The Right Way to Do Children's Media

Kids today are definitely not exposed to decent media, particularly in the area of TV shows.  Watching some of the short films in class today reminded me of this unfortunate reality.  The ones that really stuck out to me were Little Dog Turpie and the one with the pirates (I don't know the name of it and can't find it anywhere; if somebody knows it, would you comment the name below? Thanks!).  When I watched these animations with the knowledge that they are kids' films, I was quite shocked at the content.  And that's unfortunate because it means there are very few films like them.  Films that actually make kids think and expose them to realities of life.  It's important that kids understand some of the hard things of life, and one way to gently ease them into this realization is through children's media.  The two animations I mentioned expose kids to themes of cruelty and death so that when they are exposed to the real thing, it won't come as a complete shock.  Also, I want to point out these films don't end on a tragic note.  They're actually quite light-hearted despite their themes, and that's also important.  

The more we can create films like these and the more we can get rid of stuff like Dora the Explorer, the better off kids will be.  Don't get me wrong, Dora the Explorer was a show I enjoyed watching back in the day.  But, even as a kid, there were days where I would wish it would just stop being so darn predictable.  I mean, wouldn't it be great if a giant hole opened up in front of Dora and Boots as they're walking and singing, and they fell into it?  ...Just to change it up a bit.  Would that be so wrong? Do they have to always follow what the map says and get to their destination every time? What if Swiper imprisoned Boots and kids didn't get to see him for several episodes?  Would that be such a bad idea?
Just sayin'.