Moonbug Entertainment, the studio behind preschool franchises CoComelon, Blippi, and Little Angel, published a set of four child development principles on its website, developed with UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, a nonprofit research center focused on children’s entertainment. The framework comes as the company pushes back on widespread public criticism that its programming overstimulates or addicts young viewers.
UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, known as CSS, began working with Moonbug in 2023. The center conducted interviews with more than 10 Moonbug team members, including creative leaders across CoComelon, CoComelon Lane, and Blippi, reviewed peer-reviewed research on early childhood learning, and analyzed select episodes of each franchise. The four resulting principles now guide development and creative decisions across Moonbug’s preschool content.
The framework covers four areas: navigating real-life moments, modeling positive relationships, promoting learning through play, and telling authentically inclusive stories. Moonbug published the guidelines alongside academic citations supporting each principle.
Rich Hickey, Moonbug’s Chief Creative Officer, told Variety that the company previously applied child development considerations episode by episode rather than across its entire output. “We hadn’t really had consistency across all of our episodes,” Hickey said. “This partnership allowed us to create an umbrella so we could go, ‘Hey, at Moonbug, everything we make is adhering to these principles.'”
CoComelon reaches more than 200 million YouTube subscribers and additional audiences on Netflix. The series has attracted criticism for its rapid editing pace, with shots changing every few seconds. In 2022, the New York Times examined the studio’s data-driven content approach, and in 2024, the New Yorker reported that some parents had dubbed the series “Cocainemelon” and described their children as “CoComelon zombies.”
CSS founder and CEO Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, a developmental psychologist and former studio executive at MGM and Sony, said she and the advisory council initially approached the project with the same skepticism reflected in media coverage. After conducting a review of academic literature, CSS found the evidence limited. “We did a review of academic literature to see if, indeed, there is research demonstrating that this kind of children’s media could be addictive, or rapid cuts have a negative impact on young people, and there really isn’t,” Uhls told Variety. “The data is fairly inconclusive.”
CSS also evaluated select Moonbug episodes against a rubric of research-based metrics on a scale of zero to two. Uhls said most content scored a one before the formal collaboration began, indicating room for improvement but not a failing baseline.
Addressing the Caregiver Perception Gap
Uhls attributed some parental criticism to a mismatch between adult instinct and child developmental science. “As a parent, if you don’t understand what’s developmentally appropriate for a child, you’ll rely on your own instincts,” she said. “They watch these shows and cringe; they seem a little over-the-top, and the songs may seem annoying. You start to feel like, ‘This can’t be good for my child.’ But the research actually shows it’s not harmful. It can have positive outcomes.”
Hickey said the published principles serve to give caregivers more visibility into Moonbug’s creative process. “We’re very conscious that kids are spending time with our songs and stories,” he said. “We take that responsibility really seriously, and we want to be more intentional and as transparent as we can to help caregivers understand the experience any kid has watching our content.”
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Moonbug Entertainment, the studio behind preschool franchises CoComelon, Blippi, and Little Angel, published a set of four child development principles on its website, developed with UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, a nonprofit research center focused on children’s entertainment. The framework comes as the company pushes back on widespread public criticism that its programming overstimulates or addicts young viewers.
UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, known as CSS, began working with Moonbug in 2023. The center conducted interviews with more than 10 Moonbug team members, including creative leaders across CoComelon, CoComelon Lane, and Blippi, reviewed peer-reviewed research on early childhood learning, and analyzed select episodes of each franchise. The four resulting principles now guide development and creative decisions across Moonbug’s preschool content.
The framework covers four areas: navigating real-life moments, modeling positive relationships, promoting learning through play, and telling authentically inclusive stories. Moonbug published the guidelines alongside academic citations supporting each principle.
Rich Hickey, Moonbug’s Chief Creative Officer, told Variety that the company previously applied child development considerations episode by episode rather than across its entire output. “We hadn’t really had consistency across all of our episodes,” Hickey said. “This partnership allowed us to create an umbrella so we could go, ‘Hey, at Moonbug, everything we make is adhering to these principles.'”
Researchers Find Overstimulation Claims Inconclusive
CoComelon reaches more than 200 million YouTube subscribers and additional audiences on Netflix. The series has attracted criticism for its rapid editing pace, with shots changing every few seconds. In 2022, the New York Times examined the studio’s data-driven content approach, and in 2024, the New Yorker reported that some parents had dubbed the series “Cocainemelon” and described their children as “CoComelon zombies.”
CSS founder and CEO Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, a developmental psychologist and former studio executive at MGM and Sony, said she and the advisory council initially approached the project with the same skepticism reflected in media coverage. After conducting a review of academic literature, CSS found the evidence limited. “We did a review of academic literature to see if, indeed, there is research demonstrating that this kind of children’s media could be addictive, or rapid cuts have a negative impact on young people, and there really isn’t,” Uhls told Variety. “The data is fairly inconclusive.”
CSS also evaluated select Moonbug episodes against a rubric of research-based metrics on a scale of zero to two. Uhls said most content scored a one before the formal collaboration began, indicating room for improvement but not a failing baseline.
Addressing the Caregiver Perception Gap
Uhls attributed some parental criticism to a mismatch between adult instinct and child developmental science. “As a parent, if you don’t understand what’s developmentally appropriate for a child, you’ll rely on your own instincts,” she said. “They watch these shows and cringe; they seem a little over-the-top, and the songs may seem annoying. You start to feel like, ‘This can’t be good for my child.’ But the research actually shows it’s not harmful. It can have positive outcomes.”
Hickey said the published principles serve to give caregivers more visibility into Moonbug’s creative process. “We’re very conscious that kids are spending time with our songs and stories,” he said. “We take that responsibility really seriously, and we want to be more intentional and as transparent as we can to help caregivers understand the experience any kid has watching our content.”
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