Best tv shows like Jackanory
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap-o'-Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 1996, clocking up around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run. The final story, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, was read by Alan Bennett and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The show returned on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories. The show's format, which varied little over the decades, involved an actor reading from children's novels or folk tales, usually while seated in an armchair. From time to time the scene being read would be illustrated by a specially commissioned still drawing, often by Quentin Blake. Usually a single book would occupy five daily fifteen-minute episodes, from Monday to Friday. A spin off series was Jackanory Playhouse which were a series of thirty minute dramatisations. These included a dramatisation by Philip Glassborow of the comical A. A. Milne story "The Princess Who Couldn't Laugh".
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 15 min
Plot tags: anthology, anime, children's story
Best tv shows and movies like Jackanory (1965):
Similar in 89%
Magic Land of Mother Goose (1967)
Plot Summary:
See Storybook Characters Come to Life! Hear Beautiful Songs! Laugh at the Rag Doll! Be thrilled, amazed, and just plain dumbstruck by this kooky kiddie klassick from Mr.Gore himself, HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS!.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 75
Genere: Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 59 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, children's story, fairy tale, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Phoenix and the Magic Carpet (1995)
Plot Summary:
Stuck in their late Grandfather's country cottage with no TV, Anthea, Robert and Chris are resigned to a boring week until they find a mouldy old carpet and a strange golden egg. But when the egg accidentally falls into the bonfire, it hatches into the mythical firebird, the Gloden Phoenix. So begins an amazing journey and the adventure of a lifetime, as the Phoenix takes them to a land of enchantment, magic and fantasy - via a magic flying carpet. Written by L.H. Wong.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 150
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 89%
Phantom Pups (2022)
Plot Summary:
A young boy and his family move into a haunted home, where he meets three adorable ghost pups and tries to help them turn back into real dogs.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Canada
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags:
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Rentaghost (1976)
Plot Summary:
Rentaghost was a British children's television comedy show, broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, which rented out the ghosts for various tasks.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 637
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: detective
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Teletubbies (2015)
Plot Summary:
Welcome to Teletubbyland! Join in the fun with Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laalaa and Po as they learn lots of new, exciting things about the real world. Perfect for curious little minds!.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK, Canada
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
The Demon Headmaster (1996)
Plot Summary:
The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same name. Made for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast between 1996 and 1998. The first series contained six episodes, and aired twice weekly from 2 to 18 January 1996, the second series contained seven episodes, and aired once a week from 25 September to 6 November 1996, and the third series contained six episodes, and aired twice weekly from 6 to 22 January 1998. School location scenes in the first series were filmed at Hatch End High School, in Hatch End, Harrow, North West London and The Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. Other scenes were filmed around West London and the Vulcan Tower is in fact the Atrium building in Uxbridge. CGI was used to make this building appear on a traffic island close to Warwick Avenue tube station. Some scenes in the later series were filmed in the village of Sarratt, Hertfordshire and other locations in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 757
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags:
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The Polos (2018)
Plot Summary:
The Bo Bolu Expedition Team is composed of six children who are brave to explore and love science. They go to the sky to the universe, dive to the bottom of the sea, and shuttle between deserts and rainforests. Bo Bolu's footsteps have crossed the entire planet and happened. A thrilling and interesting story! The six friends not only share knowledge from the real world, but also break the routine and experience some things that seem incredible in reality!.
IMDB Rating:
IMDB Votes:
Genere: Family
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags:
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Ready, Steady, Wiggle! (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Wiggles perform songs for the children with their friends.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 186
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Music
Country: Australia
Duration: 11 min
Plot tags:
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Scout & The Gumboot Kids (2015)
Plot Summary:
A hybrid animated and live-action children's show about mindfulness and nature. The show features Scout, a curious mouse who leads the Gumboot Kids through a series of clues that take them outdoors to solve nature mysteries.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 47
Genere: Family
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags:
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The Magician's House (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Magician's House is a quartet of children's fantasy books by William Corlett. Two mini-series were produced in 1999 for British television, which were directed by Paul Lynch. The series featured Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry voicing some of the animal characters. The books were published in the early 1990s, and named as follows: ⁕The Steps up the Chimney ⁕The Door in the Tree ⁕The Tunnel behind the Waterfall ⁕The Bridge in the Clouds Although in a rural setting, this series' focus on subjects such as industrial development and the combining of present-day and past settings in the plotline gives it a feeling tending more towards urban fantasy than simply contemporary fantasy. In addition, though there is no specific mention of Welsh myths and legends, the strong part nature plays in the stories and the settings bring to mind other British children's authors. Authors like Alan Garner, who is perhaps best known for The Owl Service and Elidor, and Susan Cooper, famous for The Dark Is Rising sequence of books, who allude more specifically to British myth and legend in their writings.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 211
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Super Gran (1985)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from Forrest Wilson's books, the children's programme revolves around a grandmother with super powers and her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 554
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags:
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Today's Special (1981)
Plot Summary:
Today's Special was a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1981 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel/Odyssey as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship location of the now defunct Simpson's in Toronto. Many sequences for it were shot at the Queen Street West and Yonge Street store after hours.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 832
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: educational
Similar in 88%
Katie Morag (2013)
Plot Summary:
Based on the much-loved series of books by Mairi Hedderwick, Katie Morag is a small red-headed girl who lives with her family on the remote and beautiful fictional Scottish island of Struay. Although she lives in a fairly unique setting, her adventures are full of experiences and feelings that all children can recognize and identify with. Her stories are full of jealousy, bravery and rivalry – surrounded by an annoying little brother, busy shopkeeper parents, a perfectly perfect best friend and a couple of grandmothers who between them know everything about everything. The stories celebrate the intrinsic sense of community, the preciousness of the environment and the universal tensions and joys of family life. Katie Morag is a feisty character who has been known to get herself into scrapes but who generally emerges from them (usually with some assistance from one or other of her Grandmothers) in a funny and endearing way.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Family
Country: UK
Duration: 15 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Don't Eat the Neighbours (2001)
Plot Summary:
Don't Eat the Neighbours is a children's comedy series that originally aired in the United Kingdom and Canada in 2001-2002. It was filmed mainly with puppets, but occasionally used computer graphics. The series was focused on the characters Rabbit, Wolf, and their children. Music for the show was done by Jim Guttridge, with the theme done by Dan Gagnon, Sandy Nuttgens, and Michael Scott. Only four episodes were released on VHS and DVD in the 2001 volume A Rabbit for All Seasons.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 166
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: slapstick comedy, computer animated
Similar in 83%
Simon and the Witch (1987)
Plot Summary:
Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy, who has a friend who is a real witch. She is very silly, and a huge showoff.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 188
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 15 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Teletubbies (1997)
Plot Summary:
Teletubbies is a British BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 31 March 1997 to 5 January 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was Tim Whitnall. Teletubbies was also aired internationally in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service public television on 6 April 1998 and aired until 19 June 2005. It would continue to air reruns until 29 August 2008, when it was pulled from the schedule along with Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Boohbah. In 2002, production was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced, with the last episode being aired on 5 January 2001. However, a total of 365 episodes had been produced – enough for a full year. Teletubbies, particularly notable for its high production values, rapidly became a critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad and won a BAFTA in 1998. Teletubbies Everywhere was awarded "Best Pre-school Live Action Series" at the 2002 Children's BAFTA Awards. Although the programme is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it had a substantial cult following with older generations, mainly university and college students. The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and the occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to many who perceived the programme as having psychedelic qualities. Teletubbies was controversial for this reason. Other critics felt the show was insufficiently educational.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: humorous, retro, absurd, funny, light, not serious, controversial, spooky, offbeat, surreal
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In the Night Garden (2007)
Plot Summary:
In the Night Garden is a magical place that exists between the waking and sleeping imagination of children close to the representation of a nursery rhyme.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Music
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: semi serious, feel good, humorous, educational, light, contemplative, weird
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Christmas Star (2012)
Plot Summary:
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IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 207
Genere: Family
Country: Denmark
Duration:
Plot tags:
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Topsy and Tim (2013)
Plot Summary:
Follow the activities of two children.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 198
Genere: Family
Country: UK
Duration: 11 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Reading Rainbow (1983)
Plot Summary:
Reading Rainbow was an American children's television series that aired on PBS from June 6, 1983, until November 10, 2006, that encouraged reading by children. The public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the "Outstanding Children's Series" category. The series was created under the leadership of Cecily Truett Lancit and Larry Lancit, at Lancit Media Productions in New York. The concept of a reading series for children originated with Twila Liggett, Ph.D., and Paul Schupbach, of the Great Plains National Instructional Television Library at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln; and Tony Buttino, of WNED-TV Buffalo, New York. The original team included Lynne Brenner Ganek, Ellen Schecter, and host LeVar Burton. Each episode centered on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which was explored through a number of segments or stories. The show also recommended books for kids to look for when they went to the library. It is the third-longest running children's series in PBS history, after Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street. It was also one of the first PBS shows to be broadcast in stereo.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Family
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: educational
Similar in 90%
Art Attack (1990)
Plot Summary:
Art Attack is a British children's television series revolving around art. The original series was one of CITV's longest running programmes, running from 1990 to 2007, and was presented throughout by Neil Buchanan. The new series launched on Disney Junior on 6 June 2011 and was presented by Jassa Ahluwalia. Each show involved Ahluwalia voicing-over footage of an artist producing three works of art, taking the viewer through the various stages of production step by step. The show's latest series is hosted by Lloyd Warbey. The new series launched on SAB TV on 10 June 2013 at 7 am IST.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Family
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, educational
Similar in 75%
Take Hart (1977)
Plot Summary:
Take Hart is a British children's television show about art, presented by Tony Hart. It took over from Vision On, and ran from 1977 until 1983. The show featured Hart and the animated Plasticine character Morph, and other characters created by David Sproxton like 'Smoulder the Moulder', which was a lump of mould which would create props by 'spraying' them out of a spray can. The only other human to appear on a regular basis was Mr Bennett, the caretaker, played by Colin Bennett. The programme won a BAFTA award for Hart in 1984. As well as demonstrating small-scale projects, Hart also created large-scale artworks on the TV studio floor, and even used beaches and other open spaces as 'canvases'. This idea was later adopted by Art Attack. A regular feature of the show was 'The Gallery', which displayed artworks sent in by young viewers. The easy-listening vibraphone music accompanying this feature - "Left Bank Two", composed by Wayne Hill - has passed into British TV musical lore. In later series, "Left Bank Two" alternated with John Williams' recording of "Cavatina", which is also well-remembered by many viewers.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Family
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: claymation
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Dani's House (2008)
Plot Summary:
Dani's House was a British BAFTA-nominated children's sitcom series that aired on CBBC, starring Dani Harmer. The first series premiered on 26 September 2008, and its fifth series concluded on 19 July 2012.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 413
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, semi serious, fun
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The Phoenix and the Carpet (1997)
Plot Summary:
Four young children hope for anything to happen and, when they become owners of the Phoenix, their adventure begins.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags:
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Andy's Wild Adventures (2012)
Plot Summary:
Children's nature series. Andy Day embarks on wild adventures with his puppet friend Kip the cat. Their adventures take them all around the world in search of weird and wonderful animals.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 31
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 14 min
Plot tags:
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Boohbah (2003)
Plot Summary:
Boohbah was a children's television show. It premiered in 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom, and on 19 January 2004 in the United States on PBS until 2 July 2006. It was created by Anne Wood with scripts by Alan Dapre and Robin Stevens. Anne Wood also created the children's show Teletubbies, and Boohbah is produced by the UK's Ragdoll Ltd. and the USA's PBS Kids. The similarity between this show and Teletubbies, both of which have a "science fiction" theme, is notable. One of the show's trademarks is a child's voice pronouncing the show's name in sing-song. "Boohbah" means "doll" in Hebrew, but it is not clear if this influenced the name of the show, or even if the creators are aware of this.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 614
Genere: Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 20 min
Plot tags: educational, funny, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, semi serious, weird, learning, nostalgic
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The Box of Delights (1984)
Plot Summary:
Based on the classic children's novel by John Masefield, the story follows the exploits of a young boy, Kay Harker, who finds himself drawn into a world of magic and danger when he encounters an old Punch and Judy man.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 177 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
The Jim Henson Hour (1987)
Plot Summary:
The Jim Henson Hour is a short-lived television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the popular Muppet characters. Only nine of the twelve episodes produced managed to air on NBC before the low-rated program was cancelled. Two later aired on Nickelodeon in 1992 and 1993, and the final episode never aired in the US, but it did air in the UK in 1990.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 524
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: anthology, exciting, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1991)
Plot Summary:
A storyteller in a labyrinth tells his dog the stories of Perseus and Medusa, Icarus and Daedalus, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus and Euridyce.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, mysterious, anthology, exciting, semi serious
Similar in 85%
The Worst Witch (2017)
Plot Summary:
Join Mildred Hubble in CBBC's adaptation of The Worst Witch books, written by Jill Murphy.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: entertaining, humorous, feel good, light, captivating, spooky