March 2008 Releases for ages 2-5

Bob the Builder: The Three Musketrucks
Everyone's favorite builder and his Can-Do Crew join together to get the job done and have fun doing it in five new stories demonstrating the power of positive thinking, teamwork and the importance of a job well done. Meet new characters Dodger, Scrambler and Packer. Stories include: "Dodger the Milktruck;" "The Three Musketrucks;" "Dodger's Dairy Disaster;" "Scrambler the Goat Herder;" "Packer's Big Delivery."
Age: 2-5.
45 min.
Short from TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Braincandy: Smell My World
Kids love to sniff out all kinds of scents! Sweet & stinky kids find out what the nose knows. Nusi Nose and Bruce Brain sniff the answers to scent-sible questions. Kids turn lemons into lemonade and discover how smell can keep them safe! Blues & Jazz.  Adult Juror Comments: Younger children will probably find this visually appealing, but the idea of learning about the sense of smell without actually smelling anything is a bit far-fetched. The segments are short and sweet with good ideas such as using a game show format. There are dance breaks to keep the kids from getting antsy, but they seem to make it a bit manic. There are lots of things that toddlers will find appealing in this program: children their own age, puppets, bright colors, things that they see in their own world, but will they "get" watching other children smelling to understand smelling??? Production values are not very high.  Kid Juror Comments: Kids were attentive to parts of this but under 2's were unenthusiastic. They said the puppets were cute and funny, and the babies were cute. When asked what certain things smelled like in the video, they gave mixed responses. They wanted to show that they knew the answers to the game show questions by touching the screen. Some shouted out the names of the body parts of the puppets represented. They loved the slapstick elements, i.e. food being dumped on the nose, and the nose taking a bubble bath.
Age: 0-3
DVD. 40 min.; $14.99
Independent short from BRAINCANDY.

Braincandy: Taste My World
Testing tongues is lip-smacking fun! Yummy and yucky, sweet and sour, Bruce Brain and Mojo mouth taste their way through a delicious adventure. Trying new foods becomes fun and helps children discover new things about the world. Country tunes get kids moving. Adult Juror Comments: Educational and fun with excellent information promoting healthy eating and living. Love how people of all ages are involved. It gives it a plus in terms of intergenerational role models. The graphics and production technical aspects are clear and concise. Excellent pace, great colors. It is well thought out, makes good use of puppets. One juror said, "This is the best children's educational DVD I have seen in a long time."  Kid Juror Comments: Loved it. Especially when they get to guess what fruits or vegetables the kids are trying while blindfolded. They related to the images of food onscreen - apples, oranges, peaches with ice cream! Yum, that was a favorite. They could laugh and giggle and still learn about food and taste. The language is perfect, not over their heads. They enjoyed answering the questions asked. Another part they talked about was when the show discussed eating dirt, and the puppet thought it was chocolate cake. That brought a good laugh. They also enjoyed the scene with the milk mustaches on the puppets - it is something they could relate to. Fun and enjoyable overall.
Age: 0-3
DVD. 40 min.; $14.99
Independent short from BRAINCANDY.

Care Bears: Sharing in the Summertime
There's plenty of adventure when those loveable Care Bears are around! In "The Show Must Go On," Patti's dad can't leave work to come see her star in her school pageant - or can he?  Then, in "Concrete Rain," Professor Coldheart is dumping concrete from his airplane so little Suzy can roller skate everywhere!  In "The Girl Who Cried Wolf," young Jill's pals get trapped in a cellar because she sent them on a phony treasure hunt.  Finally, in "Dry Spell," pals Joey and Elaine discover an underground river during a drought - but they're stuck in a cave! Whatever the problem, the Bears are there to lend a paw - and lots of love, too!
Age: 2-5.
44 min.
Short from TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Care Bears: Up and Down
Come join in the Care Bears' latest great adventure!  In "Cheer Up," Cheer Bear decides to throw a party for Surprise. But she becomes un-cheery when Surprise turns out to be un-surpriseable!  So she distracts Surprise with "tasks" like picking flowers, hopping through town on one foot, and doing everything in reverse, so that the Bears can plan the party! Then in "Down To Earth," Wingnut's Care Bear Transporter beams Funshine to Earth so he can teach a lonely young boy how to make friends and have fun.  But then the Care Bear Transporter breaks...and unless Wingnut can fix it, Funshine won't be able to return to Care-a-Lot!
Age: 2-5.
44 min.
Short from TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT

It's A Big Big World: The Big Sleep
Created by Emmy®-winner Mitchell Kriegman, set in a lush rainforest lives Snook, a giant dancing sloth lives in the World Tree with his diverse group of animal friends. Together they investigate the world around them and learn about science, nature and environmental stewardship. Includes: "The Big Big Sleep" where the characters of the World Tree get their rest. "Go to Sleep Wartz" where everyone wants to play all the time and never sleep again. "Sleepover: When Wartz" where Snook explains what causes lightning and thunder and addresses why they frighten us. "Sounds of the Forest" where jungle noises are frightening enough to keep you from sleeping until you find out where they come from. "Hot Enough For You?" There is no breeze in the hot World Tree and Winslow hypothesizes that if he can find out who in the tree is cool, he will know who has taken the missing breeze. He goes to visit the other animals, learning how everyone handles the heat, but he can't find the breeze thief anywhere. Finally, Snook explains that if there isn't air moving from one place to another as part of the weather, there isn't any wind to make a breeze. But there is something they can do to beat the heat - take a nap!  "Sloth Lessons" -  After Winslow tells Bob that he should try being more carefree, Bob decides that since Snook is the most laid back animal he knows, he is going to become Bob the sloth. But, after spending some time with Snook eating, moving and sleeping like a sloth, Bob realizes that he isn't made to be a sloth, and there are some really neat things about being an anteater. Adult Juror Comments: Excellent show with winning characters that children and adults both enjoy. It teaches important life lessons such as: children who can't sleep, the first big sleepover, dealing with feats and dealing with scary sounds. With the right kid, this can be a great learning tool. It also encourages kids to seek out more facts in books and creates interest in things such as nature and ecology and the rain forest. Offers good talking points for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Great puppet characters who are diverse (representing the diverse world of humans) and all get along quite well together. Excellent quality. Very crisp and bright.  Kid Juror Comments: Loved it - especially the music. Some danced along with the kids on screen. It was a bit long to take in one stretch and doesn't break easily into sections. There was a lot of wandering off and some fussing. The "I can do it" message comes through loud and clear and resonates with the kids.
Age: 2-5.
DVD. 74 min.; $14.94.
Feature film from SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

It's A Big Big World: Fish out of Water/Burdette's Nest
Bob comes across a rock with an image on it that looks like Ick. Snook and Madge explain that the rock he found is a fossil and explain how fossils form. There is a hole in Burdette's nest so she thinks she may need to move. Smooch, Madge and Snook help Burdette to fix up her nest as good as new.
Age: 2-5.
29 min.
Short from WAINSCOTT STUDIOS

It's A Big Big World: You Can Do It!
Includes five episodes which demonstrate how everyone has different talents and abilities.  Adult Juror Comments: Well done. Educational and entertaining at the same time. The quality of the content is excellent. I love the talking animals. The songs are very enjoyable, but the pace is a bit slow. The breakdown of the movie helps the kids learn each lesson. The interactions are stereotypical but not in a negative way. The language used is age appropriate and the lessons help kids learn about things in life such as echoes. Kid Juror Comments: Enjoyed it. The kids liked the characters. "The turtle is a teacher. "It's funny." "Bob has a funny sound he makes when he is scared. It's funny when he hears that scary noise." "The wolf was mean." "I liked how they played and swung on the vines together." "They help people." In general, the kids enjoy it because it is humorous, and the characters are engaging. "We learned about echoes." Several kids clapped along to the songs. "Sometimes you sing with the movie." One child reported learning about how frogs eat bugs. Another wanted to learn more about animals like zebras and all the animals in the show. They voted unanimously to watch it again. All had favorite characters and favorite funny parts.
Age: 2-5
DVD. 74 min.; $14.94.
Feature film from SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Juno Baby: Indie's Great Teddy Bear Hunt
Embark on a whimsical journey through nature in a quest to find Indie's hide-and-seek loving teddy bear. Children are invited to help Indie find his teddy by solving the clues at each new hideout. Adult Juror Comments: Cute, age appropriate, good message. Nice continuity with other titles in the Juno Baby series. The story moves smoothly and makes sense. Very suitable for children. The problem they had to resolve was one they could relate to. Good modeling of kind social interactions as well as problem solving.  Kid Juror Comments: Liked it. "I like the animals." "I like the story and when they are all looking around." "There was a little bit of not nice, but then everyone tried to be nice to each other and did a good job." "My friends would like it because we like to play hide and seek." "GREAT" "We all liked it and it was fun!"
Age: 2-5.
DVD. 35 min.
Independent short from JUNO BABY

Play with Me Sesame: Imagine with Me
Pretending is so much fun with Elmo, Zoe and their friends! Dance with Grover, bake make-believe cookies with Prarie Dawn and Cookie Monster and help Bert scare away monsters in Ernie's bedroom.
Age: 0-3 min.
Short from GENIUS PRODUCTS.

Play with Me Sesame: Let's Play Games
Everybody's favorite game show host, Guy Smiley invites you to play along with his Sesame friends! Try to "Name that Sound," play Grover Hide-n-Seek and count with The Count as he attempts to win a big prize.
Age: 0-3 min.
Short from GENIUS PRODUCTS.

Sesame Street: Ready for School
Elmo is ready for school! Gabi and Miles are graduating from high school and share their favorite school memories with Elmo. Baby Bear remembers how nervous he was on his first day. Now Elmo is so excited about school that he can't wait to start!  Adult Juror Comments: Very enjoyable. Kids love Elmo, and this title does not disappoint. It has great color and characters. Very appropriate for this age group. Definitely models positive behaviors such as sharing and learning letters of the alphabet. The words of the songs are appropriate and positive in their meaning. The pace is very good and the interaction between characters very good. Elmo is definitely the star. Offers the opportunity for adults to share their memories of their own first day at school.  Kid Juror Comments: Kids loved it. "I like Elmo. He is funny." "Elmo playing at school was my favorite part." "Gabi and Miles told Elmo about graduation and their first day at school." "My friends would like it because they like Elmo, too. "We sang along when they showed the first day of kindergarten for Gabi, and Miles and sang the ABC song." They asked to see it over and over the same day they first viewed it.
Age: 2-5.
DVD. 45 min.
Short from SESAME WORKSHOP

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Tale of Tails
Meet Wubbzy! He's a fun, loveable, curious little guy who is always looking to have a good time with his friends, Widget and Walden, in the town of Wuzzleburg where the importance of open-mindedness, honesty and friendship are discovered while having fun! Using Widget's crazy inventions and Walden's vast brain-power these three friends work together to solve their problems and learn a lesson or two along the way.
Age: 2-5.
88 min.
Short from STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT