The Kid Show Chronicles - Max & Ruby

Some find the two little bunnies, Max and Ruby, based on the children's book series by Rosemary Wells, to be, well, annoying. If you google the show you will find multiple sites and blogs from parents either praising the cute kids show, or ranting about Ruby's constant 'nagging' of her little brother Max, and also, asking the biggest question, Where are their parents???

Max and Ruby is a half hour show on Nick, focusing on the day to day lives of two brother and sister bunnies, Max and Ruby. According to details the bunnies give us in the show, Ruby is seven years old, while Max is somewhere around four. They live in a big home, with no parents to be seen. The only adults we often see are the bunnies grandmother, and sometimes a neighbor or storekeeper that the bunnies encounter.

I have to admit two things. The show is my two and a half year old daughter's absolute favorite. The other is that it was also my favorite, at first. The slow moving show, old fashioned cute music, and calming colors were all very appealing. Something about the illustrated show was a nice change from the bright colors and computer animated shows that seem to have taken the place of shows like this. The more I watched however, the more questions I had.

Max is always acting like a two year old, doing the opposite of what his sister says is proper behavior, and using one word answers to get his point across. During most shows, that one word answer that Max has been spewing always comes to mean something different from what Ruby thought. In one episode Max says 'bad egg' for about 8 minutes straight as Ruby tries every way she can to get him to eat an egg before he has the fruit that he wants much more. One morning, as I gave my not-picky-eater-at-all an egg, which she typically loves, and she proclaimed 'BAD EGG!' for the entire breakfast I told myself I'd had enough of Max and Ruby. Or, there was the time Max continued to get messy from popsicles and other food, and Ruby needed to give him about 10 baths, which my daughter thought was hilarious and from then on, would not eat a popsicle without rubbing it on herself and proclaiming, 'I look just like Max!'

Although Ruby usually corrects Max's mistake, and lessons are learned, I don't think those lessons are the memorable moments for the two year old that might be watching. That being said, now that my daughter is two and a half, and I have again allowed her to watch this show, I've seen her relating more to Ruby, telling her stuffed animals, in Ruby's whiny voice, "no no no, it's not nice to make a mess." Which is just fine by me.

I guess my overall opinion on this show is that it depends on the child watching, as with most shows. It is still one of my daughter's favorites. We usually let her pick one show before bed, and this is usually the go to. I would've waited to let her watch it though and that's my opinion for parents reading this. As for the non-existent parents issue, it has been said that Rosemary Wells wanted to show children that they did not always need to turn to adults to solve their problems, and that she wanted them to learn that they could do things on their own. This explanation makes enough sense for me. And I admit, I still love the overall tone and look of this show, which is probably what has kept me tuning in with my daughter.

Max & Ruby is a half-hour animated comedy series based on the children's books by Rosemary Wells. Each episode centers on Max, a determined three-year-old bunny, and his big sister, Ruby, a smart, goal-oriented seven-year-old. The show offers an empowering message for children by showing Max and Ruby playing together and resolving their differences in ways that are respectful and supportive