on "gups". Tweak is a female character whom fixes everything too. AWESOME. there are adorable catch phrases too! This show teaches empathy and encourages us to WANT to help these animals in real life. Incredible! I like how this show does not pretend like animals are currently safe, it uses REAL examples of animals today losing their habit. If you don't want that- then you are not looking for an educational show.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Animal rescue squad the Octonauts comes out of the water and heads onto the land in THE OCTONAUTS: ABOVE & BEYOND, an adventure show that finds the courageous crew meeting up with animals who need their help and finding a way to come to their aid through a combination of bravery and science smarts. All the members of the Octonauts crew are present and accounted for, led by Captain Barnacles (voiced by Simon Greenall) and his sidekicks, Kwazii (Rob Rackstraw), Dashi (Teresa Gallagher), and Peso (Paul Panting).

Is It Any Good?

Intrepid, brave, and always up for helping an animal in need of rescue, the Octonauts are as full of derring-do on land as they were in the ocean, and this spin-off echoes the original in every way. Already minted fans of the British children's show will be familiar with the show's setup: The Octonauts team heads out at the beginning of each episode on a mission (business or pleasure) before soon running into animals that need some sort of aid, along with an expert who can explain the science behind whatever predicament the animals are in. Someone hatches a plan, it's a crazy idea but it just might work, and then: It does!

The familiar rhythm and easy-to-hop hurdles, accompanied by very gentle suspense, are comforting to preschoolers, who absorb messages about concepts like droughts, wind, or volcanoes while they're carried along by the storyline. The puffy anthropomorphic animal characters are easy to love, too, especially the Vegimals, half-plant, half-animal creatures that speak in sweet unintelligible squeaks and vocalizations (that only one Octonaut can understand). Parents will also appreciate that the voice acting has a mellow, soothing cadence that won't grate on adults' nerves. For science lessons served with a side of super cute, Octonauts: Above & Beyond is worth a watch.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the world's diversity. How do animals adapt to their surroundings? What signs of adaptation do you see in the creatures in Octonauts: Above & Beyond? How would they need to change if they lived in the water?

  • Kids: Is it fun to be part of a team? How must teammates work together to achieve a common goal? What happens if no one listens to the leader? How does that hurt the team's success? Can you name some teams that you belong to?

  • How do the characters in Octonauts: Above & Beyond demonstrate teamwork? What parts do courage and compassion play in their quests? Why are those important character strengths?

TV Details

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