Little Doc of Doc McStuffins has everything she needs in her backyard clinic. Through the cartoon's first season, the girl's role as physician and friend to her stuffed animals and toys has helped everyone from uneasy inflatables to her fair share of an impatient patient or two. There's plenty more to say about this African-American girl who won't let a mystery diagnosis keep her down, but Disney Junior is striking while the iron is hot. Earlier this week, Doc McStuffins was blessed with an official greenlight for a second season. The animated series, created by Chris Nee and directed by Norton Virgien, is a production of Brown Bag Films (Dublin, Ireland).
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"And we've heard that the show, particularly as parents watch with their kids, has opened up a family dialogue about the importance of good health and compassion. Importantly, we are also hearing that the show is helping to take the worry out of going to the doctor that so many young children experience."
Furthermore, Disney has announced plans to fast track the Doc McStuffins consumer product launch. Although kids can still expect a few standard items to ride into stores this coming autumn [recent A.I. news: "Int'l Toy Fair 2012: Diz Junior" (02/2012)], like the "Time for Your Check Up" Doc Doll w/Lambie, Disney is working hard to feed the demand for books, apparel, role-play toys, accessories, and more as early as summer 2012 (on through early 2013). Typically, for freshman properties, a consumer product launch will nose its way into the market with practiced ease. But for Doc McStuffins, where Disney also reports a high interest in party goods and DVDs, the sooner the better, apparently. The first Doc McStuffins home video release is already scheduled for late August 2012.
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Doc McStuffins targets basic health issues among children, and in the meantime does its best to demystify "the doctor's visit" as much as possible. The program has even inspired a grass roots program to raise awareness of African-American women physicians.
Dr. Myiesha Taylor, for example, is assembling a "We Are Doc McStuffins" collage as a Thank You to the Dublin-based artists and Disney producers for their acknowledgment and consideration for reflecting a much needed and level-headed increase in diversity programming.
"After watching Doc McStuffins," Taylor writes, "I believe that Doc McStuffins is the Disney character and program we had all hoped for. Not only does Doc McStuffins provide much needed diversity for Disney, it provides us with the ability to refocuses our children on new possibilities for their future."
"Those new futures may end up playing an important role in ensuring the well-being of all Americans. Imagine in a few years there will be another young lady, who will remember watching Doc McStuffins and playing doctor with her stuffed animals, whose "golden ticket" will not come from a singing competition, but in the form of an acceptance letter to the medical school of her dreams. Now that is something worth celebrating."
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The parents guided the way, however, making Doc McStuffins the most-watched cable preschool series launch in history with Adults 18-49 (800,000/0.6). Versus year-ago ratings, the premiere episode registered 2.46 million Total Viewers (+80%), and for the Women 18-49 demographic, 509,000 (+61%).
For April 2012, Doc McStuffins concluded the month as the top program for Kids 2-5 (817,000/4.9), Boys 2-5 (425,000/5.0), and Girls 2-5 (392,000/4.8), as well as among preschool shows for Women 18-49 (385,000/0.6). Furthermore, of the top ten telecasts for Kids 2-5, in the month of April, the top seven slots belonged to Doc McStuffins (the top showing of which tallied 1.406 million/8.4); of the top five telecasts for Girls 2-5, Doc McStuffins occupied four slots (the top telecast tallying 632,000/7.8); and of the top fifteen overall cable telecasts for Boys 2-5, Doc McStuffins again came out on top, occupying eleven of the top twelve slots (the number one slot of which tallied 831,000/9.8).
Additional Reading:
"A New Positive Image for Children of Color" by Myiesha Taylor, M.D., at CoilyEmbrace.com
Previous Diz Junior News:
"Disney Junior Readies Summertime Event" at AnimationInsider.net (05/2012)
"Disney Preps for the Hugglemonsters" at AnimationInsider.net (01/2012)