Star power, stellar messages in charming animated series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
very little
Many of Cedric and Nia's adventures have aspects of violence: Cedric tries to teach Nia how to rescue someone from a tower (who presumably was trapped there by a creature with bad intentions); a witch uses a winch to drop aspiring knights into a pit; not-quite-knights joust on a battleground. However, characters usually find a way out of actually clashing physically: They trick the witch into letting them go, rivals run away instead of fighting, etc. There's a running gag about Cedric stepping in "cow poop" and others smelling it.
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No swearing, but jokes sometimes circle around slightly off-color topics, like a running gag about Cedric stepping in "cow poop" and others smelling it. "You're a heck of a troll," Cedric tells a character at one point.
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Strong messages of courage and compassion. Adventures illustrate lessons about valor, kindness, and inclusion, and, at the end of each episode, Cedric sums up the lesson—e.g., "You should never underestimate your opponent; you don't know what they might teach you." Even the show's theme song contains positive messages: "Be the real you, be the true you, it's the greatest thing you can do."
Positive Role Models
a lot
Most characters are kind and thoughtful. Cedric, Nia, and Andrew talk at great length about what it means to be courageous and true and have plenty of chances to practice what they preach. Knights and not-quite-knights are brave and courteous: "You bested me honestly and you fought well," says young Cedric after a jousting match, while his rival, Green Leaf, modestly says, "I was fortunate in victory today." Some characters are explicitly called "villains" or given fairy tale evil character types (e.g., "witch," "troll"). They're often presented as physically unattractive or called things like "big, smelly, and gross." But some trolls are helpful, and when a character asks whether "all trolls" are good at something, Grunt responds, "I think that's a stereotype."
Diverse Representations
a lot
The Bravest Knight centers around Cedric, a White man who's married to Prince Andrew, a Latino man. Together they have an adopted daughter, Nia, who's Black. Nia is in the start and end of every episode and features prominently in the show's key art, but young Cedric gets the bulk of the screen time, as the main plot of each episode is a story from his youth. Everyone is cast in line with their on-screen identities. The characters' race and ethnicities aren't directly addressed, nor is Cedric and Andrew's relationship—these identities are simply accepted. Cedric's best friend, Grunt, a purple-skinned troll, defies the troll stereotypes Cedric grew up believing. One episode features Stanley the Big Bad Wolf, a male wolf who wears a dress and bonnet and is voiced by famed drag queen RuPaul. Like with Cedric and Andrew, Stanley's gender identity isn't discussed. Stanley's issue is that he blows houses down, but Cedric learns that Stanley's not the villain Cedric thought he was.
Each episode has a social-emotional lesson that older Cedric shares with his daughter, Nia, through a story from his younger days in a fantasy realm. Cedric sums up each lesson for Nia at the end of each episode. Younger viewers might need more discussion around the lessons for them to fully land.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Bravest Knight is an animated series about a young girl who's learning how to be a knight from her two adoptive dads. The same-sex relationship at the emotional heart of the story is straightforwardly introduced: The husbands say loving things about each other, while the show overall focuses on messages about courage, compassion, and living an authentic life. Violence is toned down; heroes are more likely to use their wits to escape dangerous situations than to physically fight—but characters like trolls and witches can be slightly scary and may do things like trap a group of young knights in a pit. Knights are unfailingly kind and brave, always ready to help those in some kind of need, and willing to go the extra mile to do their duty. Kindness as an important aspect of courage is emphasized repeatedly. Some jokes are slightly off-color, such as a running gag about a character stepping in and then smelling like "cow poop." Voice talent is diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual identity, and strong messages about inclusion and thoughtfulness are both implicit in storylines and underlined at the end of each episode.
The creators clearly added a "diverse" family to check their boxes, but the story centers a White boy. The Black characters get very little screen time and nothing more than background characters. This could easily have been a show about a family instead of the stories of a White boy.
Inclusive family representation, great messages, and genuinely funny moments
My kids LOVE this show! They love the adventure and the characters, and I like that the "knight lessons" focus on nonviolent (though sometimes tricksy) solutions to problems. Episodes are 12 minutes long and, while they are episodic in terms of having an "adventure-of-the-week" format, there is also an overarching storyline, which I appreciate because I think that improves kids' attention spans for more longform narratives. Be warned, however, the closing credits theme song is PAINFULLY BAD.
What's the Story?
Based on the book The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived by Daniel Errico, THE BRAVEST KNIGHT takes place in a peaceful kingdom, where 10-year-old Nia (Storm Reid) is an aspiring not-quite-knight learning the ropes of the gallant-and-brave trade from her adoptive dads Cedric (T.R. Knight) and Prince Andrew (Wilson Cruz). It's not always easy growing up into a hero, but with her family and friends on her side, Nia is slowly but surely getting there.
This sweet and charming animated adventure series lives up to the hype. Besides The Bravest Knight's rich premise—who can resist a quirky coming-of-age tale with lots of adventure?—the best thing this series has going for it is the rich voice talent. With Grey's Anatomy's T.R. Knight as a sympathetic Cedric, Reid (A Wrinkle in Time) as a spunky Nia, and a positively bonkers array of guest-starring voices—RuPaul, Christine Baranski, Wanda Sykes—the voice talent is not just choice and diverse, it's also drawn from a wide spectrum of LGBTQ+ Hollywood. Kids may not catch it, but it matters, nonetheless.
While The Bravest Knight ruffled some feathers for having two dads at the center, the show is full of gentle messages that are easy to love. A lesson to Nia about not trusting things that come easily winds Cedric through an anecdote about the time he and a cadre of brave not-quite-knights fooled a witch into accidentally setting them free from her trap. And a warning not to underestimate your rivals introduces viewers to the noble not-quite-knight Green Leaf (also voiced by Reid), a diminutive girl who was so determined to become a great jouster that she learned how to turn her size into a battle advantage. By linking bravery with hard work, valor with kindness, and strength with compassion, this series gives kids the very best kind of adventure: It's exciting without being stressful and uplifting instead of aggressive. Count this battle won, Bravest Knight.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can discuss how the setting in The Bravest Knight compares to the real world. What aspects of this world are rooted in fantasy? Is any of it relevant to the real world? What place does fantasy have in entertainment? Does entertainment always have to have a strong message, or can it just be fun?
Kids: How is your impression of the world shaped by what you see on television or in movies? Have you ever changed the way you view something because of something you saw on-screen? If so, when? How can we use this power of the media to influence positive change?
Characters in The Bravest Knight generally find a way around using violence to solve problems. What would happen in real life if you tried these same methods? Is the (lack of) violence realistic? Do you like stories in which characters evade danger with wit and cunning rather than use force?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
