Paramount Studios presents

Cyberchase: Totally Rad (2004)

"Team Motherboard never gives up!"- Inez (Annick Obonsawin)

Stars: Christopher Lloyd, Gilbert Gottfried, Jacqueline Pillon, Annick Obonsawin, Novie Edwards
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:20m:43s
Release Date: 2004-08-03
Genre: animation

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

 

DVD Review

In Cyberchase, Matt, Inez, and Jackie, three sports-loving kids, defend the realm of cyberspace against the dastardly Hacker (voiced by Christopher Lloyd). Accompanied by their robotic bird Digit (Gilbert Gottfried), the trio must use their teamwork, brain power and math skills to overcome the Hacker's ingenious little schemes. The first two episodes on this disc are centered in the cybertown of Radopolis. In Totally Rad, the kids must use their knowledge of perimeter and area to defeat the Hacker during a skating competition. In The Borg of the Ring, the lost Totally Rad Ring of Radopolis is discovered. This artifact makes anyone's wildest wishes come true. Without delay, the Hacker steals the ring and takes away the wheels of Radopolis. The team, and a new friend named Slider, must use principles of circles, including radius, to make cyberspace safe once again. In Fortress of Attitude, Team Motherboard goes undercover and tries to foil the Hacker's plan by navigating through a series of dastardly traps within a giant statue, his latest tool of domination.

Cyberchase is a fun, colorful, energetic PBS cartoon that uses clever, imaginative stories to help kids develop their math skills. These "lessons" are well integrated into the plots, and kids could learn quite a bit if they pay very close attention. Each episode ends with a live-action "For Real" piece involving the same mathematical concepts. These segments are less entertaining, but are good reinforcement. Physical activity and exercise are also encouraged through the kids' affinity for sports, but the kinds of tricks they perform on screen are certainly unsafe and out of reach for kids, and this should be made clear to young viewers.

Paramount's image transfer captures the bold, colorful visuals, with only some minor motion "jaggies" here and there. The Dolby Surround track is active, crisp and bright. This is an above average show that is sure to educate and keep kids interested.

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 Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English, Spanish	yes

Audio Transfer Grade: A- 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 14 cues
2 Featurette(s)
Weblink/DVD-ROM Material
Packaging: generic plastic keepcase
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Mini booklet with parent's guide
2. $5 rebate slip for the purchase of a Cyberchase CD-ROM game

Extras Review: Extras on the disc include a featurette on How to Draw Digit (04m:33s) and a collection of staged Bloopers (02m:49s) from the "For Real" segments. A "For Parents" section features text ads for other Cyberchase products. Interactive games can be accessed through a PC DVD-ROM drive. There is also a mini insert with a parent's guide to the program, which includes some additional educational activities.

Extras Grade: C+
 

Final Comments

Cyberchase is an energetic, imaginative show with colorful characters, and well-integrated math lessons. Paramount's disc is thinner than it may look, but has some additional educational bits.

Matt Peterson 2004-08-02