Stream It Or Skip It: 'Yo Gabba GabbaLand' on Apple TV+, where the 'Yo Gabba Gabba' characters explore a colorful new world (2024)

Say the words “Yo Gabba Gabba” to any parent of a kid who is now a teenager or young adult and they’ll nod warily. The 2007-15 show was likely on many a DVR in their houses when their kids were in preschool or kindergarten, with their kids playing the show with the colorful, singing and dancing characters on repeat. The creators of the original are now back with a new version of the series. The same five colorful friends are back — with the original five voice actors — but there’s a new host and a whole new world for them to explore.

YO GABBA GABBALAND: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We see the Yo Gabba Gabba characters as dolls, then a glasses-clad girl named Kammy Kam (Kamryn Smith) stands up, her head popping up from behind the display. “Say the magic words with me… Yoooo Gabba Gabba…Land!” she says.

The Gist: The dolls come alive, and anyone who watched Yo Gabba Gabba during its 2007-15 run on Nick Jr. will recognize the characters: Toodee (Erin Pearce), Foofa (Emma Penrose), Muno (Adam Deibert), Brobee (Amos Watene) and Plex (Christian Jacobs). They’re in a new and unfamiliar world called Yo Gabba GabbaLand, and they want to know what there is to see. Kammy Kam is there to help them.

The gang sings about their new home, and they also sing about how you never know what you’re going to see until you look, and they explore the different parts of Yo Gabba GabbaLand with a huge book.

We also see a cartoon segment with sleeping animals, a segment about the daily life of a girl who lives in Pakistan, a counting segment, the gang does the “branch dance” with a baby sapling, the gang “follows the signs” to find the Nonee (Ty Segall), and Gillian Jacobs reads a story about two city worms that move to the country. Finally, the gang go underground to sing and dance with Anderson .Paak and his band about how everything in Yo Gabba GabbaLand is connected.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? As we mentioned above, Yo Gabba GabbaLand is a revival of Yo Gabba Gabba, albeit with a more expansive universe for the gang to explore.

Our Take: Yo Gabba GabbaLand, like the original Yo Gabba Gabba, is one of those shows that perplexes the parents of the preschoolers that pay rapt attention to it. There’s lots of color, lots of sing-songy talking, and lots of, well, sing-songy songs. But what both shows, created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, have going for them is infectious music and fun guest stars.

Remember, the original is a series that had Anthony Bourdain guest star as a doctor, which he did because it was his young daughter’s favorite show. So while your kids are going to sing the songs in each episode until they bury themselves into your brain like the worst kind of earworm, you can watch Jacobs, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Flea and others telling stories, and watch people like Paak, Diplo and others play some interesting music.

That’s the reason why adults might watch with their kids instead of running away screaming: The guest stars. The rest of it? Pretty much like other shows aimed towards the 6-and-under crowd: Some lessons, lots of music, and some pretty fine character dancing.

What Age Group Is This For?: Yo Gabba GabbaLand is definitely for the 6-and-under crowd.

Parting Shot: The land turns back into a static display and the gang turns back into dolls. Kammy Kam then says goodbye and dips her head behind the display.

Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to the dancers that are in the characters’ costumes. Multiple dancers play each character, in order for them to do different things.

Most Pilot-y Line: None that we could find. Let’s face it; it’s a show for tiny kids, so every line is likely going to be irritating to adults.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Yo Gabba GabbaLand brings back everything kids loved about the original series, plus expands the gang’s universe, giving them more to explore.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.