BE@RBRICK Episodes 1.1 -1.3

Name: BE@RBRICK Episodes 1.1 -1.3
Item: BE@RBRICK Episodes 1.1 -1.3
Author: Review

"Fighting for Their Freedom"

Family Content: +2 Moderately questionable elements.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

The first three episodes of BE@RBRICK, streaming on Apple+, follow the adventures of Jasmine and her four friends, who fight for their right to choose what they do with their lives after a tyrannical rule takes over their town. This power-at-be decides the jobs of everyone in the city with no say. Jasmine and her friends, however, have always wanted to be musicians, so they formed a band and shared their music with the town to spread their message that this power should not have all this control over their lives.

The show teaches strong biblical principles, including why fighting against tyranny is essential and the importance of strong friends and family. However, it does ride the line on teaching kids to follow their hearts and break rules that restrict them, which is a dangerous message, especially for younger kids. Parents should be careful to clarify this and explain how fighting tyranny differs from rebelling against the rules they don’t feel like following. Nonetheless, Movieguide® finds this show acceptable for all audiences.

Content:

(BB, M)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong Biblical elements as Jasmine and her friends fight against a tyrannical force that has taken hold over their town. They combat this tyranny through non-violent means and attempt to change the town’s mind, rather than forcing them to change. Strong relationships between children and their parents are also regularly shown;

Foul Language:

No foul language;

Violence:

No violence;

Sex:

One of Jasmine’s friends flirts with a boy to get them special treatment;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

None; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Mild miscellaneous immorality, including lying, trespassing and stalking.

More Detail:

BE@RBRICK is an animated series on Apple+ that follows the story of Jasmine and her friends fighting a tyrannical force in their town. This force, led by Mrs. Goldbottom, decides the vocation for everyone in the city when they graduate high school. Jasmine and her friends, however, have always dreamed about being musicians and would rather live out their dream than work a job forced upon them.

In the first episode of the first season Jasmine and her friends form a plot to share their music with the town. There is currently only one band – which was formed by Mrs. Goldbottom – and their music is propaganda for the system. Jasmine and her friends have secretly been making their music, and they realize they can share it with the town if they sabotage an upcoming concert. On the day of the concert, they sneak into the school gym and rig a system to cut off the band and play a music video they created. When the concert comes around, their plan works just as they hoped, and by the end of the song, the whole audience is singing along.

Thus, Jasmine and her friends catapult themselves onto the scene. Even though they kept their identities a secret in the video, they’re now in danger as Mrs. Goldbottom and her team hunt for those usurping the system.

During episode two, Jasmine suffers from writer’s block as the band works on their second song. As they repeatedly review the notes so Jasmine can try to work out the lyrics, Mrs. Goldbottom’s team members overhear them practicing. While he doesn’t get any evidence against them, they’re now on the system’s radar and choose a new location to practice. The next day, they receive their first piece of fan mail along with a set of cupcakes, which are unique because they’re not vanilla flavored – the only flavor allowed in the town.

They visit the bakery where the cupcakes come from and find that the baker who owns the shop is a fan. They encourage her to sell these cupcakes, even though it would break the rules. At first, the baker is hesitant but eventually agrees that no harm could come from it and, the next day, begins selling different flavors of cupcakes. The town loves these new flavors, but Mrs. Goldbottom is furious when she finds out and visits the bakery to shut it down. However, her plan is foiled when the townspeople share how much they love the new flavors, and she must allow more than just vanilla to be available for sale in the future.

In episode three, the band is encouraged by their previous win over Mrs. Goldbottom as they realize they are inspiring others to rebel against her tyrannical rule. On the way to class, Jasmine slams into a teacher and drops a drawing of herself as a wrestler. Jasmine realizes that this teacher has always dreamed of being a wrestler, and the band creates a plan for the teacher to live this out. They organize a “Ring and Sing” event where they will perform while a wrestling match occurs, and they invite the teacher to participate.

When she arrives for the rehearsal, she is disappointed that this was not an approved event and is extremely hesitant to join. The band, however, shares a way for her to hide her identity, and the teacher says she’s in after a short trial run. That night, however, the teacher explained that she didn’t want to participate in the event because she no longer wanted to wrestle. While wrestling, she realized that it only made her desire to continue to teach more so.

Now short a wrestler, the band is in a tight situation when Jasmine’s parents show up and have a talk with her. They tell her they are disappointed she kept a secret from them but also share how proud of her they are. Then, they reveal they used to play music and can fill in while band members wrestle. The event is a massive success, but Jasmine is extremely disappointed when she finds out the next day that the other band in town stole their song, and there’s nothing they can do about it.

BE@RBRICK is a quality kids’ show that teaches the importance of standing up against tyranny and fighting for what is right. The show has some funny moments and is generally free of questionable content. However, the show also rides the line of teaching people to follow their hearts and ignore rules that stop them from doing so—a very dangerous and anti-biblical lesson that younger viewers would need to have clarified for them. Nonetheless, this show is acceptable for younger audiences.