Paramount Studios presents

Nick Jr. Celebrates Spring! (2004)

"What a beautiful day! Birds are singing! Bees are buzzing! Eggs are hiding!"- Dora and Boots, on an Easter egg hunt

Stars: Samantha Morton, Donovan Patton
Other Stars: Marlee Matlin
Director: Jamie Whitney, Olexa Hewryk, Jennifer Oxley, Koyalee Chanda

MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 01h:21m:13s
Release Date: 2004-03-02
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B+	B	B-	C

 

DVD Review

Hippety, hoppety, Easter's on its way, in this vernal sampler from our friends at Nick Jr. Episodes from four of their most popular shows are featured here, loosely yoked together with a seasonal theme—if it's the winter blues that have you down, here's a surefire answer.

First out of the gate is an episode of Dora the Explorer, in which Dora and her faithful sidekick Boots are on an Egg Hunt. We help them track down a dozen eggs, that have been hidden by Dora's family, climaxing in the Big Yellow Egg at Grandma's house. The kids will appreciate the opportunity to participate in Dora's adventure, but that arrow, mimicking a computer screen and pointing out things in Dora's world, is a little creepy.

Next our bunny buddy Max and his big sister Ruby are off on an Easter egg hunt, but he's got designs on the prize, which is Max's Chocolate Chicken. You've got to love any little kid, of whatever species, who peers at a piece of candy and says with all of his heart: "I love you." Seeing bunnies chase gifts from the Easter Bunny is a little strange, though. Back to humans with our pal Little Bill—two stories with him are here. First, Bill Cosby's pint-sized alter ego thinks he knows it all about rollerblading, and doesn't need The Skating Lesson. But he learns that we've all got to fall a couple of times before we can soar, and he gladly accepts lessons from his big sister April. Next, it's the class science project, and while everybody else got a butterfly chrysalis, Little Bill is the only one saddled with a cocoon, containing Mr. Moth. But it's cool to be singular, he learns, and he greets the metamorphosis with all the sunshine he can muster.

Finally, it's a winning episode of Blue's Clues, in which Blue, Joe and the gang are preparing for Our Neighborhood Festival, highlighted by Periwinkle the cat's yummy-looking paella. (Intrigo, can you cook like this?) Marlee Matlin guest stars as the neighborhood librarian, and the episode is dedicated to the late Fred Rogers, who knew a thing or two about neighborhoods.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: A typically clean, bright and saturated transfer; the Blue's Clues episode is especially visually appealing.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: Things sound fine, though the Little Bill stories are a little too full of ambient noise.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 4 cues and remote access
5 Other Trailer(s) featuring Rugrats Go Wild, Dora's Pirate Adventure, the Nick Jr. video collection, Jimmy Neutron, Peanuts videos
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. bonus Rugrats episode
2. Looking for the Spring Thing! game

Extras Review: Still more Nick Jr. goodies in the bonus section. The principal offering is a typically vulgar episode of Rugrats (23m:16s), in which Spike, the lovesick dog, jilts baby Tommy for his beloved, a poorly groomed poodle called Fifi, leading to Bow Wow Wedding Vows. Also on hand is a little quiz of sorts, called Looking for the Spring Thing!, that tests your knowledge of the episodes on the disc—no answers are here, though, so you'll have to grade yourselves on the honor system.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

Spring is busting out all over on this disc, a pretty fair and fun Nick Jr. sampler.

Jon Danziger 2004-03-01