水果冰淇淋 (Fruity Pie)

I am never a favourite of the language they call Mandarin, particularly when it comes to recognizing the characters. To learn the language requires a LOT of rote learning; even at the very basics, you have to memorize the characters in order to read in the language.

When I watch Chinese dramas, it's usually in Cantonese, sometimes Mandarin, I attempted some Taiwan Hokkien dramas as well but all in all, I always fall heavily back on the subtitles to actually understand what the heck the actors are trying to convey.

After spending some time trying to introduce Playhouse Disney, Sesame Street and Barney series to my daughter, I found out the babysitter has been showing 水果冰淇淋 to my daughter when she is at the sitter's place. 

No wonder lahs aside, I came to eventually enjoy the 水果冰淇淋 from Taiwan's PTS franchise as they are made with the same formulas like Sesame street. The puppets were cute, they teach good values, they have a lot of awesome inserts in between the shows and so the variety was quite an interesting introductory series for kids. Here's a sample video you can find on youtube which was released by the username pts (the network's name is also PTS, coinkidink?)

Characters of 水果冰淇淋

The show is made up of five main characters: Fruity nai nai the nanny, Qi Qi and Ling Ling (a bro and a sis who is under the care of the nanny), Wang Lu and Sha La who always come over to play with the siblings. 

Each half hour show will showcase an issue that will leave the audience at the end of the show with a moral to learn, usually depicted by the nanny. In between there will be sub-segments: 'a story to tell', 'a song' introduced by the little (and I mean little) mermaid, 'a challenge' featuring real-life kid in a game-show obstacle race and in more recent seasons, a last short story introduced by a bear who lives in a cuckoo clock. 

Suggestion of reasons why kids like to watch this show:

>The puppets are so much fun! They are kids who say, act, feel and think like kids do, hence real kids in the audience can really connect with them. The characters throw tantrums, apologize unwillingly, drink juices and water when they are told to, and are sad whenever their friends do something they dislike... just like real kids.

>The songs and segments are catchy, the kind you can sway your head to. The melodies are fun and easy to remember as well.

>The nanny has a magnetic personality. For adults like me (who can see that it was actually a guy dressed as an old woman), the nanny comes across as a really reliable person, who cares for the kids and would do all she can to make them happy without spoiling them. She's a miracle worker, much like Mary Poppins, only she's the Taiwan kind. For kids, she is just so fun to watch: she acts out the closing scenes and actually sings it!

Why would adults like the show?

This show can make my daughter, little Eva sit on the couch quietly for a full half an hour. Yes, the show is a miracle worker. 

Give it a shot.