Tot TV Watch

Handy Manny’s Pet Roundup is the latest DVD release with episodes of the Handy Manny Playhouse Disney show for preschoolers. This is a decent release of the show for a three main reasons. One is that it does a good job of staying on theme it choose (Pets/animals). Two is that it actually has a special feature and it is a decent one. Three is that it has a good amount of episodes (7-half episodes to be exact).

I am big into DVDs of TV shows staying on theme if they decide to establish one. Nickelodeon is one company that stinks at that, but Disney seems to do a pretty good job including this Handy Manny DVD.

The episodes on this DVD include “Squeeze Makes a Promise” about Squeeze helping watch a pet gecko, “Pet Problem” about making a repair at the pet shop and bunnies getting lose, “Kitty Sitting” about the tools learning about how hard it can be to have a pet, “Gopher Help” about helping solve a gopher problem at the park, and “Renaldo’s Pretzel Castle” about them getting the birds to stop eating the pretzel sign.

Two bonus episodes are premiered on this DVD. “Lyle and Leland Lopart” is about Manny helping Lopart’s nephews build a go cart. This is the one episode on this DVD that is entirely unrelated to pets and/or animals. The other new episode is “Blackout on the Block,” which is about Manny and the tools checking on the neighbors when the power goes out including helping some chicks at the pet store.

The one special feature on this DVD is called A-Maze-ing Pet Roundup. This is maze game that you help the pets get through a maze using the arrows on the DVD remote. It is overall kind of fun for kids, but sometimes it is confusing to know what arrow button goes with what path.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers Collection Vol. 2 - This DVD release contains the final 33 episodes of this 1980s show in chronological order. Special features include interviews with the series’ creator and writers.

Camp Rock: Extended Rock Star Edition - This DVD is of the recent Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock. It is supposedly special because of its extended ending, but personally I thought it was a drawn out movie as is, so not really sure if an extended ending will make it any better. The special feature with tips on becoming a real rock star might be interesting for some, though.

George of the Jungle: Swinging 1st Season - This DVD contains all the episodes of the first season of Cartoon Network’s George of the Jungle show.

Horseland DVDs: Looks like there are two new Horseland DVDs this week. One is Horseland: Fast Friends and the other is Horseland: Ip Taking the Heat.

Jane and the Dragon: A Dragon’s Tale - Jane and the Dragon finally comes to DVD with this release. This DVD contains the first five episode of the series. It even has some good special features like printable coloring pages (supposedly even Mac compatible), character profiles, and concept art.

Wayside School: Season One - This show based on the books by Louis Sachar is not as good as the books, but if the kids happen to like it they can now catch the whole first season on DVD.

Wordworld: Sheep’s A Star - This DVD contains episodes of WordWorld. Not sure how many, but I am assuming 3 since it is an hour long.

The Wizards of Waverly Place is one of the newer Disney Channel show and the Wizard School DVD is its debut on DVD. If you like the show, this is a decent release. Personally, I do enjoy the show, but I have missed a lot of the episodes and was delighted to find this had three episodes I had not seen before. The DVD also has a decent special feature of the three kids of the show talking about themselves.

The first episode on the DVD is “Wizard School Part 1.” In this episode Alex and Justin go to a wizard school called Wiz Tech, which is kind of a parody of Hogwarts, especially with the black glasses students wear that make them look like Harry Potter. Alex, the slacker, has trouble at the school while Justin excels at 12-ball (a crazy ping pong like game). Back home at Waverly Place Jerry and Max try to prove their manliness by camping out on the terrace.

The second episode is “Wizard School Part 2.” This is the continuation of the first episode on the DVD. In this part Alex tries to save Justin from losing his powers. Back home at Waverly Place their parents and Max battle with a rival restaurant. This two part plot has become my favorites of the show.

The third episode is called “Curb Your Dragon.” In this episode Alex and Max get Justin a beagle/dragon from a shady merchant. The merchant steals him back and they try to get him back to keep Justin from having to deal with losing another dog.

The fourth episode is called “Disenchanted Evening.” This is the one episode I had seen before. It is among the better episodes at least. In this episode Alex discovers another wizard at school and is jealous that he can use magic whenever you want. Her quest to get her parents to allow her to magic leads to trouble, though.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

The Berenstain Bears: Family and Friendship - The Berenstain Bear family teaches about family and friendship with the fun episodes on this DVD. I think it has three episodes.

Eon Kid: Season 1, Vol. 1 - I have no idea what Eon Kid is besides a kid’s show and appears to have robot characters. This DVD is 110 minutes, so probably 5 episodes of whatever this show is.

Holly Hobbie: Fabulous Fashion Show - Holly Hobbie and her friends create and do a fashion show in this short movie DVD. Includes two new sing alongs. Not sure if the sing alongs are bonus features or incorporated into the movie.

Ni Hao Kai-Lan: Super Special Days - This show makes its DVD premiere with this release. Special features according to the ad on the back of the Nick Jr. magazine include a “Meet Kai-Lan” photo gallery and a music video. Not sure what episodes are on this DVD or if any of them are new on the DVD, but it is 98 minutes long, so I am guessing their are 4 episodes on it.

Play with Me Sesame: Furry Fun and Healthy Too - This sounds like a fun DVD for preschoolers to learn healthy habits from. The healthy habits touched upon include exercise, brushing your teeth, and getting plenty of rest.

Strawberry Shortcake: Rockaberry Roll - This is supposedly 2 episodes of Strawberry Shortcake. The guess out there is that the episodes are “It Takes Talent” and “Playing to Beat The Band.” Supposedly this is going to be in theaters in October 2008. Makes a pre-release DVD seem really weird, but you know what? I love Strawberry Shortcake enough I might actually not only rent this, but go see it in the theater if that really happens.

Captain N: The Game Master: Adventures in Videoland is a collection of four episodes of the Captain N: The Game Master television show that originally aired from 1989 to 1991. The show is interesting if you are into Nintendo video games like me, especially the classics. The show is about a kid named Kevin, i.e. The Game Master/Captain N, being sucked into Videoland, which is the world of the video games. In Videoland he helps stop the evil plans of Mother Brain.

The first episode on this DVD is “Kevin In Videoland.” This is the show’s pilot episode and is a great introduction to the show for new viewers. In this episode Kevin helps rescue Princess Lena from Mother Brain.

The second episode on this DVD is “Mr. & Mrs. Mother Brain.” In this episode Simon Belmont (Castlevania video game character and part of the show’s main characters) falls in love with Mother Brain when Kid Icarus’s arrow of love is misshot.

The third and fourth episodes are a two-part plot titled “Videolympics” and “Mega Trouble For Megaland.” In these episodes Kevin and the N team take on Mother Brain in an Olympic like competition, which turns out to be a cover up for her taking over Videoland. It involves Kevin playing through the Mega Man area of Videoland reminiscent of the actual video game.

If you already know you like the show, then I would recommend skipping this DVD and just get the Complete Series. As a way of checking out the show I found this worth renting, especially since it has the introductory episode.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

Back at the Barnyard When No One’s Looking: This DVD contains 8 episodes of the Back at the Barnyard show.

Ben 10 - Season 4: This DVD contains the episodes from the 4th season of Ben 10. Not sure if it has any special features.

Charlie and Lola, Vol. 8: I Am Collecting a Collection: This DVD contains contains six half-episodes of the show Charlie and Lola. The includes episodes are “How Many More Minutes?,” “Welcome to Lolaland,” “I Wish I Could Draw Exactly More Like You,” “I Am Collecting a Collection,” “Never Ever Never Step on the Cracks,” and “I Will Not Ever Never Forget You, Nibbles.”

Handy Manny - Manny’s Pet Roundup: This DVD sounds like it is a never before seen movie of Handy Manny helping round up pets. Not sure if it is really that or just might be three pet themed episodes of the show. It has a game as part of the bonus features.

Little Einsteins - Flight of the Instrument Fairies: This DVD release contains four episodes of Little Einsteins. They are “Glass Slipper Ball”, “The Puppet Princess”, “Little Red Rockethood”, and “Flight of the Instrument Fairies.” The last one is considered a movie of the show and I think it is premiering on this DVD.

Saddle Club - Season 1: This is a 3 DVD collection of all the episodes from the first season of this popular show that is expected have a third season begin later this year.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

Avatar The Last Airbender: Book 3 Fire, Volume 4 - This new release of Avatar The Last Airbender contains the final six episodes of the series. The last four supposedly wrap the series up well.

Go Diego Go! The Great Dinosaur Rescue - Gee, they have a pretty regular release schedule for Go, Diego, Go! do not they. Well, at least it is a good show worthy of DVD release. The main feature is a double length episode about Diego going back in time to help a dinosaur. It also includes two bonus episodes.

Nickelodeon’s All About Fall - Another Nick Jr. collection of shows trying to be on theme. In case you have not noticed I am not at all impressed at Nickelodeon’s ability to stay on theme. They seem to have done okay with this release, but the Jack’s Big Music Show episode leaves me wondering if it actually is a fall themed one. Also, the Dora one is about her helping with the class pet and I am also not sure if that has Fall references in it. At least the Yo Yo Gabba being Halloween themed and The Wonder Pets being the start of a new school year sound Fall themed to me.

Phineas and Ferb: The Fast and the Phineas - This contains 112 minutes of the show, so probably 5 episodes. It is about their summer vacation. I am not very familiar with this show, so not sure that limits it to obvious episode choices or if that is actually what all the episodes are about. It is just one of the very few Disney shows I never understood.

Pokemon: Battle Frontier Volume 1 Box Set - I do not think Pokemon is as popular as it once was, but it sure is still hanging around. This release contains 24 episodes making up the first half of the final season in the Pokemon Advanced Generation series. No bonus features, though!

The Wiggles: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - What would a Wiggles movie be if it did not try to get the kids dancing? Thus, of course, this is another Wiggles DVD with music sure to be enjoyed by Wiggles fans, as it contains 20 new songs.

The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School - This Disney Channel show makes its DVD debut with 4 episodes. It also includes behind the scenes bonus features about the making of the show.

Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Volume 1 - Tiny Toons is a one of the classic cartoons for kids in my opinion. This set of 4 discs contains 35 episodes (There are 65 total episodes in Season 1!) with a run time of over 700 minutes, so this is sure to give a good fix of Tiny Toons to new and old fans.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: Fastest Thing in Time - This is one of several video game tv series with releases today. This one I believe has a complete series DVD release, already, so kind of a redundant release, but fun action show for Sonic fans nevertheless.

Captain N: The Game Master - Adventures in Videoland - This is a new DVD release for Captain N: The Game Master, which is a Nintendo show with characters based on Nintendo games. It is pretty pointless, though, as the series is already all on DVD as a set and this new release does not have any bonus features at all. The series may be fun for Nintendo fans, but it is probably a better choice to go for the whole series if you want to own episodes of this show. Might be a nice 1 DVD way to rent and see if you like it, though, however it supposedly has poor episode choice.

The Legend of Zelda: Power of the Triforce - This Nintendo animated show is based on The Legend of Zelda game characters. It has a run time of 75 minutes, which would be about 5 episodes of the 15 minute show. It may be worthwhile as a short DVD to see if you like the series, but does not appear to be worth it if you really do like the series considering the whole series is already on DVD.

Sesame Street: Count on Sports - This DVD is a sports themed one that teaches math concepts. Good time for the release with the Olympics right around the corner. The sports include tennis, basketball, gymnastics, and soccer. Math concepts taught include numbers, shapes, and size. Includes sports stars such as Venus Williams.

Sonic Underground: Secrets of the Chaos Emerald - Another Sonic series release and another video game based TV series release for today. Not sure if this is one of those with the whole series out, but it might be.

Super Mario Bros: Mario of the Deep - This is another Nintendo show with a new DVD release and yet again I believe it has the whole series already on DVD. This one contains water themed episodes including parodies of Moby Dick, Mark Twain, and Washington Crossing the Delaware.

The DVD Hello Kitty Tells Fairy Tales contains episodes from the animated television series called Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theatre, which originally aired on the Family Channel back in 1986. The show may be a little out dated, but the popularity of Hello Kitty certainly has not entirely faded away. The show is basically a series of parodies of classic fairy tales performed by Hello Kitty and her friends. The show may seem a little on the cutesy side, but not all the plots are entirely cutesy ones, as one of the episodes on this DVD is a parody of Robin Hood.

This DVD contains five episodes (really they are half-episodes of 15 minutes each, but play from menu as separate episodes). The first episode is “Robin Penguin,” as a Robin Hood parody with some interesting twists, although overall a plot quite similar to the original. The second episode is called “Hello Mother Goose,” which is an unique compilation of different nursery rhyme characters involving a mystery, but it is however a horrible episode to keep up with what is going on since the plot moves very fast. The third episode is called “The Ugly Quackling,” which is not all that much of an unique telling of the classic story, but interesting nonetheless for those into the Hello Kitty characters. The fourth episode is “Pinocchio Penguin,” which is another fast story, but it still almost easy to follow. The fifth and final episode is “Little Red Bunny Hood,” which is not only an unique telling of the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, but is also has the best plot pace.

Overall this is a decent DVD to entertain young kids, especially young girls, but it may not be right for all because the fast moving plots make it hard to get interested in some of the episodes. Also, I was annoyed that none of the special features worked when I try to check them out on my Mac.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

The Backyardigans - Mighty Match-Up!: This new DVD release for The Backyardigans includes four episodes of the musical imagination backyard setting show. The main episode (not necessarily longer, but rather the one pictured on the box and possibly the only one relevant to the title) is an Ancient Greek Olympic type inspiration and is about a game of hoops with the gods.

The Batman - The Complete Fifth Season: This release contains the 13 episodes of Season 5 of The Batman. I am not into this type of show, but wow these animated show full seasons are reasonably priced. I wish some of the primetime shows came to DVD at reasonable prices like that. I might actually buy them instead of slowly watching the seasons through my 1 DVD Netflix plan. Currently I am working my way through Early Edition and at this rate it will take me six weeks if I do not move the discs down at all to get some kid DVDs.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2: I could not find much info on this DVD. I assume from its length of 84 minutes that it contains 3 to 4 episodes of the Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue show.

Teen Titans - The Complete Fifth Season: This contains all the episodes of the final season of the Teen Titans superhero cartoon show. Some say the show got bad towards the end, but I do not know, as it never was the type of show that I thought was worth watching.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

Sesame Street: Elmo’s World - Summer Vacation: This is a great summertime release for preschoolers. In this DVD Elmo and is pet fish, Dorothy, explore the topics of the beach, skin, and cameras. It also includes all new songs. Run time is about 50 minutes for the main feature on this DVD. I am not sure if or what special features are on this DVD or if the new songs are part of the main feature or special features.

Tak and the Power of Juju: Trouble with Magic: Tak and the Power of Juju makes its DVD debut with this DVD release today. This animated Nickelodeon show is based on the video game of the same name. It is an interesting show, especially for those that have played the game. The plots may not be the best, but the CGI animation is awesome. This DVD contains 8 half-episodes (each regular episode that shows on Nickelodeon is made up of 2 plots, which I am referring to as half-episodes). Again I do not know about what special features this DVD has, but considering this is Nickelodeon I would not expect anything good, as from my experience they have not mastered making good special features, yet. At least they cannot be off theme with the title they chose for this release because basically Tak is always facing problems with magic.

The Berenstain Bears - Fun Lessons to Learn contains 6 episodes of the show based on the famous book series that has entertained generations of kids and helped many learn to read. The show is fun if for kid that like the books, however, they are not quite as good as reading the books.

The first episode is called “Trouble at School,” which is about Brother learning about effectively managing time and making up his schoolwork after missing important math lessons while sick.

The second episode is called “Go To School.” In this episode Sister confronts her fear of starting the third grade.

The third episode is called “The Homework Haste.” This episode involves a similar issue of falling behind in schoolwork as is shown in the first episode on this DVD, however, this time Brother falls behind because he does not manage his time properly and get around to doing his school work.

The fourth episode is called “Lend a Helping Hand.” Brother and Sister learn to help others and discover that it can be an enjoyable thing to help others.

The fifth episode is called “Too Much Pressure.” I think this is an episode many families these days can relate to with getting their schedules overwhelmingly booked. The Bear family tries to minimize their activities in order to reduce their stress and be able to truly enjoy the things they do keep doing.

The sixth episode is called “The Trouble with Pets.” In this episode Brother and Sister learn about caring for a pet when they get a puppy.

Here is this week’s edition of new releases of DVDs that feature kids shows. Some are previously seen episodes from television while others are straight to DVD episodes or movies based on kids TV shows.

The Naked Brothers Band: Polar Bears: This DVD contains the TV almost movie length episode “Polar Bears” in the Naked Brothers Band series of TV shows. Overall I think this is a pretty poor TV show, but this is one of the better episodes because it portrays Alex taking a stand to fight global warming, although not sure it is that great of a way to teach kids about protecting the earth we live on, however, it does get fans of this show’s to at least minimally think about the issue of global warming.

Sonic Underground, Vol. 2: Now this is an exciting DVD release this week, at least in my opinion. For one, Sonic is a fun animated show for kids that are into the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. Also, this DVD release contains 4 discs and over 400 minutes of play, so it offers a good amount of entertainment time, which could come in handy during the summer, especially on a rainy summer day. Nice thing about this series is that many kids have not seen the episodes before since it no longer airs on television.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Lip Synchin’ in the Rain: This is another DVD release of a show I think is good. It contains four episodes of The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, including the “Lip Synchin’ in the Rain” episode about their school putting on its own High School Musical production. It also sounds like it will have some great special features including trivia and a gag reel of never before seen outtakes.

Inspector Gadget – Gadget Files is a nice collection of Inspector Gadget episodes. It contains a total of five episodes. This is a fun way for a new generation of kids to enjoy this wacky inspector’s adventures. It is a kind of funny show with him rarely being the real hero, although, circumstances make him appear to be the hero, but it really is by accident and often it is his niece and dog that are the silent heroes.

The first episode is called “Winter Olympics.�? In this episode Inspector Gadget is on vacation at the Winter Olympics and ends up having to stop Dr. Claw from ruining the Olympic Games.

The second episode is called “Monster Lake.�? In this episode Inspector Gadget sets out to prove that the Loch Ness monster does note exist as he is on a mission to protect and them save a famous professor.

The third episode is called “Down on the Farm.�? In this episode Inspector Gadget ends up in the countryside and on a farm to stop Dr. Claw from using a missile he stole.

The fourth episode is called “Gadget at the Circus.�? Inspector Gadget takes on a variety of circus jobs as Dr. Claw tries to bring his demise, however, the Inspector finds a way to avoid danger mostly by accident.

The fifth episode is called “The Amazon.�? In this episode Inspector Gadget’s must save the professor that invented his gadgets and stop Dr. Claw’s plan of having a gadget army, but first he has to save himself from an Amazon ritual that is actually Dr. Claw’s plan to ruin Gadget.

Overall this is a fun series of action filled episodes, although the DVD extras are kind of limited. The extras, though, do include a short interview with the creator and the Public Service Announcements about safety related issues in each episode shown.

Curious George - Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories is a great DVD that actually sticks to its theme of animals. These are fun adventures with Curious George the monkey and his curiosity leading to animal themed adventures. This is a good DVD for preschoolers who like Curious George to enjoy when it is not live on television. Plus it is a great option for kids that are particularly into seeing more animals than just the monkey.

In total there are 8 episodes on this DVD. In the first episode called “Zoo Night” several different animals are seen including penguins, but it is the baby panda that is the main featured animal in this episode. Other animals seen in this DVD’s episodes include bunnies in “Curious George’s Bunny Hunt,” a bear in “Bee is for Bear,” pigeons in “Curious George’s Home for Pigeons,” a cat “”From Scratch,” dogs in “Curious George, Dog Counter,” squirrels in “Squirrel for a Day,” and frogs in “Curious George Discovers the ‘Poles.”

Special Features wise this DVD is not too bad. It has two DVD games. One is called Daily Donuts Game and the other is called Magic Numbers Game. It also has some printable coloring pages that can be accessed when you put the DVD into a computer, however, when I tried to get them off the DVD using a Mac I found it quite confusing to find and download them.

Overall I recommend Curious George - Zoo Night & Other Animal Stories as a good DVD release for fans of Curious George because it has a good amount of episodes. Plus it has two decent DVD games as special features, although the coloring special feature is not well incorporated.

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