Slow animation for small children
Animation for small children that does not wind them up.
MelloToons makes deliberately slow episodes for children aged 1 to 5, with gentle pacing, natural sound and no cliffhangers. There is no advertising or autoplay, and each episode comes with a note for parents on what to talk about.
No account. No card. No sales call.
- No advertising on any tier
- No autoplay, and every session has a clear end
- A companion note for parents with each episode
The problem
Most children's content is engineered for attention capture: rapid cuts, saturated colour, constant stimulation and escalating sound.
Parents observe their child becoming dysregulated afterwards and feel guilty, but the alternative is nothing, and free platforms serve autoplay content of unpredictable quality with advertising aimed at toddlers.
Who it is for
Parents of children aged 1 to 5
Parents who allow some screen time and are uneasy about what it does to their child's behaviour afterwards.
Families who travel
Parents who want episodes downloaded for offline viewing when travelling.
Homes with more than one child
Families who want a separate profile for each child.
Check screen time before it becomes a habit
Pick your child's age and put in a typical weekday and weekend. See the week against WHO guidance for under-fives, and how close screens run to bedtime. Runs in your browser. No account, no card, no call.
What the guidance says
For two to four year olds, WHO guidance is no more than one hour of sedentary screen time a day, and less is better.
Screens end within an hour of bedtime. Many sleep guides suggest stopping about an hour before bed.
Take this with you
No email required. It is your result.
MelloToons — screen time check · 58 min a day on average, 6 h 45 min a week · Within WHO guidance for this age · Screens end 30 min before bed Run it yourself: https://mellotoons.com
Source: World Health Organization, Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age, 2019.
How it works
MelloToons, from the first step to the result.
- 1
Start with the free library
Free episodes, permanently, with no advertising.
- 2
Watch a gentle episode
Gentle pacing, a real story and an explicit end.
- 3
Talk about it afterwards
The companion note suggests what to talk about.
Built on the opposite principles
Deliberately slow animation for children aged 1 to 5, made so that stopping is easy and the device is put down without a fight.
Long shots, gentle pacing
Long shots and gentle pacing instead of rapid cuts.
Natural sound, limited palettes
Natural sound and limited colour palettes, rather than escalating sound and saturated colour.
Real stories with pauses
Real narrative with pauses, and no cliffhangers between episodes, so stopping is easy.
A stated intention per episode
Each episode has a stated developmental intention, such as emotional vocabulary, patience or curiosity about the physical world.
A note for the parent
A companion note tells the parent what to talk about afterwards.
No ads, no autoplay
No advertising and no autoplay, and an explicit end to every session.
Questions people actually ask
Is there advertising?
No. There is no advertising on any tier, ever.
Does the next episode play automatically?
No. There is no autoplay, and every session has an explicit end.
What makes the animation different?
It is deliberately slow: long shots, gentle pacing, natural sound, limited palettes and real narrative with pauses, with no cliffhangers between episodes.
What age is it for?
Children aged 1 to 5.
What is free?
A free episode library, permanently.
What does the full catalogue cost?
7 dollars a month or 59 dollars a year, including offline downloads for travel and multiple child profiles.
What is the companion note?
Each episode comes with a note for the parent about what to talk about afterwards, alongside the episode's stated developmental intention.
Why should I trust the screen time check?
The limits come from the World Health Organization's 2019 guidance for children under five, named on the page. The rest is arithmetic on the minutes you enter.
Pricing
A free library, permanently. Subscribe for the full catalogue. No advertising on any tier.
Free library
Free episodes with no advertising and no autoplay.
- No advertising
- Companion notes for parents
MonthlyRecommended
The full catalogue.
- Full catalogue
- Offline downloads for travel
- Multiple child profiles
Yearly
The full catalogue, paid yearly.
- Full catalogue
- Offline downloads for travel
- Multiple child profiles
No advertising on any tier, ever. Prices in USD.
Check screen time before it becomes a habit
Pick your child's age and put in a typical weekday and weekend. See the week against WHO guidance for under-fives, and how close screens run to bedtime. Runs in your browser. No account, no card, no call.
Open the free toolIt runs in your browser. MelloToons never sees your inputs.