If you’ve watched every episode of Bluey twice and you’re desperately searching for a kids’ show that won’t make you want to jump out the window, Apple TV+ has you covered.
Shape Island is about three sentient shapes who live on an island. Why are they shapes? Why are they on an island? Well, why is the sky blue? Why is anything anything? True art pushes us to see ourselves in the other, and you know you’ve got something special when you’re identifying hard with a cube whose house is made of other, non-sentient cubes.
Shape Island is one of those children’s shows that’s good enough for parents to watch alongside their kids—or for childfree folk to watch as a unicorn chaser after Succession. The crafty-style stop motion is a genuine treat for the eyes. The writing is excellent. Each episode is bursting with humor and warmth, largely thanks to the talented cast. Scott Adsit (30 Rock) is the volatile Triangle. Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), in a radical departure from his other roles, plays the lovable and neurotic Square. Gideon Adlon (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur) is Circle, the most mature member of the trio.
Lovers of children’s literature will recognize Shape Island from Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s Shapes Trilogy, which pairs Klassen’s minimalist art style with Barnett’s passion for shenanigans. The books are a ton of fun to read to your kids—especially if you like doing the voices—and the weird, abstract concept of the series translates surprisingly well to the screen. (Fun fact: back when I was a children’s librarian, I made felt puppets of Triangle, Square, and Circle for my weekly storytimes. I don’t know if my felts really added anything to the Shapes Trilogy experience, but they were deeply satisfying to make.)
Most of season 1 came out last January, so chances are parents are already familiar with the shapes’ exploits. But the latest episode, “The Winter Blues,” just dropped last week.
Nothing says winter fun like a gentle yeti
In “The Winter Blues,” we learn that Square hates winter. Circle and Triangle make up a new holiday, Yeti Night, to cheer him up. But at the heart of that holiday is an audacious lie: that yetis are real, and they’ll come to your door if you put out apricot muffins.
Yes, it’s an obvious allegory for Santa Claus. The episode revolves around the comical levels of angst we Santa-observing parents put ourselves through as, year after year, we weigh whether to drop the act or keep the lie going. As Yeti Night gets more and more elaborate, Circle and Triangle’s charade gets correspondingly harder to pull off. Finally, when Square catches them planting footprints in the snow outside his door, they’re forced to fess up, and Square storms off to live in the mountains for the rest of his life. His friends, distraught and wracked with guilt, go after him. You’ll never guess what they find up there!
Moral of the story: Santa is 100% real, and you’ve been wasting your money on all those toys you’ve bought your kids in his name.
If you’re looking for wholesome holiday programming for your kids (or if you just need a half-hour thing that makes you feel okay about the world), “The Winter Blues” feels like an homage to the classic Rankin/Bass stop motion Christmas specials—only smart and heartwarming instead of creepy and dated. It’s full of cut-out glitter snowflakes and mugs of sweet drinks and adorable characters being good to each other. Happy Yeti Night!
(featured image: Apple TV+)
