This is what you must prepare yourself for when you’re selected to train under Dash Wheeler, the ultimate racing champ.

But training with the Dash Wheeler to become a real life Hot Wheels Racer isn’t something that just anybody can do. You must be selected.

The team this year at the exclusive Hot Wheels camp—composed of the lucky few who have been selected—consists of cooperative Coop; easy-going Mac; brainstorming Spark; clever Brights and competitive Axle (along with his right-hand man, Sidecar).

Members of this bright, competitive, talented bunch must race one another, build high-quality tracks and solve plenty of problems. Last season, it was all about the glory of receiving the most Flame Badges and becoming Camp Champ—which Coop won. But this time, the scores have been reset, the stakes have been raised and it’s anyone’s race. But all of them—win or lose—will go home with important skills, lessons and new friends.

And that includes new racer Cruise. She’s the daughter of the antagonistic (but ultimately silly) Professor Rearview, who has tried and failed multiple times to wreck Hot Wheels City with his ridiculous inventions. Cruise and her dad are determined to beat the young racers and destroy Hot Wheels City forever. But as Coop and Co. learn about teamwork and friendship, they also learn what it means to be a good sport—and that means offering young Cruise kindness instead of taunting.

Yes, winning is important here. But the only real motto here is to never give up.

Racing in Real Life

If you were into Hot Wheels growing up (or if you’re still into them), you’re going to smile at Netflix’s latest original series, Hot Wheels Let’s Race.

This TV-Y animated series, co-produced by Mattel, is aimed at preschool and early elementary-aged kiddos who really love building Hot Wheels tracks and racing cars around for hours.

There are, quite appropriately, bright colors, twisty, mind-bending tracks that appear out of thin air, flame-admitting boosters and allllll of the Hot Wheels vehicles that you can possibly imagine.

With each 20-ish minute episode, the racers get to choose a new car with which to race and then they’re off, learning how to work together, solve problems and truly understand that perseverance and friendship are more important than winning. (Although winning is always fun too.)

This show has a few snarky attitudes and the occasional joke that borders on potty humor. But overall, it’s filled with lessons on cooperation, kindness and integrity—along with pulse-pounding music and enough stunts to satisfy the little thrill seekers in your home.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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Unbelievable!

That’s right: It’s the Wonder Pets—albeit not quite as you might remember them. The original series, which ended in 2016, is relaunching with a new cast of school critters focused on helping other animals in trouble.

There’s Izzy the guinea pig, Zuri the bunny and Tate the snake. And just like the first team of Wonder Pets, these three seem like normal animals. But the moment the walkie-phone buzzes, they burst into action, ready to rescue any animal who calls for their aid.

They’ll rescue a porcupine who’s stuck in a tree. They’ll save a runaway chicken egg. And they’ll do a whole lot more—all while singing the whole time.

But it’s not the rescuing that takes center stage in Wonder Pets. Because just before each adventure, the trio will learn a valuable lesson—one that’ll ultimately help them save the day later on. In one episode, they work through calming their emotions. In another, they teach a bear cub the importance of a good night’s sleep. In a third, they coach a salmon to continue swimming upstream despite the difficulty.

The best part of all? There was nary a content issue encountered during our viewing of the Apple TV+ show—unless you’re upset that the original trio are nowhere to be seen. Nor did we see even a hint of content or socially progressive messaging, thus far, at least.

And that may be a wonder indeed.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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But if there’s one thing Carl loves even more than his collections, it’s enjoying them with his friends. Sheldon, Rocket and twins Nico and Arugula can’t get enough of Carl’s treasures.

And with all the adventures awaiting the kids of Fuzzytown, you never know when those treasures might come in handy…

WHOOSITS AND WHATSITS GALORE

A causal viewer of Carl the Collector might just see an anthropomorphic raccoon with a sharp eye for detail and a fascination with random stuff. But if you pay closer attention, you’ll find that there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

Carl is actually autistic, which causes him to notice things that others don’t and focus like a laser on his interests. His neurodivergence isn’t a banner headline in every episode, but it gives some context to his collecting habits.

Carl’s autism means he sees the world a bit differently than those around him, but as Carl the Collector shows, that isn’t a bad thing. “Sometimes a neurodivergent person is going to have a unique take on something that others can learn from,” series creator Zachariah O’Hara said in an interview with CNN. Carl invents ways to deal with his growing plushie collection that neither his mom nor his friends would have ever considered. He’s able to tell identical twins Nico and Arugula apart by noticing tiny details that other people miss.

This wholesome cartoonis a great way for children like Carl to see themselves on screen. And it’s also an opportunity for other kids to learn that not everyone thinks exactly like they do. Empathy is at the heart of Carl the Collector, and who can argue with that?

Not everything the series sets out to normalize is so admirable, however. Carl’s mother and father are divorced, and while they seem to be on good terms, parents might want to be prepared for that to result in some tricky questions (“Why don’t Carl’s mom and dad live together? Why does Carl spend weekends with just his dad?”).

Carl the Collector is heartwarming, has great lessons about empathy and friendship, and is just ridiculously cute (Carl’s voice actor, 10-year-old Kai Barham, will tug at your heartstrings with every line). However, parents should be aware that it might result in complicated conversations, some on topics that they might want to avoid for now.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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