“Explore! Rescue! Protect!” And all the other well-worn catchphrases, skilfully doled out by satisfyingly cartoonish, life-sized Octonauts.
Already a hugely successful CBeebies cartoon and merchandising heaven for toy manufacturers, the Octonauts stage show is spending 2015 threatening to irritate parents countrywide. Thankfully, it was actually really good. Stand down Octo-irritant alert!
Captain Barnacles et al (still no explanation of why a polar bear is in charge of crew of cats, rabbits, dogs and a turnip, but no matter) took to the under-seas to rescue blob fish Bob from a threatening volcano. Songs, camaraderie, high jinx, clever puppetry and plenty of sneaky aquatic education ensued.
The show benefited hugely from a decent sized budget – the set was slick, the costumes were spot on, the songs perfectly choreographed. It was almost worth it just for the animatronic Professor Inkling with the self-jiggling monocle.
Most importantly the production team just seemed to get what kids want: to shout “it’s behind you!” a few times, some mild peril, crazy contagious earworms, and the brief fantasy of actually being an Octonaut themselves.
The negatives? They didn’t half get you with the merch - £6 for a helium balloon versus a heartbroken toddler all afternoon? Eesh.
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