More and more millennials are growing out of the traditional TV sets to more convenient gadgets and second screens in order to explore the budding world of online kids’ content. So much so that YouTube found it essential to launch a kids’ specific app.
While creating a full length animation episode will cost you a bomb, it is relevantly easier to create short video clips for the toddlers such as educational videos and short stories. Many such YouTube channels are gaining speed and views.
AnimationXpress.com explored the video streaming giant and came up with India’s top ten online channels that you can treat yourselves and the young uns’ around you to make learning fun with animated characters.
Hooplakidz
Let your kids sway and learn the popular nursery rhymes with Annnie, Ben and Mango singing and dancing as well as fun original songs. This apart, the channel also features stories from Aesop’s fables, spelling videos and some interactive ones as well. With over 1,406,276 subscribers and over 1,176,984,970 views for its videos, close to 10 videos are uploaded on a monthly basis.
Poems for preschoolers form a majority of the list of videos that form its portfolio. While some videos are short with just a few minutes, others can go up to nearly two hours. The ‘Wheels on the Bus go round and round nursery rhyme for children’ is the most popular video with 126,577,974.
Chu Chu TV Kids Songs
Another popular channel, this Chennai based company boasts of over 996,122 subscribers in a short span of just two years. The team at Chu Chu comprises creative artists, educators and marketers who use its characters as teachers and role models for kids.
Most of its videos consist of nursery rhymes with colourful 2D animation in HD such as Baa Baa Black Sheep, Rain Rain Go Away, Wheels on the Bus, Johny Johny etc. Nearly four videos are uploaded on a monthly basis with the maximum views for one being 124,957,84.
CVS 3D Rhymes
Based in Hyderabad, CVS 3D Rhymes creates a range of videos to entertain kids not just in English but also in other Indian languages such as Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi. The 3D videos include not just nursery rhymes and stories but also short films and devotional songs.
With over 969,134 subscribers, its 282 videos have garnered over 1,061,076,461 views. Most of its video list includes nursery rhymes and songs which are popular in each of the above mentioned languages. However, majority of the videos are English ones with its Alphabet Song scoring 128,196,96 views. CVS 3D Rhymes also gives a lot of importance to videos on the English alphabet. Maybe it may explore other languages also very soon?
Appu series
A friendly cute elephant Appu will greet your screen when you log on to this channel. This channel gives a lot of general knowledge for youngsters such as informative rhymes, listicles on famous personalities, jokes and a series of ‘why things happen’ in 2D animation. This apart some videos are also in Spanish and French.
Currently having 541,490 subscribers, it’s got a total of 445,436,709 views for its videos in five years. While the main channel has videos in English, other sub-channels have videos in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Rajasthani and Sindhi which have both animation and live-action videos.
Videogyan
About five new videos will treat you every month covering a range of topics such as songs, nursery rhymes and basic information such as number drawing in 2D animation. The Bengaluru based company has over 512,992 subscribers with 543,680,669 views since 2011.
The finger family collection is its highest rated song with 183,374,877 views. The finger family doesn’t only cover human ethnicities, but also animals, fruits etc. Its description says, “We believe in producing rich, reliable and clean content that kids are passionate about and give them an unforgettable visual experience and by that, we bring kindergarten at your doorsteps.”
Edewcate
Catering to kids in the ages 2-8, a range of videos in English, Hindi, Telugu, French and Spanish are created by Edewcate. The videos include rhymes, songs, stories, finger family, shapes, alphabets etc in both 3D and 2D animation. The Finger Family Medley has got the highest views with 38,384,411. The finger family seems to be its most popular series.
With 344,397 subscribers, the videos have got about 351,859,285 views in all since 2009.
Rajshri Kids
From one of India’s biggest entertainment houses, comes a kids’ dedicated channel Rajshri Kids with over 107,293 subscribers. This page is dedicated entirely to fairy tales, moral stories and mythological videos told in 2D animation. It also has its fair share of nursery rhymes.
Having garnered nearly 107,308 subscribers since 2009, the growth has been slow as compared to other channels with maximum views being given by an alphabet song with 4,464,735 views. While majority of the videos are in English, select ones are also in Hindi.
Green Gold
This is the YouTube channel of the company that created India’s most popular animated character Chhota Bheem. Viewers can be treated to videos of Chhota Bheem, Krishna, Mighty Raju, Arjun and other characters.
With 104,708 subscribers in all, the highest viewed videos are the Jam Jam Jambura song from Chhota Bheem and the Curse of the Damyaan movie. The channel has short snippets of videos which are not available on television.
Turtle Interactive
Turtle Interactive has around 83,238 subscribers tuned in to its variety of rhymes, songs and alphabet songs in 2D animation. Even here ‘the wheels on the bus’ is the most popular video with over 30,905,516 views. Turtle Interactive’s videos are soothing to the eye with pleasant colour combinations used. The animation seems like something that you would spot in a Tinkle comic book.
Geethanjali Videos
Another Chennai based production house, Geethanjali Videos indulges in producing animated 2D content ranging from Indian mythology to Indian gods and goddesses as well as tales of wit, wisdom and humour. The video gallery features popular stories from Jataka Tales, Panchatantra, Aesop’s fables, along with poems and songs.
Though it has been in existence since 2008, it’s only managed to catch about 78097 subsribers and 71,612,706 views for its videos. This given that it puts out nearly 10-12 videos per month. All the videos are only in English and of short durations.