Splash and Bubbles: Reef Music for Tots

Splash and Bubbles debuted in 2016 on PBS Kids.

My younger son stopped watching PBS Kids in 2015.

I just missed this one.

The series was created by John Tartaglia, a Muppets legend who joined the Sesame Street puppet squad full-time at age 18. After exploring performance post-Sesame, Tartaglia has returned to the Jim Henson Company to helm Splash and Bubbles and its interstitial series, "Get Your Feet Wet." The soundtrack CD, RHYTHM OF THE REEF: SONGS FROM SEASON ONE has just been released.

Without the Henson and Tartaglia pedigrees, Splash and Bubbles could be seen as an attempt to piggyback on the success of FINDING DORY. However it was undoubtably several years in development, and Tartaglia did create an Off-Broadway show called "ImaginOcean" with characters named Ripple and Bubbles (Dorsel or Tank have been rebranded as Splash for marketing purposes, I guess).

In any event, you will recognize several familiar Henson performers from their more famous Sesame Street creations. And the songs are generally inoffensive, and probably catnip to the kids who have been devouring these episodes since they debuted last winter. So RHYTHM OF THE REEF is no doubt a slam-dunk for many listeners. Splash and Bubbles and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood may be the shows to carry PBS Kids for the next 3-5 years. I wish them well. I'm out of that loop and moving on to growing pains.

RHYTHM OF THE REEF: SONGS FROM SEASON ONE is available from Amazon and iTunes.

Here is the "Get Your Feet Wet" segment on horseshoe crabs: