Animals on Screen: Representations and Anthropomorphism in Australian Preschool Television

Animals feature regularly on children's television, exposing children to implicit and explicit messages about the natural world. Although animal representation and anthropomorphism have been examined across children's media, film, literature, and popular culture, less is known about how animals are portrayed in preschool television, particularly in relation to biological and ecological accuracy. This study examined animal representations in programs aired on ABC Kids, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's free-to-air children's television channel, using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. A total of 947 episodes from 92 programs were analyzed, with a subset of 265 episodes (43 h and 45 min) from 39 programs examined in greater detail. Animals were prominently featured, appearing on screen for 88% (171 h and 40 min) of total programming time, with programs featuring animals as central characters accounting for 41% (81 h). Nearly all central animal characters exhibited anthropomorphic traits, such as walking, talking, dressing, or behaving like humans. Inaccuracies in species depiction were common, including portrayals of animals in human-like social structures, unrealistic environments, and mixed predator-prey groupings, alongside a hierarchy based on roles and relationships. These findings indicate that realistic portrayals of animals and the natural world were uncommon. The study highlights the need for greater consideration of how animal characters are represented in preschool television, and how imaginative animal portrayals might be balanced with biologically and ecologically grounded depictions. Further research should examine how such portrayals influence children's understanding of animals and their connection with nature.