...it is laced with subliminal drug culture messages from the 60s.  Think about it.  Who are these kids?  You've got Fred, who represents rich, privileged America, but is otherwise an idiot. If they are such a team, why does Fred always drive?  And ever notice he's always telling everyone what to do?  Because he representss traditional values, that's why.  Daphne is the hot sorority dropout who is starting to figure out it's all a conspiracy, man.  Velma is the brainy one with the chemistry background and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all manner of abnormal counter-culture information about how to perform all sorts of crimes. Sort of the female cross between Sherlock Holmes and Timothy Leary, without the addiction problem.  And then there's Shaggy.  He's the guy who never seems to shower or shave, is always hungry and thinks his dog talks to him. AND he eats dog treats and likes them!  Hello! Pothead!  And they drive around in that psychadelic hippy-mobile. C'mon, who are we kidding here?  Fred and Daphne are the faces of the franchise and publicly not only nice looking, they have the backgrounds and connections to get into all those places that Shaggy and Velma could not.  Velma's the chemist, probably makes and sells her own acid, which would explain how they always have the money to travel around without anyone ever having a job.  It also explains Shaggy's entire character and why everything freaks him out.  By helping out the cops, they place themselves above suspicion for their "other enterprises."  It's the perfect cover.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but now that you know, watching Scooby will take on a whole new set of meanings.  As for other tv role models, it is sort of slim pickings out there.  There's Bob the Builder, though solving problems through construction opens up a whole new set of potential problems.  Dora or Diego aren't bad.  Other than if you watch too much Diego, you may find yourself at the zoo a lot, listening to your kids telling you stuff.  I've got no stomach for Barnie, other than when Hugh Grant and Tom Arnold beat the shitake mushrooms out of "Arnie" in the movie "9 Months."  Arguably, his only palatable contribution to society, though don't let the kids see it.

You're right about one thing though.  There are a lot of problems solved through the proper application of significant force/firepower out there.  Where have you gone, Fred Flintstone?  Even Fred's got issues though. He's always yelling at his wife for practically no reason.  Man, being a grownup sucks. You can't just watch cartoons and enjoy them for the escape they offer.  Give me a good Road Runner cartoon any day. Anvils, dynamite, murals painted on the sides of mountains to look real.... always a winning combination in my book.

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Wow! I just thought he had a healthy appetite.

I guess after that dissection, I shouldn't reveal that the young 'un is also currently mad for The Wizard of Oz. Surely there's nothing strange about a grown woman pretending to be a child disappearing to a technicolour world where her best friends are a scarecrow, a lion and a man made of tin. You'll be telling me the flying monkeys have some hidden meaning next!

No, when I said classics, I was thinking more of movies, like the Jungle Book for example (although he was unmoved: when he saw Mogley, he said 'Why is that little boy not wearing trousers?'). Diego's a good suggestion though. Any more?

It's a cartoon on Nick and Nick Jr designed for kids 2 and older.  The show includes 5 main characters:  three male and two female.  While the characters are animals - four of them anyway - they are all different in species, color, shape and size.  The show is good for teaching interpersonal skills and inspiring children to sing and dance. 

At this age, it's better than SpongeBob.

One movie that comes to mind is The Brave Little Toaster. I like that movie, and it seems like a good male role model movie.

I have 2 girls, but they really like Diego (almost as much as Dora).  I think Diego could be considered a good Male rolemodel.  My 2 yo old and 3.5 yo also love Wow Wow Wubzy.  Not really a Male rolemodel, but has a lesson in each episode. 

All excellent ideas, I'm slowly working my way through them. So far, he's gone mad for the Backyardigans (although seems particularly taken with the hippo, which is a girl, but there you go) and the Willy Wonka idea was brilliant - he loves that. Charlie's a good role model and it's suitably psychedelic for the three year-old mind. Although I can't get that 'Oompa-Loompa' song out of my head...

I think currently the best tv role model for my kids, (4 and 2), is Little Bill, on Noggin.  The show discontinued many years back, at least since the death of Gregory Hines, voice of Little Bills dad, but overall the show holds up really well.  My children can relate to practically every episode.  Created by the good man, Bill Cosby, it covers a kids life, in a multi-cultural big city, while teaching how to interact with others, learn self-esteem, etc...  Good Stuff!

Alby1 - Chicago, IL

I like DVD's like Ratatoille, Cars, Nemo, and the like also PBS and Sprout/Noggin.  I am not a fan of Nickalodeon.  Have you seen how many commercials they throw at the kids for candy coated snacks.  It is already hard enough going in the store and have toys lining the front of many aisles near the registers and the like.  I am with you though on the violence not liberal here at all more libertarian in thought and if they watch violent stuff all day long and then act it out by hitting other kids its hard to differentiate at the younger ages, then you have to do more work parenting making your job much harder.

Brad