Bear in the Big Blue House: A Berry Bear Christmas (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)I cannot even begin to express how much I love Bear! Sometimes I think I might like him even more than my 3 year old does. The show manages to teach a little of everything a young child needs. I really like that they manage to teach morals & kindness in a way that appeals to children. They also have a knack for helping with life issues as well, I think my daughter may still be in diapers if it wasn't for "Potty Time With Bear"! We used the songs, sayings, & imagery from the video while potty training & it really took the stress out. I can't say enough good things about this show. Jim Henson would be proud I'm sure!

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Bear smells the scents of pinecones, mistletoe and holiday cookies in the Big Blue House -- which means it's a special time of year! Bear and his friends learn about the various winter holidays: Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Winterberry...but most of all, they learn there is more to the holidays than receiving presents.In fact, the best present ever is seeing someone smile in gratitude after you have just helped him or her.The characters learn this lesson firsthand after helping a homeless dog find a home.Featured songs: "A Berry Bear Christmas," "Holiday for Everyone," "That's All I Want for Christmas," "What If," "Just Listen," "Woodland Valley Carols," "Legend of Winterberry," "What Did I Get For Christmas," "The Best Present Ever" and "Winter Berry Reprise."

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Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ah, good ol' Inspector Gadget. I have many fond memories of watching with laughter and excitement every Saturday morning as the good-natured, although often times misdirected, Inspector Gadget lumbered around some dangerous building or trap-infested jungle in search of clues that would solve the case-of-the-week. Often times his niece, Penny, and their dog, Brain, would pull some miraculous miracle in the nick of time that would save Uncle Gadget from his impeding doom. Other times, Gadget's typical "slip-up" would actually result in the foiling of Dr. Claw's dastardly deed-of-the-week. Either way, Inspector Gadget's clueless nature is what made the show so enjoyable. That is why when Disney announced they were making a live action movie based on the cartoon, I could hardly wait to see it in theaters.
Unfortunately, my memories of that movie are not nearly as fond as that of the cartoon, and that is why I never watched the sequel (although I hear it was equally as bad, if not worse). The movie lacked the charm of the cartoon, and it hardly seemed to be little more than loosely based off the show. That is why when I heard Inspector Gadget was getting yet another modern day facelift, this time through CGI, I found myself to be far more hesitant in picking up a copy. Surprisingly, my hesitation wasn't warranted.
Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever is by far, the closest thing to the original cartoon that has been released so far. Granted, there is probably enough in the movie to set it apart from the cartoon (such as the Gadget mobile being like the one in Disney's movie, where it talks and is an actual character) but, in my honest opinion, there is enough nods to the cartoon that will satisfy most fans of the original. Inspector Gadget is just as clueless and comical as in the original, and Brain is just as active and crucial to helping Gadget out of the crazy situations he gets himself in (again, unlike Disney's). Poor Chief Quimby gets blown up a couple of times from his self-destruct assignments, Dr. Claw is back to his ol' self with plans for world domination, and his MAD agents are just as useless, although amusing, as ever.
Really, the only major differences between this CGI movie and the cartoon is the Gadget mobile (although it's not nearly as bad as the one in Disney's movie, this one actually has some comical lines and cool stunts!), Penny's character (she doesn't seem nearly as smart or resourceful), and a couple new characters that didn't appear in the cartoon (such as the mayor), but I feel they add to the value of the movie. Another major difference is the original Gadget theme is nowhere to be found! That really disappointed me, as the new theme song doesn't sound nearly as good. It's ironic, the only thing the Disney movie got right was the theme song, and really, the only thing this movie gets wrong is the theme song!
Nonetheless, I was more than satisfied with this new Gadget adventure. I won't spoil the plot, but it's classic Inspector Gadget material, as is much of the world in which the story unfolds. The CGI, while nothing groundbreaking, flows nicely, and the dialogue is bound to bring about some laughter and fond memories. The DVD also comes with some nice bonus features, so it isn't barebones like some DVD's out there! The bonus features include:
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers
Build Your Own Gadget
Inspector's School Of Gadgetry
Trailer Gallery
I haven't checked out all of the bonus features yet, but so far, I'm not disappointed!
As for the bottom line, I can't say for certain every Gadget fan will love this new movie. All I can say for certain is that I enjoyed the movie, and that, in my opinion, it stayed fairly true to the cartoon in most respects. That is why I feel if you enjoyed the cartoon, you'll enjoy the movie, even if you're all grown up now. Heck, I was able to enjoy it even though I'm nineteen and haven't watched the show since I was about nine or so (it's never on anymore! Bring it back!), but hey, that's me. As for the rest of you, I would hope that you'll at least give the movie a chance and rent it... you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised!


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INSPECTOR GADGET'S BIGGEST CAPER EVER - DVD Movie

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Care Bears: Giving Festival Movie Review

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(More customer reviews)"Giving Festival Movie" is the latest CGI film in the "Care Bears" series as of 2010 and part of the "Adventures in Care-a-Lot" franchise, though not marketed under that title.
Visually, the film is absolutely wonderful. It's obvious that they've upgraded the quality of their CGI since "Oopsy Does It" and it shows in some delightful backgrounds and eye-catching special effects. There are also some slight changes to the character models, but they don't bother me.
"Giving Festival Movie" is presented as a series of three segments tied around one story. It begins with the Care Bears getting ready for the Giving Festival and the arrival of their good friend Princess Starglow. Grumpy has designed a machine to make snow, but a big windstorm blowing through Care-a-Lot threatens to cancel the festival. It gets them thinking about past times, leading into the first main story, in which Grizzle decides to try to move Care-a-Lot away from his home. He ends up creating a big quake and then getting stranded in Care-a-Lot. The Care Bears take him back home, but he repays their kindness by trying to trick them into a trap. In the second story, Oopsy, Wingnut, and True Heart decide to give the new Care Team: Funshine, Cheer, Grumpy and Share a vacation, a day all to themselves having fun. Oopsy invites True Heart to join them, but she runs off and cries and Oopsy & Wingnut learn that she's scared of riding the Funderbolt. They resolve to help her out, but must first deal with an emergency involving the Care Team. In the final story, the Care Team has to rescue Princess Starglow, who has been trapped in a cage by Windle. Windle doesn't like the Giving Festival and is trying to stop Princess Starglow from coming.
This is not a musical, but that is not to say that the music isn't good. There are three songs - the show title theme (used right at the beginning), the energetic "Care Power On" and finally "The Giving Season's Here" at the end of the film.
The film is presented in 1:78:1, enhanced for widescreen TVs and with closed-captions. The sound is 5.1 Dolby Digital. This film is not rated, but would probably be suitable for all but the very youngest audiences. Bonus features include trailers for other film and television releases, the game Save the Giving Festival! and the "Care Bears Adventures in Care-a-Lot" episode "Belly Blanked / All Give and No Take" (traditional animation.)

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Clifford: The Big Red Dog - Growing Up With Clifford (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Now that John Ritter has passed (RIP) and no new episodes are being made, this series continues its trot to DVD. Lionsgate is handling the releases now, under the "Scholastic Clifford the Big Red Dog" banner.
"Growing Up With Clifford" contains the usual eight "Clifford" stories, with the them of learning about growing and handling responsibilities. The stories are "Blanket Blues," "Food for Thought," "When I Grow Up," "Fishing Lessons," "Dog for a Day," "Nothing to Fur but Fur Itself," "Another Fine Mess" and "Vaz Goes Down the Tubes."
There are a couple of halfway decent special features. You get three "Speckle" stories and a feature that shows how to draw some of the characters, such as Clifford, Emily Elizabeth, T-Bone and Cleo.

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