Tot TV Watch

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a fun Playhouse Disney show with improved animation featuring classic Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. This is an interactive show that encourages preschool viewers to help accomplish the tasks necessary to complete the episodes goal. Along the way different preschool aged concepts are taught including shapes and numbers. It is one of those more subtle educational shows and more entertaining for kids because of the surrounding plot, which often also includes funny moments, especially when Goofy is involved.

In the episode Mickey starts by inviting the viewers to his clubhouse, which you help him summon with the magic words “Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse.” Shortly thereafter the episodes activity and/or problem is introduced and Mickey Mouse gets four Mousekatools, which are held by an robot backpack called Toodles. These Mousekatools include 3 known items and a mystery Mousekatool that will prove to be just what is needed in one circumstance later in the episode. Whenever a Mousekatool is needed Mickey encourages viewers to use logic and help choose which tool will help in the given situation.

Overall this is a fun preschool show because of the entertaining plots. Plus, it has the benefit of being at least slightly educational. Oh, and it is such an eye appealing animated show, especially in comparison to the old Mickey Mouse cartoons, which have an old charm that unfortunately most kids these days do not appreciate.

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Bear in the Big Blue House: A Bear for All Seasons is a fun DVD for preschoolers that like Bear in the Big Blue House. Also, since the show is no longer on TV it is a good way to introduce kids to this show who have never seen it before and it is definitely one of those old shows worth showing new generations of preschoolers. The show teaches about different things with its fun plots with fun songs and a lovable big Bear character. The only issue with this particular DVD of Bear in the Big Blue House is that the title implies it covers all four seasons, but it really only ends up covering summer and fall.

The first episode is about summer and is called “Summer Cooler.” The second episode is about fall and is called “Falling for Fall.” The third and final episode is called “All-Weather Bear.” This episode deals with different weather including sunshine and rain, but it in the end seems like another summer episode with them going swimming. It could arguably be classified as a spring episode. One thing is for certain winter is not covered at all on this DVD. Thus while I still think this is a great show and DVD of the show, I think it is important to not be expecting to see all seasons represented as if you then you will be very disappointed as I was.

This DVD also has a nice special feature of Sing Alongs for four of the songs featured in the episodes on this DVD. The songs are “In the Middle of the Summer” from the “Summer Cooler” episode, “Falling for Fall” from the episode of the same name, and “Good Morning” and “Weather” from the “All-Weather Bear” episode.

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This upcoming week (May 12 through May 16, 2008) is My Friends Tigger & Pooh Mystery Week in the Playhouse Disney segment of the Disney Channel. I really do not see how it is much of a specially themed week, as the episodes are always mysteries. It is however a celebratory way to lead up to the new episode airing this Friday. Below is a list of this week’s line up as part of the special week. All episodes are at 9:30am Eastern time.

Monday, May 12th’s episode is called “Chasing Pooh’s Rainbow/Lumpy Mixes a Mystery.” In the first part Pooh searches for honey at the end of a rainbow. The second part is about Roo and Lumpy figuring out how to mix the right colors in painting a birdhouse for his uncle (if I remember correctly they are trying to create purple).

Tuesday, May 13th’s episode is called “Pooh’s Double Trouble/Eeyore Sleeps On It.” In the first part the Super Sleuths learn about mirrors in reflections. The second part is about them trying to keep Eeyore from sleepwalking.

Wednesday, May 14th’s episode is called “Darby’s Tooth and Nothin’ But the Tooth/Snow Problem, Roo.” The first about is about Pooh and Tigger trying to find Darby’s lost tooth. In the second part Roo learns about why her snowman is shrinking.

Thursday, May 15th’s episode is called “No Rumbly in Pooh’s Tumbly/Pooh Sticks Get Stuck.” In the first part the Super Sleuths try to figure out why Pooh’s tummy is not rumbling. In the second part they try to figure out why the river has dried up.

Friday, May 16th’s episode is the new episode called “Peck Peck Peckin’ on Rabbit’s Door/Flowers from Roo.” The first part is about a mysterious sound keeping rabbit awake. The second part is about butterflies appearing in the area.

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Tomorrow (May 10, 2008) is Mousekatool and Handy Manny Morning on Playhouse Disney. It is a fun alternating line up for fans of Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, however, it may be a sad morning for those that like other normal Playhouse Disney shows like My Friends Tigger & Pooh (this does have an upcoming special week starting Monday, though). Part of this interesting special line up includes a new episode of both shows.

The episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse start on the hour and Handy Manny episodes start on the half hour. The line up lasts from 6am Eastern/5am Central until noon Eastern/11am Central. Below is the line up of episodes.

6am Eastern/5am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Daisy’s Pet Project”

6:30am Eastern/5:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s “Sculptor Manny/Manny Goes Solar”

7am Eastern/6am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Donald’s Special Delivery”

7:30am Eastern/6:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s “Squeeze Sticks/Basketball for All”

8am Eastern/7am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Mickey’s Big Band Concert”

8:30am Eastern/7:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s “Bloomin’ Tools/Ups and Downs”

9am Eastern/8am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s new episode called “Clarabelle’s Clubhouse Carnival” about Mickey having a carnival in which people pay in corn kernels to go on rides and play games with the corn kernels going to help Clarabelle feed chickens

9:30am Eastern/8:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s “Skateboard Park/Cowboy Manny”

10am Eastern/9am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Mickey’s Handy Helpers”

10:30am Eastern/9:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s new episode “Talent Show/Abuelito’s Yard Sale” about Manny fixing a piano before a talent show and the tools accidentally selling someone’s rocking chair at a yard sale

11am Eastern/10am Pacific: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Goofy the Homemaker”

11:30am Eastern/10:30am Pacific: Handy Manny’s “Light Work/Abuelita’s Tomatoes”

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Beyond Watching the Show, where I give some ideas of activities for kids that enjoy a particular show that go beyond just watching the show. If you have more ideas of activities for this show please comment and share your ideas. Also, please comment here if you have a request of a show to feature in an upcoming edition of Beyond Watching the Show.

This week’s show is Little Einsteins.

Little Einsteins Print and Color Pages: This part of the Playhouse Disney site has coloring pages to print and color of the Little Einsteins characters including the Rocket they travel around in.

Musical Instrument Crafts: These are not Little Einsteins themed, but being musical instruments they do fit in well with the main aspect of the show being music. This site includes crafts such as making a box guitar and paper plate maracas. Kids can decorate however they want and perhaps even use some Little Einstein graphics to make them actually Little Einsteins themed.

Little Einsteins Birthday: This guide to throwing a Little Einsteins birthday includes some related activities to play that very well could work any day with a group of Little Einsteins fans. This guide also includes instructions on making a Rocket ship cake, however, the lack of actual photos makes it seem like it would be hard to actually follow successfully.

Mission to Learn: This activity on Playhouse Disney’s website is a interesting way to learn about different things. You start by selecting a Little Einsteins episode. Then there are different objects to select and information is presented related to them including about the featured artists and composers for the episodes.

With a special Little Einsteins week coming up next week on Playhouse Disney I thought it would be good to to an extra DVD review this week on one of the Little Einsteins DVDs. I do not know if this is the best Little Einsteins DVDs, but it is the first one I personally watched and I was impressed by the bonus feature it has.

Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid contains three episodes of the Little Einsteins show. The first episode is the same as the name of the DVD. “The Legend of the Golden Pyramid” episode is about the Little Einsteins going on a mission in Ancient Egypt to find the golden pyramid and unlock it to release the music inside. The featured tune for this episode is by Johannes Brahms.

The second episode on this DVD is called “Dragon Kite.” In this episode the Little Einsteins end up in China helping to find Dragon Kites and return them to the kite festival at the Great Wall of China. The tune featured in this episode is by Edvard Greig.

The third episode is called “Annie and the Little Toy Plane.” This episode is set in San Francisco. In the episode the Little Einsteins help a toy plane rescue a helicopter that is stuck in a giant redwood tree. The tune for this episode is by Wolfgang Amadeau Mozart.

If you have not noticed from my other TV on DVD reviews, bonus features are something I think is important to be included on DVDs. Really if there is not a good bonus feature, then why would I want to buy a DVD of a show I could just record on Tivo or my DVR. This DVD does not disappoint in regards to its bonus feature. The bonus feature is a great interactive storybook game called Little Einsteins Storybook Mission: Where’s Froggy’s Family?

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Next week stating Monday, April 28, 2008, is Little Einsteins Animal Adventures Week on Playhouse Disney. This week features episodes of the Little Einsteins at 8am Eastern/7am Central. The episodes all feature animals as a main part of the adventure. This all leads up to a new episode of Little Einsteins airing on Friday, May 2.

The episode for Monday, April 28, is “He Speaks Music!” In this episode they help a baby Chimp find his parents by listening to the sounds of the Ivory Coast’s Comoe National Park. The featured tune is by Bedrich Smetana.

The episode for Tuesday, April 29, is “Mr Penguin’s Ice Cream Adventure.” In this episode they help Mr. Penguin get his ice cream truck over the Andes Mountains. The featured tune is by Schubert. I did not realize there was a penguin Little Einsteins episode. I hopefully will catch this episode for my Television Shows with Penguins series on my Antarctic blog.

The episode for Wednesday, April 30, is “Jump for Joey.” This episode featured them going with a baby kangaroo to an animal talent show in Australia, which involves them meeting other Australian animals such as koalas. The featured tune is by Georges Bizet.

The episode for Thursday, May 1, is “The Mouse and the Moon.” This episode is about the Little Einsteins helping a mouse make a special delivery to the moon. The featured tune is by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The new episode premiering on Friday, May 2, is “Animal Snack Time.” This episode is about them bringing snacks to baby animals in Africa and Big Jet stealing them before they can do so.

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On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, Playhouse Disney has a special Earth Day line up of shows called Playhouse Disney’s Going Green. Many of the episodes/shows are earth, animal, and/or environmentally friendly themed.

It starts with an episode of Stanley at 6am Eastern time/5am Central time. Stanley is an older Disney show that I think gets overlooked often these days because of its early timeslot. Those who have seen it I think can agree that no matter what episode they show it ends up fitting in for Earth Day because Stanley is always encountering and learning about at least one animal. The episode chosen is a particularly good one for Earth Day. It is called “The Curse of the Angry Coral/A Little Bird Told Me.” In the first part Stanley learns about Coral Reefs in the Caribbean. In the second part Stanley contributes to his community.

The 6:30am/5:30am timeslot is the episode of Jojo’s Circus called “Sleepover Surprises/How Does Your Garden Grow.” In the second part JoJo and Goliath plant squirting flowers.

The 7am/6am timeslot is the episode of The Wiggles called “Picking Flowers.”

The 7:30am/6:30am timeslot is the “Wayne’s Cycle Recycle/Wayne’s Wet Pet” of Higglytown Heroes. The first part about Wayne going to the recycling center is what makes this fit in very well with the Earth Day line up.

The 8am/7am timeslot is the “Whale Tale” episode of Little Einsteins. This ocean adventure episode includes them visiting the Great Barrier Reef.

The 8:30am/7:30am timeslot is the “Minnie’s Picnic” episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In this episode the theme seems to be kind of stretched as the only Earth Day connection is that they have a picnic in a park.

The 9am/8am timeslot is a new episode of Handy Manny. This new episode is called “Sculptor Manny/Manny Goes Solar.” In the first part Manny and tools recreate a broken statue. In the second part Manny makes a sign powered by solar energy.

The 9:30am/8:30am timeslot is the “Lumpy’s Alvin Goes to Pieces/Rabbit’s Eggcellent Adventure” episode of My Friends Tigger & Pooh. The first part is about Lumpy’s toy being broken and the second part is about Rabbit caring for an egg.

The 10am/9am timeslot is the “Bunny-a-Go-Go” episode of Bunnytown. This episode includes Mountaineer Bunny climbing a mountain and Little Bad Bunny trying to ruin a carrot festival.

The 10:30am/9:30am timeslot is the “Look After Your Planet/Too Many Big Words!” episode of Charlie and Lola. The first part I assume relates in Charlie probably teaches Lola some way or ways to take care of our planet and be environmentally friendly. The TV Guide description has a different name of the episode for this time slot than Playhouse Disney’s website and according to TV Guide the episode is about reading and recycling, so maybe it is all the same thing and the first part is about them in a recycling competition and the second part is the part about Charlie encouraging Lola to read.

The 11am/10am timeslot is the “Around the World” episode of The Doodlebops.

The 11:30am/10:30am timeslot is “The Fran in the Moon” episode of Higglytown Heroes.” This episode is very Earth Day in that it is the exact theme of the episode. It includes typical Earth Day activities like planting trees and cleaning a park, but it also includes the unusual of Fran the Squirrel ending up accidentally going into space with the Earth Capsule being sent to the moon.

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The newest My Friends Tigger and Pooh DVD is called Friendly Tales and contains 3 episodes of two mini-episodes each. It is an enjoyable collection of mysteries and problems being solved by the Super Sleuths.

The first episode called “Darby’s Solo Sleuth/Doggone Buster” is an all new episode that has not been shown on television. The first part is about Darby having to find lemons on her own to help Kanga make a soup to cure Pooh and Tigger’s cold. The second part of the episode is about trying to find Buster when Darby does not know where he went.

The other two episodes on this DVD have been shown on television before, but are anyways something that makes this DVD worth purchasing as it really would not be worth it if it only had the new regular length episode described above. The second episode is “Darby’s Tail/Tigger’s Delivery Service” about Darby wanting to have a tail and Tigger getting overwhelmed with his delivery service. The last episode is “Pooh-rates Of the Hundred Acre Wood/Tigger’s Hiccup Pickup” about playing Pirates (Pooh-rates) and following a map to find a treasure and helping Tigger get rid of his hiccups.

This DVD is very slim on special features, but the one it does have is a decent one. It is a fun game called Darby’s Super Sleuth Challenge. In this game you go through three different challenges to become a Super Sleuth. For example, you must figure out what the item is based on the clues given. The game is not extremely exciting, but it is easy for preschoolers to play on their own and pretty good for a DVD game.

The Playhouse Disney block of shows for preschoolers has several shorts that play between some of the episodes. One of these regular shorts is called Lou and Lou: Safety Patrol. This usually plays after My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Times vary from week to week, so check your local TV Guide listings for this show here. This is a short, thus each episode is only about five minutes in length.

Each episode of this show features Lou and Lou, who are a boy and girl set of twins that are safety patrols. They spot different safety violations as they go about their day. Each episode has a different theme to it and through pointing out the safety violations it teaches kids how to be safe. They are often teaching their little sister Lulu to be safe through their safety rules as well as their friends. Occasionally they are the ones that make the safety violations. You can even print out the safety rules shown in the episodes on the Playhouse Disney episode here.

There are currently 19 episodes of this show. Continue reading for a list of the different safety topics of the episodes. (more…)

This week is Sing a Song with Annie Week on Playhouse Disney. The Little Einstein episodes featuring songs and Annie play at 9am Eastern time/8am Central time on the Disney Channel. This week ends with a new episode airing in the time slot on Friday, February 22. This new episode is called “Annie, Get Your Microphone!” This new episode is about Annie competing in a song contest and Big Jet stealing and ruining her music. The Little Einsteins try to get her music back together in time for her to perform.

For those unfamiliar with The Little Einsteins show it is a show geared towards preschoolers that is part of the regular Playhouse Disney set of weekday morning shows. The shows main characters are four children (Leo, June, Annie, and Quincy). The four children all have special musical abilities including conducting, singing, playing instruments, and dancing. This show introduces kids to classical music as well as famous artwork.

Top 5 Shows to Get Your Preschooler Singing and Dancing

Are your Little Einsteins ready to rev it up?  Playhouse Disney is featuring Rev It Up with Rocket Week beginning July 15th.  Tune in to Playhouse Disney each morning at 8:00/7:00 a.m. Central time to blast off with Rocket and The Little Einsteins in the following episodes:

• Sunday, July 15th - “How We Became the Little Einsteins - The True Story!”
• Monday, July 16th - “Whale Tale”
• Tuesday, July 17th - “Pirates Treasures”
• Wednesday, July 18th - “Hungarian Hiccups”
• Thursday, July 19th - “The Great Sky Race Rematch”
• Friday, July 20th - “The Legend of The Golden Pyramid”
• Saturday, July 21 - “The Incredible Shrinking Machine”

Playhouse Disney, Little Einsteins, Rev It Up With Rocket Week

After only one month, Playhouse Disney’s animated My Friends Tigger and Pooh has been renewed for a second season.  In the short time that it has been on the air, My Friends Tigger and Pooh has risen to a number one ranking in the 2-5 year old range and also ranks tops among children’s series with women 18-49.

My Friends Tigger and Pooh brings classic characters back to life in a way that is engaging for today’s preschool crowd.  Darby and her dog Buster, along with the rest of the gang from the Hundred Acre Woods teach children problem solving, teamwork, responsibility, and many other skills.

As of this week, My Friends Tigger and Pooh is also airing in France and Canada.

Tip: Toon Zone

My Friends Tigger and Pooh, renewal, second season, Darby, Hundred Acre Wood, preschool

The Imagination Movers, an upbeat children’s musical group, can now be seen on Playhouse Disney and on Playhouse Disney Online.  Five new Movers music videos began airing in April, and a Playhouse Disney TV show is currently in development.  The Movers - Rich Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott “Smitty” Smith - describe their music as Alt Rock for kids and hope to teach kids about the importance of exercising both the body and the brain. They use creative problem-solving skills to address challenges that kids face in everyday life.

I’m thinking the Imagination Movers could give The Wiggles and The Doodlebops a run for their money. Check out the video below and let me know what you think.

Imagination Movers, Playhouse Disney, Wiggles, Doodlebops

(PRNewsFoto/Feld Entertainment)

Disney recently announced a new live tour that will feature characters from the Playhouse Disney block of preschool programming. The 70-city tour will launch this September and will feature characters from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Tickets for the tour went on sale Tuesday, May 15th.

In the new live performance, the characters of each show will combine their different musical styles for an unforgettable musical party at Mickey’s Clubhouse. Kids will enjoy seeing all their favorite characters come to life in an original storyline that combines new music as well as familiar songs they see every day on TV.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, parents can go to www.playhousedisneylive.com.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070507/NEM025 )

Playhouse Disney Live!, Disney, Playhouse Disney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger & Pooh