Parents and Kids Share Together: The Definitive Ranking of animated Sprout shows

One of my many drawings of Sprout characters (including myself lol). Does that count as animation?

Madeline Fretz - A while back, an Australian Sprout fan gave me her ideas for posts, including ones about international children's programs similar to Sprout, Sprout talent outfits, and what playlists characters would listen to. One of the posts she mentioned was a definitive ranking of animated Sprout shows. I’ve never done a definitive ranking before in this blog, so I'm gonna give it a go! Okay, Sprout fans, without further ado, today I'm ranking Sprout animation from worst to best! Enjoy!

Oh, and one, if not two, more thing(s), please note that this I'm only talking about animated Sprout original series. I was originally going to talk about almost every animated series that aired on Sprout, but decided it would be too much and a long post. Many Sprout originals (i.e. Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave and Floogals) were CGI, but I'm only listing traditionally(?) animated shows.

#6.) I think everything is good in terms of animation, but if I had to pick what the worst is, I'll go with The Many Adventures of Mr. Mailman. The character designs were a bit off to say the least, and, at the end of most(?) episodes, Mr. Mailman takes off his hat, revealing a beret-like hairstyle. Weird, huh?

#5.) And next up on this ranking is Sprout Diner. To me, the animation looked a bit cheap and drawing-like, as, around the time, Sprout was a small channel with a low budget. Compare it to the budget they had in later years (around the 2010s). Plus, two bears in the opening theme closely resemble Yogi and Boo-Boo Bear. Someone pointed that out in an upload of the Barney's Purple Hummus Dip segment (which is probably no longer up), and I may be one of the only ones who has noticed. Yep, even the biggest Sprout fan notices!

#4.) As I said earlier, I believe no Sprout animation is bad, weird, or creepy, but I'll have to start the good ones with the Doggity's segments from Noodle and Doodle. I don't know why this is third worst. Maybe because of the Bulldog?

My favorite Sprout original is next, and I can’t believe it's the fourth worst … all because of a character whose eyes are too small!

#3.) The Chica Show, which turns ten this year, is my favorite Sprout original series (I was even in a Chica phase in late 2020), but I'm ranking its animation as fourth worst since I think Stitches has small, probably cold-dead eyes, and totally should've had the same design as Kelly (minus the female eyelashes and lips).

HONORABLE MENTION(s): While most honorable mentions come before the #1 pick, I'm placing mine before the second because why not? Sprout programming blocks count as original series. They were even listed as "originals" online! Both The Let's Go Show and The Sunny Side Up Show had animation - the former had cartoon characters in song segments, while animated farm animals appeared in the latter's original opening theme song. I'd say the animation in both falls between the line(s(?)) of good and bad, and I knew I should've placed Doggity HERE!

#2.) We're into the good now folks, and let us start with Nina's World. The animation and character designs look pretty good, Chica Show-ish, and it's a bit nice, if not weird, to hear celebrities' voices (Rita Moreno, Michele Lepe, and Lin-Manuel Miranda were all on the show) coming out of the characters' mouths.

#1.) …And last but not least is Astroblast!. I don't see anything negative with the animation on this show, which is based on a children's picture book by author Bob Kolar. The characters all look great! And since this show is a hit with people young and old (*cough* pingguolover (sp?) *cough*), what better Sprout original has the best animation?

And there you have it, folks! That was the definitive ranking of animated Sprout shows (Originals only, see why above). Don't agree with me? You can always share your own listicle, containing non-originals or not. Every Sprout Original series has good animation, but some designs look off or even 2000s cheap.

Oh, and lemme close this post with some first generation cartoon characters: