THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994 TAG: 9409140665
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines
Today, The Daily Break begins a monthly feature about new videos for children.
A PHONE CALL from a panicky neighbor sends the amateur sleuths off to Thorn Mansion. The old place has been deserted for years - its steep stone stairs are strewn with dead leaves - but Mrs. Busybody sees lights shimmering in the windows. She thinks it could be a ghost.
She might be right. Inside, the detectives hear a strange buzzing noise. Fog filters under the door. Ectoplasmic goo dots the floor. A mysterious figure shrouded in white roams room to room.
Worst of all, they're locked in!
The Bobbsey Twins?
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
The 8-year-old co-stars of ABC's ``Full House'' put on trench coats todaycq to solve ``The Case of Thorn Mansion.'' The first of two titles in their new video series mixes mystery and music, but mostly it markets CUTE.
And that's OK. Audiences that have watched the twins grow up on TV will eat it up. Parents will appreciate the easy-to-follow story, high production values and clever songwriting. ``Bravery'' brings up genuine concerns, and the girls handle the vocalese of ``That Funky Musicology'' like old pros.
Best of all, they solve the mystery by reading, which might get young viewers hooked on the Bobbseys, Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys.
``Thorn Mansion'' and ``The Case of The Logical i Ranch'' (Dualstar Video/BMG Kidzcq) are $12.98 each.
You've probably seen ``My Neighbor Totoro'' (FoxVideo, $19.98) on the shelf and asked, ``What's a Totoro?'' Best guess is it's a cross between an owl and a rabbit, but this is certain: The Japanese entry, which borrows from ``Alice in Wonderland,'' is pure magic, a sweet, gentle tale about love and friendship that is as richly animated as it is written. The rural setting is another plus; it will expose viewers young and old to a way of life different from their own.
National Geographic pulls off the impossible with GeoKids: Challenging and entertaining peewee viewers - we're talking 5 and under - without once pandering to them.
The series, arriving Sept. 21, uses it all - rhyming and counting games, animation, songs and kids' drawings, all wrapped around Geographic footage in bite-sized segments that will hold young attention spans. The hosts are Sunny Honeypossum, Bobby Bushbaby and Balzac de Chameleon, puppet creatures who keep things moving from their home base in a magical forest.
``Flying, Trying and Honking Around'' ($12.95) looks at how birds fly, follows a baby hippo's tentative first steps and shows different types of animal noses. Parents will learn plenty, too. This is quality stuff.
Bill Nye the Science Guy'' is already familiar to the Saturday-morning set, but it might be news to grownups that they can take something from the three tapes ($12.99) brought out late last month by Walt Disney Home Video.
A real-life scientist and standup comic, the likable Nye comes across like decaffeinated ``Beakman's World.'' Not that he hurts for energy. In ``Human Body: The Inside Scoop,'' Nye goes one-on-one with Seattle Supersonic Nate McMillan to show what happens when we sweat, and he flies in a jet fighter to explain how suits with air bladders keep pilots from blacking out.
You also learn it takes 200,000 frowns to make one wrinkle and that the heart pumps enough blood to fill 30 oil drums a day. Personal fave: A faux ad for Johnny Flesh's ``Golden Hits Vol. 1,'' with a tuxedoed kid warbling ``Epidermis'' to Nat King Cole's ``Mona Lisa.'' Funny.
OK, Wakko Warner can belch every verse of ``Jingle Bells,'' but in ``Wakko's America,'' he recites all 50 states and their capitals to the tune of ``Turkey in the Straw.'' That about sums up Steven Spielberg's ``Animaniacs'': Wakko, Yakko and Dot are such a scream, you can miss how clever, informative and - yes - hip these cartoons are.
Warner just came out with five tapes ($12.95) from the year-old series. Try the ``Animaniacs Sing-a-Long'' and ``You Will Buy This Video,'' which follows lab rats, uh, mice Pinky and the Brain as they seek world domination. Kids will get off on the anarchy; parents will love how it deflates pop culture.
Even though the animation is the weak link in ``The Halloween Tree,'' the video, due Wednesday from Turner Home Entertainment, is worth checking out for the strong story - no surprise because it was adapted by Ray Bradbury from his novel. The author also makes a compelling narrator. But kids under 10 might find it too intense.
Four friends go back through time as they try to save the spirit of a chum. Leonard Nimoy is the voice of Moonshroud. ($19.98)
Turner also is bringing out a ``Dink the Little Dinosaur'' six-pack ($9.98 each), the four-part series ``The Dinosaurs!'' ($14.98/$49.98) and four ``Flintstones'' ($12.98) on tape for the first time.
What do your kids do when a black-and-white zips by, a jet roars overhead or an 18-wheeler throttles down? Same thing you used to do. Which makes ``There Goes a Police Car,'' ``There Goes an Airplane'' and ``There Goes a Truck,'' recent titles in the KidVision series, ``Live Action Video for Kids,'' good bets.
These are low-overhead productions, but kids won't care. Hosted by goofy Officer/Pilot/Trucker Dave (producer/director Dave Hood), they deliver a packed half-hour of sights, sounds and details to young viewers (3-8) naturally fascinated by this stuff. A fourth title is about trains; each is $10.95.
On the other hand, ``How They Fly the Concorde'' (Eye-in-the-Sky TV) hardly gets off the ground. The problem is once the big bird takes off from New York for London, not much happens - even when it cracks the sound barrier. It's become so routine, says Capt. Paul Havis, it barely makes a ripple.
Instead, there's shots of flight attendants serving fancy food and talk about the kid-glove treatment that comes with a ticket. Did British Airways bankroll this? Older viewers might go for the explanations of why the Concorde is such a technical marvel. Youngsters will want action, and this one doesn't have it. (The video costs $19.95, plus $3.95 shipping and handling. To order, call 800-993-0333)
Sleeping Beauty,'' one of five new titles in Orion's Storyteller's Classics series, has two big things going for it: the music of Tchaikovsky and Dudley Moore's delightful narration. The animation is limited, but good enough to hold young viewers' attention. Anyway, the emphasis is where it should be - on the story. Other titles include ``Peter and the Wolf,'' ``The Nutcracker,'' ``Swan Lake'' and ``The Toy Symphony.'' They're $12.98 each and come with a cassette soundtrack.
Quick takes
Video Treasures just released two more titles in its ``Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'' series. ``Percy's Ghostly Trick & Other Thomas Stories'' and ``Thomas' Christmas Party & Other Favorite Stories'' are $12.98 each and include new stories.
GoodTimes is bringing Dudley the Dragon to America. A Canadian cousin to Barney, his show combines live action and animation. The first episodes, ``Dudley Finds His Home'' and ``Dudley's Tea Party,'' are due Thursday at $12.95 each. GoodTimes also has six Animated Classics arriving Thursday. ``Leo the Lion, King of the Jungle,'' ``Pocahontas,'' ``Cinderella,'' ``Snow White,'' ``The Nutcracker'' and ``A Christmas Carol'' are $19.95 each.
New from Nickelodeon/Sony Wonder: ``Ren & Stimpy: Classics II,'' ``Ren & Stimpy: Have Yourself a Stinky Little Christmas,'' ($14.98), ``Rugrats: The Santa Experience,'' ``Doug: Christmas Story,'' ``Lassie Come HO-HO-Home'' and ``Lassie: A Christmas Tail'' ($9.98). Sony Wonder has added ``The Night Before Christmas'' and ``Snow White'' ($14.98 each) to its Enchanted Tales series.
FoxVideo's new Animated Christmas Collection includes new titles, ``Christopher the Christmas Tree'' and ``Raggedy Ann & Andy: The Christmas Adventure,'' and familiar ones, ``The Simpsons' Christmas Special'' and ``A Garfield Christmas.'' Each cost $9.98. They come out Sept. 21.
On Sept. 28, Paramount brings out ``A Charlie Brown Christmas,'' ``A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,'' ``Happy New Year, Charlie Brown'' ($12.95 each) and ``The Mayflower Voyagers'' ($9.95), from the miniseries ``This Is America, Charlie Brown.'' ``Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus,'' ``Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol'' and ``The Trolls and the Christmas Express'' are due the same day at $9.95 a pop.
Golden Book Video has a new title in the long-running ``Madeline'' series coming Sept. 29. ``Madeline and the Toy Factory'' lists for $12.95. Golden also is repricing ``Madeline's Christmas,'' ``Timmy's Gift,'' ``Timmy's Special Delivery'' and ``Baby Songs Christmas'' at $12.95 and ``Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas'' at $9.95.
Finally, ``Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'' debuts Sept. 30 for $19.99 on Touchstone Pictures. by CNB