Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

We spend a LOT of time in our house watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Yeah, yeah I've heard you shouldn't let your kid watch tv before age 2, it'll stunt their development, blah, blah, blah.  I've had friends who have seriously limited their childrens' television watching and all I can ask myself is why. 

First off, I am tired in the morning.  Emma wakes up early and it's hard for me to entertain her when I can barely keep my eyes open.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Disney.  We spend our mornings alternating between Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dinosaur Train, and Sesame Street. 

And lest ye judge me about Emma's development or language skills, my mom and our friends will attest that this child NEVER stops talking.  NEVER.  From the moment her eyes open until she closes them at bedtime and sometimes during her sleep she is all talk, talk, talk, sing, sing, sing.  At almost 20 months she can just about count to 10 on her own, she knows color, she sings her ABCs, she knows most of Twinkle Twinkle.  I have zero worries about her language development. 

As soon as the characters come on the tv Emma greets them all by name.  "Hi Mickey, Hi Gooey, Hi Doald, Hi Minnie."  She can't say grandma, but she knows every character from Mickey, Sesame Street, and all our dogs.

Plus even when the tv is on she isn't sitting mindlessly in front of it.  She is playing with dolls, walking around the living room, hopping, did I mention the singing and talking?  And she is so sweet.  If she notices my eyes are closed she comes over and screams "Mommy" in my face to make sure I'm okay and then she'll cover me with her baby's blanket and put a hat on me.  She also occasionally wants to play catch minus letting me know in advance which mostly results in her throwing things at me.  She hasn't really grasped what's appropriate to throw and what's not and, I'll tell you what, your eyes open pretty fast when you get hit with a remote control car. 

From watching so many episodes (sooo sooo many episodes) of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I do have some questions.

A) Why are there only 6 different episodes?  I cannot watch these same 6 episodes any more.  Get with the program Disney.  I'm sure your animators are locked in a basement sweat shop basement somewhere, but give 'em an extra piece of bread and glass of water and tell them to get on with it already!

B) Where do Mickey and his friends live?  The clubhouse appears to be in the middle of nowhere.  Why don't they have houses.  I mean Minnie has her bow-tique, but no home? 

C)  Why do they keep hanging out with Pete?  He seems like a bully, always demanding beans or coins from them for things that should be free.  He's like a shyster used car salesman (I was going to make a political comparison, but decided it would not be appropriate so I'll leave it up to your imagination). 

D) Are these characters romantically involved or siblings?  Goofy and Clarabell have gone on some dates, but what about Mickey and Minnie or Daisy and Donald?  And how does Minnie had nieces and Mickey doesn't? 

E)  I truly think Daisy is like the sex pot of the show.  I bet her and Mickey had an affair. 

F) If these yahoos didn't have Toodles they would never be able to accomplish anything.  He is the backbone of their whole operation. 

G) Does anyone else think the handy helpers are odd and a little bit creepy? 

Well, I've pretty much used up my morning energy.  I think it's time to make sure my couch still fits the entire length of my body.  I like to check periodically through out the day to make sure I'm not growing still. 

Tune in next week when I critique Sesame Street.