Aimed at young children, the program has a magazine format, with several segments, some humorous, others educational presented in a simple, straightforward manner. Many of the show's early viewers are now adults whose children are forming the second generation of viewers. It is not uncommon for children to watch the program with their parents or for children to stop watching around the age of 10 or 12 and then come back at the age of 18. Each show consists of several segments, the
Lachgeschichten ("laughing stories") purely to amuse, and the
Sachgeschichten ("
non-fiction stories" or "documentaries"), short educational features on a variety of topics, such as what must be done before a
plane can take off, how holes get into
Swiss cheese or stripes into
toothpaste. These are punctuated by a short cartoon with the mouse, often with one or more of its friends.
Introduction The show starts with its
theme music, unchanged since 1971. Today, another foreign language would be introduced every week. Unique and identifying sound effects, as well as music comprise the soundtrack as the characters interact and solve problems, often in contradiction to
laws of nature, but very much within laws of the animated world. The animated interludes serve to separate the segments, offering young viewers a moment to relax, avoiding sensory overload from too rapid a succession of input. Segments have covered such topics as: • How re-usable
hand warmers work • How the Internet works • How a
hot-air balloon flies • How to make electricity from lemons, enough to light a light bulb • How a
cell phone works • How
solar cells work • How
weather and
temperature relate to each other A complete list of all documentary stories broadcast to this day is collected on the website of the show.
Airbus A321-100 D-AIRY “Flensburg” with the Mouse A stuffed toy "Mouse" flew into
outer space and was a "guest" on board the Russian
Mir space station, where it appeared in an educational segment. The stuffed toy was later brought back to the producers on earth. The mouse is often visually included as drawing, print or stuffed toy in documentary segments where a familiar focus point would serve an otherwise overwhelming experience. A number of the educational segments have also dealt with difficult topics, such as life in Germany in the aftermath of
World War II, and death. Care is taken to explain things in a way that is comprehensible to young children. Analogies are used to explain concepts, These toy Roman legions are now housed in three museums in different parts of Germany. "Big words" are not used, and difficult concepts are broken down and described while they are being shown on camera. This is designed to free children from the more abstract concepts and devices of language, thus giving their minds space to comprehend the concepts explained rather than having to struggle comprehending the language of the explanation. Nonetheless, the educational film shorts are such effective presentations of their subject matter, a number of them are used as teaching tools at universities and colleges. The characters of Käpt'n Blaubär, his grandchildren, and Hein Blöd were created by
Walter Moers and made popular by Moers' book,
The Lives of Captain Bluebear and Blaubär's appearance on
Die Sendung mit der Maus. Käpt'n Blaubär is voiced by veteran German actor
Wolfgang Völz, with deep
timbre and an
accent of the
Low German common in coastal area of Germany. This educational film short, broken up into segments because of its complexity and length, showed the various stages of production and the amount of work required to create a single episode of
Shaun. The episode of
Shaun seen in production was then broadcast in its finished state at the end of that
Mouse.
Schnappi One episode featured a little crocodile named
Schnappi (Snappy) singing about his life in Egypt on the Nile. The song went viral in Germany and became a hit in other countries as well. ==Awards==