One of the things kids most enjoy about going to Disneyland is getting to meet the characters up close and personal, and they love seeing their favourites on TV too. But something about the characters on this Vietnamese children’s show are a little…off. This bizarre TV show features a lawsuit waiting to happen, canned children’s cheers, and characters that will haunt your dreams.
Here we have a children’s TV show from Vietnam’s state broadcaster VTV which airs weekly (scroll down to the bottom for a video of a full episode of the show). It’s the same format as kids’ TV the world over: the children sing, dance, take part in quizzes, and generally have a great time. Often these kinds of shows will have people dressed up in character outfits, which the kids love but which often fills adults with a strange sense of unease. And with this show that unease is multiplied to the point that you start to wonder if these children aren’t going to be scarred for life from these bizarre goings on.
Let’s take a look at the three main points that stood out to us.
- Exhibit A – Dubious copyright
In this episode they have some very special guests – Disney characters?! There’s the world-famous Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie along with other well-known characters such as Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger. But there’s something just a bit… strange about them. Somehow they don’t look quite how they should. This isn’t an official Disney channel show, and the quality certainly isn’t up to Disney’s high standards, so we have to wonder if Mickey and Minnie got approval from the Big Mouse to appear here…
- Exhibit B – Characters from your nightmares
There are also a few characters that are harder to identify, so we can only assume that these are the show’s own original mascots. Firstly there’s something with Mickey’s round mouse ears, blue eyes, bright red cheeks, and an absurdly long nose. It’s like an alternate universe Mickey who didn’t quite make it big and now spend his days earning pennies with a travelling circus while plotting his revenge on the corporation that denied him stardom. There’s also an equally disturbing white rabbit who hangs around suspiciously.
▼ Fun dancing times!
▼ O HAI KIDS!
▼ “If I don’t look at him, he can’t get me…”
▼For some reason I’m getting a Five Nights at Freddy’s vibe here.
▼ I don’t know which one of them least wants to be here.
- Exhibit C – Revealing too much
What’s going on with Donald’s neck?! As the character moves around, sometimes you can see the neck and collarbone of the person inside the suit. The same goes for Tigger and Pooh – when they raise their hands you can see the wrists underneath. And going even further, sometimes on this show the people inside the suits actually take them off and show their faces! This is usually a huge no-no for any costumed performer as not only does it break the immersion, but it can leave very young kids either extremely confused and likely to go waking their parents up in the middle of the night crying about dreams of people bursting, Alien-like, out of giant mice.
Perhaps, as an adult, I’m judging the show too harshly. I’m aware that there are many things I watched as a child in the early ’90s that I look back on now and find quite creepy and wonder how my fragile mind coped back then, but I turned out alright in the end. So let’s hope that no copyright claims are filed, and Vietnamese children can keep on enjoying this fun and cheery show every week.
▼ Watch a whole 20-minute episode of the show. You know you want to.
Source: Facebook , VTV CAN THO, YouTube [1] [2]
FNAF gif: FNAF Wiki
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