Thus the Nickelodeon show “The Backyardigans” is a rarity among cartoons. It uses children to voice its young characters and relies on real people to perform the characters’ dance moves, which are then translated to picture form.

Preschoolers evidently enjoy that realism, as “Backyardigans” has become one of Nickelodeon's top shows with kids 2-5.

The show placed first on basic cable and broadcast last week, the week ended April 8, in the demographic, one usually dominated by other Nick hits like “Blue’s Clues,” “Dora the Explorer” or “Go Diego Go.”

The Friday 10:30 a.m. episode of “Backyardigans” averaged 1.139 million viewers 2-5 last week, 8,000 more than the “Wonder Pets” show that followed it.

They combined with “Blue’s” with 964,000 2-5s at 10 a.m. to give Nickelodeon its best 90-minute block of the week in the demographic.

The show has been on the rise for the last few weeks, following the debut of four all-new episodes that boosted “Backyardigans” to No. 1 two out of the last three weeks.

Not all of “Backyardigans” is realistic. The five lead characters are brightly colored talking, walking animals such as a blue penguin and a purple kangaroo who get together each day in their backyards to play, dance and sing songs. They concoct elaborate imaginative adventures that are seriously researched by the show’s producers.

For example, for an episode last fall in which singer Alicia Keys provided a guest voice, the kids pretended to go to Mars. The show included realistic details gleaned from NASA to make their space travel seem more real.

Two children provide the voice for each character, with one doing the talking and one doing the singing.

The somewhat complex choreography is filmed first with real-life dancers, and that footage is sent to the show’s animators, who then mimic the movements to the smallest detail.

The show, which debuted in fall 2004, has one more realistic detail: Each mini-adventure ends when one of the preschool-aged animals’ stomach growls, signaling the end of playtime and the start of snack time. 

Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending April 8:

Among teens 12-17: Fox was first with a 2.4 rating and 9 share, followed by ABC at 1.5/6, CBS at 1.3/5, the CW and Univision at 1.2/4, NBC at 0.9/3, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.

Among kids 2-11: Fox led with a 1.7/7, followed by ABC and Univision at 1.2/5, CBS at 1.0/4,  the CW at 0.7/3, NBC at 0.6/3, Telemundo at 0.2/1, Telefutura at 0.1/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0.

The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. “The Backyardigans” (Nickelodeon, Friday 10:30 a.m.); 2. “Wonder Pets” (Nickelodeon, Friday 11 a.m.); 3. “Blue's Clues” (Nickelodeon, Friday 10 a.m.); 4. “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Nickelodeon, Friday 2 p.m.); 5. “Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon, Friday 11:30 a.m.)

The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. “Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9 p.m.); 2. “Naked Brothers Band” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 8:30 p.m.); 3. “Ned Declassified” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9:30 p.m.); 4. “Ned Declassified” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 8 p.m.); 5. “Fairly Odd Parents” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 10 a.m.)

The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. “Josh & Drake” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9 p.m.); 2. “American Idol” (Fox, Wednesday 9 p.m.); 3. “Naked Brothers Band” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 8:30 p.m.); 4. “American Idol” (Fox, Tuesday 8 p.m.); 5. “Ned Declassified” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9:30 p.m.)