Overview: When 10-year-old Alaska Native Molly Mabray learns about Grandpa Nat’s dream to reach the top of Denali, North America’s highest mountain, she helps him and her father prepare for the expedition.

Meanwhile, her friend Trini Mumford is busy getting ready for her mother’s first visit to Qyah.

DVD Verdict: Just to bring you up to date a wee bit, and aside from being the first ever American Children’s TV Series to feature Alaskan Natives, the series was developed with a group of over 60 Alaska Native writers, producers, voice talents, advisors and musicians.

Furthermore, the advisers are from every region of Alaska where the show takes place and, again, for every character that is Native, their voice actor is Native too.

And so what we watch unfold is the story of a 10-year-old Molly Mabray (voiced by Sovereign Bill) who lets her curiosity guide her adventures in and around the small Alaskan town she calls home.

As a modern girl with Alaska Native heritage, Molly often finds connections between her interests and the experiences of her ancestors, and along with her best friends, Tooey (Sequoia Janvier) and Trini (Vienna Leacock), she enjoys learning more about the culture of the Athabascans and other indigenous people of neighboring Alaskan regions.

With the help of her parents (Ron Harris and Jules Koostachin), who run a local trading post, and the guidance of Grandpa Nat (Lorne Cardinal), Molly sets out to experience everything she can in present-day Alaska and to learn about her predecessors’ way of life.

Indeed, much like Dora the Explorer, Wild Kratts, and Nature Cat the characters here in Molly Of Denali learn something new in each episode.

In truth, Molly is an excellent role model for kids, an enthusiastic explorer and gatherer of knowledge who greatly respects the adults who share wisdom with her.

Some matters of Native people’s histories may need further explanation (as when an elderly woman tells Molly about having been forced to go to boarding school and forbidden from celebrating her heritage), but the show gives kids wonderful exposure to indigenous people and their experiences.

Overall the teaching isn’t blatant, but is the kind that kids will pick up on and parents will be pleasantly surprised at the understanding of technology and cultural themes their children develop.

The writing and characters are really well done also. The characters feel like real people, and the writing is snarky and really intelligent.

Molly, Tooey, and Trini have a great dynamic. I like how brave, selfless, kind and loyal Molly is. She earned the respect of the community of Qyah with all those traits, and didn’t just get simply acknowledged because she’s the title character.

In closing, I am thrilled to see that there is now an ongoing show (for kids or not) about Native children that is respectful, interesting, and shows what people often forget, that Native peoples aren’t gone; we’ve been here the whole time. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.