I’ve found this cartoon thanks to Marie Cachet recommendation back in 2016-ish.

It’s produced in France and there are 52 12-minute episodes based on an older comic book – but the series has been unfortunately discontinued.

Here is the official channel for the episodes in English – https://www.youtube.com/@yakarienglishofficial3469/videos

The official description:

Yakari, a Sioux boy, lives everyday as a great adventure in the wilderness with his best friends, Rainbow and Buffalo Seed, his horse Little Thunder and his protective totem, Great Eagle, who gave him the power to talk to animals!

The cartoons are tasteful, educational, and touch upon a lot of topics. The main theme is sustainability and life in harmony with nature and humans around you.

I don’t think I can find anything toxic about the cartoon, it’s showcasing a healthy animistic worldview and there is no monotheistic/judaic BS that I’ve spotted.

There are a lot of hints at

The theme of animal totems is also very interesting and – the Great Eagle appears to guide the main hero through challenges and helps him

Pros:

• The cartoon is well-drawn
• It focuses on reason and intellect without being materialistic
• The episodes are short and accessible even to the little kids, – but every episode has a nice plot twist
• Some episodes are pretty deep and touch spiritual topics you can discuss with older kids
• The cartoon is a great entry point for learning English
• Kids love the intro song and the cartoon is a great addition to your daily routine and watch it before bedtime
• Some parts are pretty funny.

Cons:

Can’t think of any, perhaps one thing is that the cartoon is hiding some aspects of animal life from us. You can discuss with your kids how all the wolves/bears/mountain lives still eat other animals when we’re not watching, because they are predators and that’s how they function.

But the whole cartoon is far from a hippy vegan fairytale – Yakari’s tribe hunts buffalo and other animals, they eat meat – but they do it in a sustainable way and without putting too much pressure on wildlife.

You can watch Yakari even with small kids – it’s not too fast-paced, without clippy editing or and other dumb stuff modern cartoons have.

Older kids will not find it too boring either.

Both of my kids loved Yakari – and we watched the whole series several times over the years.

The Pagan Father Score: 10/10