COVID-19 has been an ordeal for parents and children alike – the struggle of work, childcare, and limitations in learning and playing have completely upended one’s way of life.
So, the Waffles + Mochi TV children’s show is the perfect treat to entertain and educate the little ones about diet and nutrition. Children need to be fully aware of the essential minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients they need for healthy development and growth.
With this 10-episode travel and food TV series, children can now better foster a healthy relationship with food that can last them a lifetime.
Pave the way for healthy eating in the younger ones
Headed by Higher Ground, a production company created by power couple Barack and Michelle Obama, Waffles + Mochi educates children on the importance of healthy eating, the origin of certain foods, and different uses of key food ingredients.
The story begins with two puppets, Waffles and Mochi, who are bent on learning how to cook and whipping after years of ice cream. By chance, the duo stumble upon a grocery truck owned none other than former first lady Michelle Obama right outside their house, and they hop on and travel to our snowless world, where they meet new pals and learn about nonfrozen food.
Together, they travel all over the world in their ‘Magicart’ and get to know renowned food producers, native salt harvesters in Peru, and celebrity chefs, like Massimo Bottura from Italy and Jose Andres from Spain, who will teach them throughout this journey.
An episode runs for about 20-25 minutes, with each focusing on a different base ingredient, from produce like mushrooms, corn, and tomatoes to pantry staples consisting of herbs & spices, salt, pickles, rice, and water.
Its educational element doesn’t just end with cooking, but teaches children the importance of certain morals. For example, pickles teach you about patience, potatoes tell the importance of inner beauty, while salt teaches moderation.
Have you yet to catch the series? Here’s a sneak peek of the trailer:
A little bit of everything: Animation, live-action, puppetry & more
The children’s food programme takes on a diverse approach of combining puppetry, live-action, stop-motion, and all sorts of other animation to create a homemade feel that follows a cook-it-yourself ethos. It moves away from computer-generated animation and its uncanny-valley energy.
Led by Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and a team of around 30 artists and animators, they came up with many animated shots, segments, and enhancements. In addition, they had Six Point Harness creative director Musa Brooker take charge of directing the animated/live-action series.
The visuals used are both vibrant yet thoughtful in helping the little ones understand new concepts. Take the episode on herbs and spices, for instance; once the seasonings aisle becomes empty all of a sudden, the shop backdrop dims to black and white in an illustration that showcases how ingredients give dishes “colour”. Eye-catching animated designs were also used to enhance the various colourful scenes in different countries all over the world.
The main character Mochi was also partially animated, while within her mouth, the animated segment “Taste Buds” occurred. Other standalone animated segments featured also helped in amplifying and enhancing the discoveries made every episode by the characters and a list of guest stars.
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To showcase the different flavours of the countries that Waffles and Mochi visited, animators had to bring in varied style of animations and techniques, including both 2D video production and stop-motion. Altogether, the show managed to successfully put together educational cooking, striking visuals, and helpful guidance for an enlightening and appealing experience for little ones and parents.
When creativity and animation join hands
A touch of creativity and blend of animation styles can give you a whiz-bang masterpiece – be it in the form of a TV programme or animated corporate video.
All that’s left is to join hands with an experienced animation company that is capable of transforming your concepts into a reality. From motion graphics to 3D animation, CraveFX remains at your service!
