It's been many years, but I find myself warning young parents about this show frequently. I have never been one to blame TV for any behavior. I have 5 children. My 4th child is 14 years older than my 5th, so my first 4 never saw this show. I thought it was cute in the beginning. Then my 4 year old started acting out like dramatic pouts and crying over little things. He had never acted like that before, and when I stopped putting that show on for him, it stopped fairly quickly. He is now 14 and has never been in trouble. Bus drivers, teachers, doctors... they all talk about how good he is. I teach my kids to go with the flow and adjust to new things. If you make a big deal about it, then they make a big deal about it, and this show teaches them to do just that. All my grown children are well adjusted, productive, responsible, and contribute to society, so I think I did alright with raising them. Luckily I pay attention to what they watch at such a young age and stopped this one quickly.
10 Reviews
better than dora
stsurinb12 July 2018
While the show isn't as anything good as Steven universe or adventure time in education cute and adventure its still pretty good and nostalgic and while it seem to be a Dora the explorer rip off but Chinese it still has good visuals and great Characters and it was a shame it was cancelled
Better Than Dora!
Jace_the_Peanuts_Fan23 January 2024
I liked Ni Hao, Kai-Lan when I was little, but I lost interest in it when I got older, mainly because I believed the false claim a lot of people have made about it being a rip-off of Dora the Explorer. I went on this page in October 2023 so I could do a negative review, but then I saw a review that said NHKL was a good show for autistic kids. I liked the sound of that, with me being on the spectrum myself, and I thought to myself, "Maybe it's not as bad as I remember. I shall revisit it at some point. Doing a review on it can wait." I watched a few episodes on Paramount+ recently, and I now like it again! It is much better than Dora, and it fixes most of the problems I have with the latter! I read in another review that the voice of Dora sued the creator of Kai-Lan for ripping off Dora, which led to the former getting canceled. That's a stupid reason to cancel it because it's fake news, though it's easy to see why people would think that it's true.
Even though Kai-Lan does ask the audience dumb questions at times, similar to Dora, but she handles her fourth wall breaking in a more tasteful manner than the latter and teaches Chinese instead of Spanish. Thankfully the former knows where things are and doesn't scream all the time. She always asks the audience how they think her friends are feeling and what they (her friends) should do to work out their problems, and a lot of the time she answers, "I think so too!" I don't think those questions are that dumb because they're opinion based questions, and I agree with some of Kai-Lan's opinions (e.g., in the episode where Hoho hits Rintoo, she thinks that the former should use his words to say how he feels instead of hitting, and I'd have to agree). Her catchphrase, "You make my heart feel super happy!", is extremely heartwarming! I can't imagine how anyone could go wrong with a catchphrase like that. Making other's hearts happy can easily make me (and probably you) happy too!
I agree that this is a good show for autistic kids and kids at heart. Why? It shows how to handle emotions, which can be hard for those on the spectrum at times, including yours truly. Kai-Lan always says that whenever you feel too mad, all you have to do is calm down. In the episode I mentioned earlier where Hoho hits Rintoo, Kai-Lan's grandpa Yeye (I think that's Chinese for grandpa) gives the former a time out for doing such a thing, gently explains to him that hitting hurts, says that he can get out of time out when he (Yeye) comes back in the playhouse, and doesn't yell at Hoho or spank him at all (after all, that would go against the message about not hitting people. That's a violent way to punish kids if you ask me). Kudos to Yeye! I'm sensitive to loud noises, including yells and screams, and I've had a strong dislike for being disciplined for all my life. I vaguely remembered the aforementioned episode before revisiting it, but I forgot about Yeye's gentleness. Now I always strive to be good and stay on my best behavior, but I wish would've revisited it sooner or didn't lose my memory in the first place because I now have a better understanding as to why parents and guardians sometimes give their kids timeouts when they misbehave after all these years. I've heard complaints about the characters throwing temper tantrums and being angry so easily, and that's another one of the main reasons why I used to hate this. They always learn from their mistakes and find a way to work things out, which makes the aforementioned criticism somewhat invalid, though some of those moments can be mean-spirited. The show also promotes acceptance and diversity, which some non-autistic people may struggle with around autistic people. Even though Tolee can be shy and the characters are all different in their own ways, they still include each other in their activities and don't leave anybody out. I heard theories about Tolee having autism, and I think it could be true because he has various symptoms of the spectrum (e.g., he has a special interest in pandas, it takes longer for him to calm down than everyone else, he has angry outbursts when frustrated, has a stuffed panda for comfort, cries easily at times, has anxiety, etc.)
One of the main things I like about this, other than what I already mentioned, is the art style. It's bright and colorful like many other preschool shows. The characters have extremely cute, anime-like designs. Most of them have big heads, big eyes, and small bodies, somewhat resembling Funko Pops. Kai-Lan's head is shaped similar to Mickey Mouse's head.
I give this a 7/10 for a reason: there are some major aspects about it I don't like, like how Kai-Lan talks down to the audience from time to time, the mean-spirited moments I mentioned earlier, and most of all, the characters sing the lesson over and over again in some episodes. There are a few episodes where the lesson is sung 2-4 times, which gets repetitive. This is one problem with Dora that hasn't been fixed here.
If you don't like Dora, watch Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. Maybe you'd like this better!
Even though Kai-Lan does ask the audience dumb questions at times, similar to Dora, but she handles her fourth wall breaking in a more tasteful manner than the latter and teaches Chinese instead of Spanish. Thankfully the former knows where things are and doesn't scream all the time. She always asks the audience how they think her friends are feeling and what they (her friends) should do to work out their problems, and a lot of the time she answers, "I think so too!" I don't think those questions are that dumb because they're opinion based questions, and I agree with some of Kai-Lan's opinions (e.g., in the episode where Hoho hits Rintoo, she thinks that the former should use his words to say how he feels instead of hitting, and I'd have to agree). Her catchphrase, "You make my heart feel super happy!", is extremely heartwarming! I can't imagine how anyone could go wrong with a catchphrase like that. Making other's hearts happy can easily make me (and probably you) happy too!
I agree that this is a good show for autistic kids and kids at heart. Why? It shows how to handle emotions, which can be hard for those on the spectrum at times, including yours truly. Kai-Lan always says that whenever you feel too mad, all you have to do is calm down. In the episode I mentioned earlier where Hoho hits Rintoo, Kai-Lan's grandpa Yeye (I think that's Chinese for grandpa) gives the former a time out for doing such a thing, gently explains to him that hitting hurts, says that he can get out of time out when he (Yeye) comes back in the playhouse, and doesn't yell at Hoho or spank him at all (after all, that would go against the message about not hitting people. That's a violent way to punish kids if you ask me). Kudos to Yeye! I'm sensitive to loud noises, including yells and screams, and I've had a strong dislike for being disciplined for all my life. I vaguely remembered the aforementioned episode before revisiting it, but I forgot about Yeye's gentleness. Now I always strive to be good and stay on my best behavior, but I wish would've revisited it sooner or didn't lose my memory in the first place because I now have a better understanding as to why parents and guardians sometimes give their kids timeouts when they misbehave after all these years. I've heard complaints about the characters throwing temper tantrums and being angry so easily, and that's another one of the main reasons why I used to hate this. They always learn from their mistakes and find a way to work things out, which makes the aforementioned criticism somewhat invalid, though some of those moments can be mean-spirited. The show also promotes acceptance and diversity, which some non-autistic people may struggle with around autistic people. Even though Tolee can be shy and the characters are all different in their own ways, they still include each other in their activities and don't leave anybody out. I heard theories about Tolee having autism, and I think it could be true because he has various symptoms of the spectrum (e.g., he has a special interest in pandas, it takes longer for him to calm down than everyone else, he has angry outbursts when frustrated, has a stuffed panda for comfort, cries easily at times, has anxiety, etc.)
One of the main things I like about this, other than what I already mentioned, is the art style. It's bright and colorful like many other preschool shows. The characters have extremely cute, anime-like designs. Most of them have big heads, big eyes, and small bodies, somewhat resembling Funko Pops. Kai-Lan's head is shaped similar to Mickey Mouse's head.
I give this a 7/10 for a reason: there are some major aspects about it I don't like, like how Kai-Lan talks down to the audience from time to time, the mean-spirited moments I mentioned earlier, and most of all, the characters sing the lesson over and over again in some episodes. There are a few episodes where the lesson is sung 2-4 times, which gets repetitive. This is one problem with Dora that hasn't been fixed here.
If you don't like Dora, watch Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. Maybe you'd like this better!
Cute little show!
fcasanover5 May 2008
My son and I have just recently started watching this show. I think it's cute, and it's nice to see that there are more shows being made that help children to learn about places other than America, and languages other than English. Let's face it, no little kid is going to sit and watch the Travel Channel with mom and dad and not become comatose. Shows like this are a nice change. I'm Hispanic, so naturally wanting my child to speak Spanish, we watch Dora and Diego, as well as practice on our own, but this show is a nice way to learn new things, not just for my son, but for myself too. I loved the episode with the ants and the tire swing. That ones been the cutest so far.
Really cute, fun, entertaining, and educational show
Catherine_Grace_Zeh24 March 2009
Wow! This is a really cute, fun, entertaining, and educational show. I said that because I watch this on Nickelodeon and the Noggin network with my 4-year-old nephew from time to time. It's hard to say which show on the Noggin network is the best. If I had to pick, this would definitely be one of the cutest. Still it's really cute, fun, entertaining, and educational. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the people at Nickelodeon and the Noggin network really know how to reach a toddler's developing mind. Now, in conclusion, if you have children, nieces, or nephews, I strongly recommend this really cute, fun, entertaining, and educational show. I guarantee you that they will enjoy it.
Great show!
cooldudeben-5799630 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This show is great! the show teaches about chinese culture and how to handle your feelings. the voice acting is great,the animation is good,and there is always a good lesson,my only problem is that they sing the lesson over and over. and people say its a rip-off of dora, witch i feel is not true. but i respect whoever thinks it is opinion. people also say it makes there kid do bad stuff. witch i dont understand, for example, in the episode were hoho (the monkey ) hits rintoo (the tiger) hoho gets punished. if the characters dont do the bad thing, they wont learn there lesson. so what do i think, its a great show with cute characters, and great lessons, i give it a 10/10.
Excellent Show
erlpatterns17 March 2015
My niece and nephews (twin 2 yr olds and a 5 yr old) love this show. It presents situations that encourage dialogue between adults and kids about situations that they may face. Not all the characters are perfect, in fact they all have flaws, which is why it's set up for teaching, because life isn't perfect and even kids will run into conflict.
It's fun and bouncy and the characters are the kind of cute that kids seem to love. Education about social behavior, Chinese culture and problem solving.
Overall, a good show.
It's fun and bouncy and the characters are the kind of cute that kids seem to love. Education about social behavior, Chinese culture and problem solving.
Overall, a good show.
Wonderful Nick Junior show from my childhood!
trainboy432 January 2023
Still love this show as of today. And I really want Nickelodeon to bring it back. And I do not care what these people think. And there's a huge difference between Dora and Kai-Lan: Hear me out; Dora speaks Spanish and Kai-Lan speaks Chinese. And hopefully Karen Chau will do something about her show being cancelled for a very stupid reason. Caitlin Sanchez and her parents were just lousy enough to sue Nickelodeon and tick off the Chinese government. I'd love to see Ni Hao, Kai-Lan crossover with The Loud House. (aka still my favorite modern Nickelodeon show.) Despite it going downhill with Season 5.
A good show for autistic kids
dmarks-0731512 January 2021
This show teaches emotions and I like emotions especially learning how to cope with them. I like how it teaches mandarin because it can help people talk to other people. It is not good as voltron but it is a good kid show.
The most amazing kids show ever!!!!
lexirained15 July 2022
This was the most amazing childhood show! I loved the diversity. It taught me so much about Asian culture; wish it wasn't cancelled!! Kia lan was so funny and I loved all of the characters! She went on fun adventure and I loved her movie!
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