“Julie’s Greenroom” Review

It’s been several months since I last posted a review on this blog and I’m sorry about that. I haven’t had much motivation to write because of some challenges I’ve been experiencing in my personal life. I’ll try to post more reviews, but in the meantime I hope you like this one.

In my last post I reviewed The Who Was? Show, a Netflix original series for kids based on the educational book series. As you could tell, I didn’t really care for it. Although it tried to teach kids about famous historical figures in an over-the-top, comedic manner, the humor overshadowed most of the educational material. Thankfully, Netfilx has plenty of high-quality shows for kids and adults. So today I will review the episode Singin’ in the Room from the Netflix original series Julie’s Greenroom in order to provide an example of a much better educational children’s show. Now, I am aware that history and performing arts are two very different subjects. So, I will ensure to keep this in mind throughout this review.

Just like last time, let’s begin by listening to the theme song…

You may or may not be able to tell this based on the title, but this show is hosted by the lovely Julie Andrews. Julie Andrews is known by many for her incredible acting and singing talents. I’m glad to say that it’s no different here. She plays her character so naturally that it seems as if she is the character instead of simply playing the character. This is can be seen when she interacts with the other characters (the Greenies as she refers to them). When she talks to them, it really seems as if she’s encouraging and nurturing real children.

Speaking of the other characters, they’re all written fantastically! Before I get into why they all work so effectively, I believe I should address something very important. For those of you who don’t know, this show has received a fair amount of praise for its portrayal of a gender non-conforming character. However, there are some parents who are uncomfortable with allowing their children to learn about subjects like this.

Now, some of you may be wondering what my opinion on this subject. Well, I would like to try my best to avoid starting flame wars on my blog. Therefore, I won’t be stating my personal views. I will note that this topic hasn’t been blatantly addressed in any of the episodes I’ve seen. To all of the parents reading this post, I would encourage you to do your own research and make your own conclusions.

With that out of the way, I’ll return to my previous point.

Each of characters on this show has their own distinct personality. In addition to Riley; the shy yet talented genius, we have Peri, the glamorous yet loyal social butterfly; Spike, the curious writer; Hank, the enthusiastic and confident musician; and Fizz, the kindhearted newbie of the group.

I’ve seen my fair share of child characters in movies and television shows. They sometimes range from unbearable brats to saccharine Mary Sues, with a few exceptions in between. Thankfully, these characters have achieved an excellent balance of flawed and likable traits. Which leads me to the beginning of this episode.

The episode begins when Peri informs the other kids that it’s Julie’s birthday. They then form a plan to surprise their teacher with a special gift. Then, the kids head off toward the stage to begin their singing lessons. This ultimately leads to the main conflict of the episode. Although Fiz obviously wants to sing with the others, she’s reluctant to do so because of her earlier slip-ups. In this case, the conflict stems naturally from the character’s own traits. This challenges the character without changing any of the characters’ personalities or creating a forced or abrupt problem which otherwise wouldn’t fit the narrative.

The most significant aspect I’ve noticed in many educational shows is the ability to balance the educational and entertaining elements. Some focus so heavily on the educational segments that the show soon becomes monotonous. Some shows put too much emphasis on the entertaining segments and the educational material gets lost. Fortunately, this episode balances its educational and entertaining elements very well. Instead of interrupting the episode with random educational segments, the show follows seeks to achieve an overarching goal of the series or for the episode. In this case, the goal is to prepare a song for Julie’s birthday. Because of this, the educational segments fit in naturally with the rest of the plot.

In addition, the information is demonstrated by the other characters. This encourages the young audience to engage in the activities instead of simply observing the on-screen action. This can be seen in two scenes, the first being when the Greenies are learning about major key and minor key and the other being when they’re learning about the notes used to build songs. This leads me to my favorite part of the episode: the guest star.

In this show, a celebrity guest star will appear about halfway through each episode. Once they come in, they usually continue teaching the skill being taught and occasionally deliver the moral. This episode’s guest star, Josh Groban, steps in to discuss the notes used to build songs and the terms used to describe the number of people singing at once. This episode gives him the opportunity to play an active role in the episode instead of just a celebrity for the characters to idolize. His role is emphasized even further in this episode’s big musical number.

Of course Josh, being the amazingly talented singer he is, absolutely nails this song! However, it isn’t enough for a song to have a gifted singer in order to be considered good. Fortunately, this song exceeds in many other aspects. The lyrics are fun and inventive and deliver the message in an interesting and clear manner. It’s obvious that the songwriter put great care and effort into writing the song.

As you can tell, the song is encouraging the audience to use music and song to express their emotions. Most children’s shows about music and art have conveyed this message in at least one of their episodes. I suspect that there may be a particular reason why this message was selected. For those of you who don’t know, Josh Groban shared his struggles with anxiety and depression in an interview. He also revealed that he hopes to reach out to those dealing with similar problems through his song, “River”.

I’m not certain if these factors were intentionally connected to the selected moral or guest star, but it is likely. Even if this is entirely coincidental, the message is still strong. This segment shows that the writers understand that children aren’t just pawns to make a prophet off of. Despite their innocence and naiveté’, they’re still humans and this episode treats them as such by acknowledging that they sometimes have days which make them feel sad or angry. It also encourages them to express them through music and song.

Now that I’ve covered what I consider the most important part of the episode, I’ll discuss another strong educational segment. During each episode, the guest star not only delivers the moral, but also provides more information regarding the subject being taught. In this episode, Josh Groban teaches the audience about singing in harmony by encouraging the Greenies to practice singing notes used to build songs. Since the characters are learning these skills in order to sing to Ms. Julie for her birthday, the educational segments flow naturally with the plot. This keeps the flow of the episode smooth and keeps the audience engaged.

Overall, this episode does a fantastic job balancing the educational and entertaining elements. The characters are equally balanced with traits that make them endearing and realistic. The show discusses how strongly emotions can affect children in a mature and lighthearted fashion, showing the writers’ respect for their target audience. I highly recommend this to parents who might be interested in showing this to their children. Chances are, they’ll enjoy the energetic tone and gain some valuable knowledge about music and art.