Yo Gabba Gabba! Is Finally Cracking The Mainstream

By Akela Talamasca on March 8th, 2010

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Sometimes it takes a while for adults to catch on to something kids already know. Case in point: Yo Gabba Gabba!, the Nick Jr. program that features tons of musical guests, cutting-edge animation, and enough pop culture references to keep even the most jaded hipster entertained. The show debuted in 2007, and will soon air its third season.

So why is it suddenly hitting big? When you combine the goofy fun quality of the visuals with its outstanding indie band line-up — past groups have included The Shins, Mark Mothersbaugh, and the Aquabats, not to mention the regular beatbox feature starring Biz Markie — you can’t help but be noticed by stars whose kids turn them on to the show. Entertainment Weekly magazine covers this phenomenon in its latest issue, which is on shelves now. It offers a great deal of encouragement from such luminaries as Christina Aguilera, who has performed in a past episode said “The Music Yo Gabba Gabba! offers is like no other kids’ show. It’s nice to have something my son, Max, enjoys that’s also fun for me.”

Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen chimes in: “A friend showed me some of it, and right away I was like, these songs are great. It was obviously a cool show. I told my manager to get me on it!” It is, in fact, so successful that a movie is being planned, but there is no release date as yet. Future episodes will feature more musical guests, including Weezer, a bit of whose performance you can catch on ew.com.

When designing a kids’ show, it’s easy to play it too twee and obvious. Yo Gabba Gabba! is just pure fun without being cloying or simpleminded. Check out the rest of the story in the latest Entertainment Weekly.