‘Kids’: Pint-Sized Jokes, Warm Smiles

“Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?”

“He didn’t have the guts.”

If that sounds like typical kids’ humor, it is, and there’s more where that came from in “Rosie O’Donnell’s Kids Are Punny,” a buoyant little smile of a show, Sunday on HBO. Inspired by O’Donnell’s book of the same name--a collection of drawings and jokes sent by kids to her show--this family special features real children as well as comic animated stories narrated by the likes of Madonna, Jackie Mason, Mary Tyler Moore, John Leguizamo, Marlo Thomas, Chris Rock and other celebs.

The well-crafted short tales include “The Parable of the Clown,” “Tito the Frog,” “How Nehemiah Got Free,” “The Camel Dances” and the very poignant “Lila’s Last Smile”; they’re written, designed and scored in individual, quirky styles by various writers, animators and composers.

The cartoons are interspersed with segments featuring kids telling jokes on camera, explaining humor--without it, “the world would be all plain and sad”--and even doing stand-up.

As enjoyable as the cartoons are, they’re equaled by the pint-sized joke-tellers, who deliver their best shots as only kids can, with that short “get it?” pause after adult-baffling punch lines, followed by slightly impatient efforts to explain, because they really want to share the fun.

Two highlights: One little girl does a killer imitation of that glazed look that is so often an adult’s response to kids’ humor, and a little boy allows that maybe his jokes weren’t so good in kindergarten, but now that he’s in second grade, he almost always gets the laugh.

O’Donnell’s signature, kid-friendly warmth frames the show in wrap-arounds of animated voice-overs, featuring Rosie as a wisecracking newborn.

* “Rosie O’Donnell’s Kids Are Punny,” Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on HBO. (Repeats Dec. 13, 3:30 p.m.; Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 25, 1:45 p.m.; and Dec. 28, 5:15 p.m.)