Parents' Guide to Stillwater

This gentle, soothing series is the TV equivalent of a warm hug. The combination of gorgeous animation and music sets the stage for Stillwater's intentional pace and intuitive content that teaches wonderful lessons without hitting audiences over the head with them. Everything about Stillwater communicates a welcome calm, from his bamboo-fenced gardens to the lolling speed at which he accomplishes his daily chores. He's a model of self-awareness and introspection for his three young friends and, by extension, his viewers. As Stillwater helps the kids face unfamiliar emotions like anger, frustration, and disappointment, he demonstrates the value of healthy social-emotional awareness and conflict resolution. And he accomplishes all of this without ever raising his voice or appearing flustered.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in the delights of this series that it's almost easy to forget about the aspects of the show that are, well, unusual. Besides the obvious suburbia-dwelling, talking panda bear thing—and why White kids are shown as humans while Chinese characters are turned into cuddly animals—there's the notable but totally inexplicable absence of any parental figures in the kids' lives. Where in real life a parent or guardian would step in to help guide the kids' social learning, the apparently ever accessible and unfailingly patient neighbor bear fills that role for Michael, Addy, and Karl. It's odd, to be sure, but keeping the cast to a minimum does bolster the show's overall simple and serene style.