Tot TV Watch

Fans of Playhouse Disney’s Imagination Movers show should be happy that the second season of the show is coming this fall. The new season will premiere on September 5, 2009 with a new episode at 10am Eastern Time/Pacific Time. As part of kicking off the new season their will be a new episode of the show every Saturday in September. The show about the New Orleans alternate rock band for preschoolers will feature more than 25 new songs from the band.

This second season will feature plenty of guest stars. Just a few are Joey Fatone (’N Sync and Dancing with the Stars) as a baseball player, Jason Dolley (Cory in the House and upcoming Disney show Good Luck Charlie) as Prince Charming, and Nicola Anderson (JONAS) as Cinderella.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Big Splash is a fun Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD for kids to enjoy during the summertime. The episodes are not exactly all summer themed, but the main one is. They do at least all definitely follow the splash/water theme that the DVD’s title suggests. This DVD has four episodes (two being new and were not shown on TV before this DVD was released) and one bonus feature.

The episodes on this release are “Donald’s Ducks,” “Pluto’s Bubble Bath,” “Mickey Goes Fishing,” and “Pete’s Beach Blanket Luau.” “Donald’s Ducks” is a new episode about Mickey and Donald help 8 ducks get to the beach for winter. “Pluto’s Bubble Bath” is about Mickey and Pluto getting stuck in giant bubbles and floating away while giving Pluto a bubblebath. “Mickey Goes Fishing” is about Mickey watching a cat for Goofy and having to go catch some red gooey fish because that is all the cat will eat. “Pete’s Beach Blanket Luau” is a new episode about helping Pete set up a Luau to cool off on a hot day.

This DVD has one special feature called Fun in the Sun with Mickey and the Gang. This is a game bonus feature with three mini games in it. They are all based on helping Mickey and the gang with the luau. The games include making a tiki mask, choosing things that do not belong at the beach, and choosing the right hot or cold option. Overall a decent although rather limited bonus feature.

Check out the other TV on DVD reviews I have blogged about here.

Do not forget to comment and get an entry in our July 2009 Comment Contest and have a chance to win a TV on DVD.

On August 29, 2009, Playhouse Disney will have a special Pluto themed marathon of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes. The marathon will feature six episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and every episode is related to Pluto. The marathon includes the premiere of a new episode called “Pluto’s Playmate,” which is based on a 1941 Pluto cartoon of the same name. This is sure to be a fun morning of Playhouse Disney for fans of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, especially those who love Pluto. The line up for the Pluto themed marathon is below.

7am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto to the Rescue” about Pluto helping Donald and Goofy after they build a snowman and cannot get around or over it

7:30am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto’s Puppy-Sitting Adventure” about Pluto helping Clarabelle by taking care of her puppy, Bella

8am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto’s Ball” about looking for Pluto’s super bouncy ball when Goofy loses it playing catch

8:30am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto’s Best” about Pluto and Butch competing in the Doggy Games

9am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto’s Playmate” about helping Salty the Seal do tricks at the circus

9:30am Eastern Time/Pacific Time – “Pluto’s Bubble Bath” about Pluto and Mickey getting stuck inside giant bubbles during Pluto’s bath

Tomorrow, July 25, 2009, Playhouse Disney is hosting a Pet Party line up. The line up is made up of mostly pet themed episodes of some favorite Playhouse Disney shows. The Pet Party begins at 6am Eastern Time/5am Central Time and continues until 11am Eastern Time/10am Central time. Below is the full line up for the Pet Party on Playhouse Disney.

6am Eastern Time/5am Central Time - Little Einsteins’s “Melody, the Music Pet” episode

6:30am Eastern Time/5:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Goofy’s Petting Zoo” episode

7am Eastern Time/6am Central Time - My Friends Tigger & Pooh’s “Buster’s Ruff Day/Lumpy’s Pet Project” episode

7:30am Eastern Time/6:30am Central Time - Little Einsteins’s “Melody and Me” episode

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso’s “For Your Nice Bunny/For Pancakes With Love” episode

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “A Night With Abuelito/Canine Case” New episode

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Daisy’s Pet Project” episode

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Pluto’s Puppy Sitting Adventure” episode

10am Eastern Time/9am Central Time - Imagination Movers‘ “A Puppy Problem” episode

10:30am Eastern Time/9:30am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “Pet Problem/Felipe’s New Job” New episode

Playhouse Disney’s short interstital show called Can You Teach My Alligator Manners? premiered last summer. Now it is back this summer with new episodes to kick off its second season. This short show that plays between episodes of Playhouse Disney shows is about a kid named Mikey teaching his alligator named Al to use proper manners in a variety of situations. The show also helps preschoolers learn manners for situations that they probably will end up in themselves. The situations in the second season include elevator, supermarket, pool, museum, and babysitting. The second season premieres on August 22, 2009 as part of the Playhouse Disney line up on the Disney Channel. The premiere line up features 10 new episodes. See full line up for the second season premiere below.

6:25am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Elevator Manners”
6:55am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Supermarket Manners”
7:25am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Carnival Manners”
7:55am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “TV Time Manners”
8:25am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Nature Park Manners”
8:55am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Family Meal Manners”
9:25am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Pool Manners”
9:55am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Airplane Manners”
10:25am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Museum Manners”
10:55am Eastern Time/Pacific Time - “Babysitting Manners”

Tomorrow, June 27, 2009, is Playhouse Disney’s Cowboys and Cowgirls Saturday on the Disney Channel. The special mostly western themed episodes line up begins at 8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time. Below is the complete line up for the special morning.

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Little Einsteins “Go West, Young Train” episode

8:25am Eastern Time/7:25am Central Time - Ooh, Aah, and You “Cowboy Day” episode

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey’s Countdown” music video

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Handy Manny “The Good, The Bad, The Handy” episode

8:55am Eastern Time/7:55am Central Time - Happy Monster Band “At the Rodeo” episode

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey’s Round-Up” episode

9:25am Eastern Time/8:25am Central Time - Ooh, Aah, and You “Cowboy Day” episode

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Handy Manny “Skateboard Park/Cowboy Manny” episode

10am Eastern Time/9am Central Time - Imagination Movers “Big Pumpkin Problem” episode

10:25am Eastern Time/9:25am Central Time - Happy Monster Band “Monster Hoe Down” episode

10:30am Eastern Time/9:30am Central Time - Handy Manny “The Good, The Bad, The Handy” episode

10:55am Eastern Time/9:55am Central Time - Happy Monster Band “At the Rodeo” episode

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey’s Countdown” music video

Do not forget to comment and get an entry in our June 2009 Comment Contest and have a chance to win a TV on DVD.

Stanley: Spring Fever is a collection of four episodes of the Playhouse Disney show, Stanley. This show is a great one that teaches about animals with story lines of the curious preschooler, Stanley, and his friends that are typical of preschool curiosity. The educational aspect of the show also includes the alphabet to some extent, as they always say the alphabet in order to get to the letter page of the animal they are looking up in the Great Big Book of Everything.

The episodes on this DVD are “Searching for Spring,” “Save the Bluebird,” “Caterpillar Countdown,” and “Baby Pictures.” The first is an interesting about it Stanley and his friends anxious for it to be spring and learning about the myth of Groundhog Day. I also found the third one interesting about Elsie finding caterpillars boring, but finding them interesting when she learns they eventually turn into butterflies. The last one is my favorite, though, as it is about growing up. Stanley is afraid he will be a grown up soon, but learns that different animals grow up at different rates and he still has plenty of years to be a kid.

This release includes a few bonus features. One is a Make Your Very Own Great Big Book of Everything activity in which you choose animals based on their pictures, sounds, and then put the book together in alphabetical order. The other special feature is The Great Big Book of Everything that tells a little about the 10 animals you put in the book in the first activity. The last special feature is a “Stanley’s Theme” music video performed by the Baha Men.

Overall this is a good release considering the show is rarely on Playhouse Disney these days. It is somewhat limited in content, as the episodes are really just half-episodes. The good special features make up for that to some extent, though.

Check out the other TV on DVD reviews I have blogged about here.

Do not forget to comment and get an entry in our June 2009 Comment Contest and have a chance to win a TV on DVD.

Yesterday, June 22, 2009, Disney announced that they have ordered a second season of Special Agent Oso. This show is the newest one in the Playhouse Disney line up, which is geared towards preschoolers. The show has been a huge success since it first premiered back in April 2009. According to Nancy Kanter, senior vice president, Playhouse Disney Worldwide, “‘Special Agent Oso’ has launched stronger and faster than any preschool series in our history – not just in the U.S., but around the world.” The show has been number 1 in its timeslot for preschool viewers since its premiere. It really is a great show that makes learning simple everyday things that preschoolers eventually should learn to do a fun and interactive television experience. I think this show can get old and out of ideas fast, but I think there are enough things that a second season will still be pretty fresh.

Tomorrow, June 15, 2009, Fun in the Sun Week begins on Playhouse Disney. This special line up includes Fun in the Sun themed episodes from this Monday through this Friday from 8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time to 10am Eastern Time/9am Central Time each morning. Below is the complete line up.

Monday, June 15, 2009

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso “The Living Flashlight/Sand Castle Royale”

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey’s Camp Out”

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny “Bake Sale/Camping Tools”

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Imagination Movers “March of the Movers”

Tuesday, June 15, 2009

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso “Thunder Berries/Flowers Are Forever”

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey Goes Fishing”

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny “A Very Handy Vacation”

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Imagination Movers “Too Cool”

Wednesday, June 16, 2009

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso “Hopscotch Royale/Gold Ringer”

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Clarabelle’s Clubhouse Carnival”

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny “Sculptor Manny/Manny Goes Solar”

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Imagination Movers “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Mouse?”

Thursday, June 17, 2009

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso “Live and Jump Rope/A View to a Kitten”

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Minnie’s Picnic”

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny “Happy Birthday Mr. Lopart/Scout Manny”

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Imagination Movers “Big Pumpkin Problem”

Friday, June 18, 2009

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso “The Girl Who Cheered Me/License to Twirl”

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey and Minnie’s Jungle Safari”

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny “Abuelito’s Garden/Firehouse Tools”

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Imagination Movers “Treasure of the Warehouse”

This Saturday, June 13, 2009, is Special Assignment Saturday on Playhouse Disney. This special line up features Special Agent Oso episodes. The marathon runs for 4 hours starting at 6am Eastern Time/5am Central Time. See the complete line up below.

6am Eastern Time/5am Central Time - “A View to a Book/Diamonds Are a Kites” about Oso helping a boy check out a library book and helping a girl fly a kite

6:30am Eastern Time/5:30am Central Time - “Hopscotch Royale/Gold Ringer” about Oso helping two kids learn to hopscotch and a girl learn to play horseshoes

7am Eastern Time/6am Central Time - “The Girl Who Cheered Me/License to Twirl”

7:30am Eastern Time/6:30am Central Time - “For Show and Tell Only/Piggy Bank Royale” about Oso helping a boy choose something special for show and tell and helping a girl put her piggy bank back together

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - “The Living Flashlight/Sand Castle Royale” New Episode of the show

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - “Octo-Puzzle/One Suitcase is Enough” about Oso helping a boy put together a jigsaw puzzle of an octopus before his dad gets home and helping another boy pack for a trip before it is time for his family to leave for the airport

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - “Hide Another Day/Live and Let Dry” about Oso helping a boy find his cousins in a game of hide and seek before it is time for him to go home and helping another boy wash and dry dishes

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - “The Boy with the Golden Gift/Birthdays are Forever” about Oso helping a boy wrap a present and helping another boy make a birthday hat

Handy Manny Gets Handy With the Earth tomorrow, April 18, 2009, on Playhouse Disney. The special line up of Handy Manny and Special Agent Oso episodes. The line up starts at 8am Eastern time/7am Central time. The same line up will also be on Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22, 2009). The full line up is below.

*New Episode* 8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - Special Agent Oso’s “Dr. Off/License to Dress” episode about Oso teaching a girl how to conserve water and power at home and helping a boy dress himself for school

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - Special Agent Oso’s “Carousel Royale/Leaf Raker” episode about Oso helping a girl find her lost carousel ticket and help a boy clean his yard in preparation for a compost truck to arrive

*New Episode* 9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “Home Sweet Home/Jackie’s Old Shed” episode about Manny and tools renovating a house and Manny building a recycling storage area with wood from an old shed

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “Sculptor Manny/Manny Goes Solar” episode about Manny and the tools recreating a broken sculpture and Manny installing solar panels to power a store sign

10am Eastern Time/9am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “Movie Night/Cactus Manny” episode about Manny and the tools entertaining the crowd while also repairing the movie projector and Manny helping with a friends rose garden when the mayor requires the town to conserve water

*New Episode* 10:30am Eastern Time/9:30am Central Time - Handy Manny’s “Arbor Day/Flicker Speaks English” episode about Manny and tools helping to transfer a tree to a sunnier location and Flicker struggling to learn English

This morning I watched the premiere episodes of Special Agent Oso on Playhouse Disney. The first episode was about mailing a letter (”To Grandma With Love”) and planting marigolds (”Gold Flower”). The second was about brushing teeth (”Never Say No to Brushing Again”) and repairing a book (”The Girl with the Golden Book”).

The show did not surprise me in that it is pretty entertaining. I was surprised to find Oso to not be all that accident prone as the preview info made me think. Those made him seem more like a bumbling fool like the Pink Panther, but really Oso forgets pretty much just one special thing to remember each episode and it does not make him seem like a fool really.

The show teaches about doing things in three easy steps. Many of the things are practical things for kids to learn and do, such as planting flowers, mailing a letter, fixing a torn book, and brushing their teeth. The previews show one about tying shoes eventually airing and that one would be so nice for some older kids I know that never learned and hopefully help a few fewer preschoolers skip this important lesson. The show also teaches some related vocab along the way and does not seem to try to dumb things down to only use terms preschoolers should already know.

The three step song gets a little repetitive with it being done several times in the 22 minute episode. At least the words do change related to the episodes special task and three steps, so it is not exactly like it is the same song over and over.

Overall this is a great show in my opinion. It is not just an entertaining well animated show for preschoolers with situations they can sometimes relate to, but it is also educational without seeming overtly so.

The newest Playhouse Disney show premieres tomorrow. The new show is called Special Agent Oso. The show’s main character as mostly guessed by the show’s title is named Oso and is a special agent in training for U.N.I.Q.U.E. (United Network for Investigating Quite Usual Events). Oso is a sort of clumsy teddy bear. Personally that makes me think Pooh, but really the inspiration is supposedly drawn from James Bond and the Pink Panther as a sort of homage to the classic spy drama.

The show is an interactive show like pretty much all of the preschool shows these days. This show enlists viewers to help in the special agent missions. This main way it is supposed to educate kids is by teaching how to break tasks into mostly three easy steps, as Oso does this for his training missions. The show promotes using observational skills and cognitive abilities. It seems the missions involve helping kids do different things, such as mailing a letter and using the library.

Each episode has two ~11 minute stories (i.e. what I like to call half-episodes). I really do not like this type of episode structure seeming to take over kids programming. I guess it more has to do with almost all animated shows getting this type of treatment than just preschool shows, but for once it would be nice to see some non-Nick Jr show do one plot line per episode. It is like saying kids do not have the attention span and cannot possibly enjoy a full fleshed out 22 minute plot. Anyways, at least Disney usually makes the shows entertaining for the parents and caregivers, too, and I do think it stands a chance of being a good new show.

There is a special Handy Manny morning on Playhouse Disney tomorrow morning, March 28, 2009. The marathon is of all Handy Manny episodes and includes one new episode. The marathon time starts at 7am Eastern Time/6am Central Time with the new episode airing at 10:30am Eastern Time/9:30am Central Time. The full episode line up for the marathon is below.

7am Eastern Time/6am Central Time - “Rusty’s Little Light Lie/Squeeze in a Pinch” episode about Rusty telling a lie that potentially delays the opening of the new movie theater and Squeeze learning that it is okay to make mistakes

7:30am Eastern Time/6:30am Central Time - “Lost and Found/Science Fair” episode about Manny tracking down the owner of a gold coin he finds at the laundromat and Squeeze and Felipe damaging some science fair projects while working on the school’s air conditioner

8am Eastern Time/7am Central Time - “Manny to the Rescue/Handy Hut” episode about Manny fixing the lights on a fire truck and worrying about being put out of business when another repair shop opens

8:30am Eastern Time/7:30am Central Time - “Tight Squeeze/Julieta’s Monster” episode about Squeeze not liking that he is so small and Manny and the tools help a little girl overcome her fear of the dark and a closet monster

9am Eastern Time/8am Central Time - “Bloomin’ Tools/Ups and Downs” episode about bringing some nature into a woman’s home and Manny getting stuck in an elevator

9:30am Eastern Time/8:30am Central Time - “Sizing Things Up/Mr. Ayala’s New Car Wash” episode about Stretch’s tape measure getting stuck and Manny fixing a switch at the car wash

10am Eastern Time/9am Central Time - “Time Out/Shine Bright” episode about City Hall’s clock being slow and the tools helping to put a spotlight in at the school

10:30am Eastern Time/9:30am Central Time - “Special Delivery/Elliot’s New Job” new episode about Stretch ending up in the outgoing mail and Manny helping Elliot fix a broken popcorn machine and reorganizing the movie rental store

Do not forget to comment and get an entry in our March Comment Contest and have a chance to win a TV on DVD.

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, March 21, 2009, is a special Playhouse Disney’s Day of Treasures line up. The line up includes several episodes that are treasure themed with the highlight being a special episode of Imagination Movers. It is not exactly a full treasure themed line up, but does quite a few treasure themed episodes of Playhouse Disney regular line up shows. Below is the complete line up, which starts at 5am Central Time/6am Eastern Time.

5am Central Time/6am Eastern Time - Higglytown Heroes‘ “X Marks the Spot/Eubie View” episode

5:30am Central Time/6:30am Eastern Time - Little Einsteins‘ “Pirate Treasures” episode

6am Central Time/7am Eastern Time - Little Einsteins‘ “The Treasure Behind the Little Red Door” episode

6:30am Central Time/7:30am Eastern Time - Little Einsteins‘ “Go Team!” episode

7am Central Time/8am Eastern Time - My Friends Tigger & Pooh’s “Pooh’s Bee’s Buzz Off/Buster’s Buried Treasure” episode

7:30am Central Time/8:30am Eastern Time - Handy Manny’s “Lost and Found/Science Fair” episode

8am Central Time/9am Eastern Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Mickey’s Treasure Hunt” episode

8:30 Central Time/9:30am Eastern Time - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s “Minnie’s Rainbow” episode

9am Central Time/10am Eastern Time - Imagination Movers‘ “Treasure of the Warehouse” episode

9:30am Central Time/10:30am Eastern Time - Handy Manny’s “Flicker/Manny’s Time Capsule” episode

Do not forget to comment and get an entry in our March Comment Contest and have a chance to win a TV on DVD.