Messy Goes to Okido
Season 4, Episode 16: "Float or Sink" (11 minutes)
UK: Doodle Productions
CBeebies, Tuesday 28 November, 16:20
By now, it's obvious that there are two thngs I hate in children's TV: loud, obnoxious characters and ugly, lazy CGI animation. Messy Goes to Okido features both of these, so of course I was instantly put off. But on deeper inspection, it does actually contain some useful science education.
Ahoy mateys!
The episode begins with our title character, Messy, a hateable loudmouth monster, in a live-action environment. He has a washing-up bowl full of water, and wants to create an island, so he throws in a rock, which of course sinks. Why does it sink? he wonders. "When you need to know, you go to Okido" he tells the audience. The programme does not explain what Okido is; Google tells me that it is a children's science magazine. So, some not-so-subtle advertising there.
Anyway, he teleports to a CGI world, and arrives on a boat populated by some random characters straight from the book "How Not to Do Character Design": a generic boy and girl, a red thing that can change into any shape, a Game Boy, and a triangle. Yes, just a green triangle with a face. They are all lazy, ugly, and crappily animated.
Our gang of misfits are here to do some whale watching, but they are early, so they head to a nearby island for a picnic. Messy, still pretending to be a pirate, takes the opportunity to dig around for buried treasure. In the process, he dislodges a boulder, which destroys the boat.
It's up to the gang to work out how to build a new boat. They test out various materials: rocks are no good, they sink. Feathers float, but they can't hold any weight. Eventually they work out that wood is the best option (it's an obvious solution, but the young viewers would be pleased that they guessed the right answer; and more importantly, the programme explains why wood is the best material for the job.) The Game Boy explains via some 2D animation that wood comes from trees, and there are plenty of trees on the island to provide building material. And so, using Messy's pirate hat as a basis for the shape, they build a new boat, and get to see the whales after all.
At the end of the episode, we return to the live action world, where Messy reiterates that some materials float while others sink.
Principles of design
Although it's horrible to look at and listen to, there really are some valuable elements in this episode, touching on both the science and design & technology KS1 curricula. Investigating the properties of materials, considering what the best material to build something from is, considering a shape for your design (noting that it's often best to base your idea on an existing shape, but not necessary), selecting appropriate tools (tape measure and hammer are shown, but not saws, given CBeebies' rules about sharp objects) and so on.
There are also some elements of morals on display: the triangle, who acts as a sort of mother to the group, insists that everyone vote on whether or not to go to the island. She also tells the picnickers that they need to save some food for Messy while he is away treasure hunting. And before boarding the boat, a point is made of ensuring that every character wear a life-jacket.
One dodgy thing I did notice was that, Messy snatches a sandwich from the hands of another character, and faces no repercussions for doing this.
All in all, you probably wouldn't want your kids to watch this because it will encourage loud, hyperactive behaviour, but there are some valuable lessons; they just need to be presented in a better way.
Available to watch online until 27 December 2017
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