Rocko's Modern Life Season One Review (Spoilers)
Also reviews for The Best of Sesame Street Spoofs Volumes 1 and 2, Sesame Street: Elmo's Musical Adventure, and Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat.
Rocko's Modern Life: Season One
Warning: do not watch this show on a full stomach. I cannot think of a cartoon with more disgusting gross-out gags. This makes Ren and Stimpy look like something on the Food Network.
It also happens to be mad-funny. It was created by Joe Murray (Camp Lazlo) and features a lovable wallaby named Rocko, his dim best steer friend Heffer and his adorable dog Spunky. It's actually a pretty neat satire of comsumerism and mega-corporations. It reminds me a lot of Jim Henson's Dinosaurs without the uplifting morals. It's a good show.
Best cartoons of the year are the Heffer spotlight (Who's For Dinner), Rocko on a dating spree (Love Spanked), and the classic where Spunky falls in love with a mop (Clean Lovin'). There aren't really any bad episodes on this set but I don't love Power Trip and The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby. Season Overall: ***1/2.
"No Pain, No Gain / Who Gives A Buck"
No Pain, No Gain: Richard Simmons! Ha! Funny episode. ***1/2.
Who Gives A Buck: The first time the show tackles consumerism. Good stuff. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Leap Frogs / Bedfellows"
Leap Frog: This banned episode is actually pretty tame. It's also really funny but I would think Nickolodeon would have had a bigger problem with the nudist party in the next cartoon. ****.
Bedfellows: Heffer is just SO gross. And funny. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Jet Scream / Dirty Dog"
Jet Scream: I would hate to see this episode's take on airlines after 9/11. Kind of nightmarish and almost accurate in a lot of ways. The only problem with it is that air travel has gotten MUCH worse since this first aired so it seems less biting than it was when it first aired. ***1/2.
Dirty Dog: Bloaty and Squirmy are things of genius. ****.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Keeping Up With The Bigheads / Skid Marks"
Keeping Up With The Bigheads: Ed Bighead is a fun character to see continually tortured. ***1/2.
Skid Marks: Rocko's take on the DMV. I loved the running "Don't get the fat guy" joke. ****.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Power Trip / To Heck And Back"
Power Trip: Rocko is a bit out of character here but I suppose that was the point of the episode. **1/2.
To Heck And Back: I love Peaches. A lot of great humor this episode that relies a great deal on the voice performances and not just the visual gags. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby / Trash-O-Madness":
The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby: A little bit boring but not too bad. **1/2.
Trash-O-Madness: I love episodes of Rocko with a ticking clock scenario. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
"Spitballs / Popcorn Pandemonium":
Spitballs: This episode made me laugh. ****.
Popcorn Pandemonium: Like the airline episode, this episode seems tame merely because movie theaters have gotten so much worse in the years since this first aired. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"A Sucker For The Suck-O-Matic / Canned"
A Sucker For The Suck-O-Matic: Memorable episode. ****.
Canned: Rocko being laid off was funny. Another good showing for the constantly abused Ed Bighead. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Carnival Knowledge / Sand In Your Navel"
Carnival Knowledge: Upon reading the episode description, I expected better. Rocko versus those games of chance was funny though. ***.
Sand In Your Navel: Good episode but I hate the Hippo Lady. I actually don't usually mind Charlie Adler's voice but her's is like nails on a chalkboard. Thankfully she's only in a few scenes. I only note it here because this is her biggest episode this year. ***.
"Cabin Fever / Rinse & Spit"
Cabin Fever: This reminded me a bit of The Simpsons' Mountain of Madness except the only one who went insane here was Mr. Bighead. ****.
Rinse & Spit: Classic episode. One of Filburt's best showings. I love Dr. Hutchison and her hook for a hand. Weird, weird episode. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
"Rocko's Happy Sack / Flu-In-U-Enza"
Rocko's Happy Sack: Another good episode because of the ticking clock scenario. ***1/2.
Flu-In-U-Enza: This episode was disgusting. And I couldn't help but laugh when I wasn't throwing up. ***.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Who's For Dinner / Love Spanked"
Who's For Dinner: This is actually my favorite episode of all time. Heffer's wolf family is hilarious and there are a bunch of great sight gags involving them and their eating habits. The racist grandfather was funny too. My absolute favorite part was Rocko saying he didn't know Heffer was adopted, followed by a silence where you could hear a pin drop, and then Heffer crying "Is that TRUE?!" *****.
Love Spanked: The dating game show was the best part. I laughed when the audience "picked" Heffer. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: *****.
"Clean Lovin' / Unbalanced Load"
Clean Lovin': This episode didn't even NEED to be funny. It would have gotten a perfect score from me simply for the plot: Spunky falls in love with a mop. So it's to the ep's credit that it takes a hilarious (but admittedly thin) premise and mines a great deal of laughs from it. Excellent. *****.
Unbalanced Load: Another gross, but funny episode. I was relieved when Rocko saved his lucky shirt. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
DVD Menus: With Rocko And Heffer. ****.
Best Of Sesame Street Spoofs Volumes 1 and 2
A two disc set of old-school and recent spoofs. Surprisingly the new stuff is just as good as the old stuff when it's at it's best. Still, there are more outright stinkers on the Volume 2 set. Both Volumes Overall: ****.
Volume 1
Volume 1 Features Old School Classic Spoofs. Some goodies on here although some spoofs inclusions are head-scratchers. For instance, I think Hill Street Two's was only included because of the clever name, instead of it's quality which is merely so-so. Some of the gags are classics. We get THREE Monsterpiece Theaters and FOUR Beat The Clocks. The Monsterpiece Theater Twin Beaks is great and even included the revamped segment opening with all of the pictures and books. Volume 1 Overall: ****.
Dragnet: All right, I guess but for an earlier spoof I expected better. ***.
King Minus: Classic cartoon with impossibly good rhyming. *****.
Here Is Your Life: Oak Tree: I hate Here Is Your Life. That may sound like sacrilege from a Street Geek but it's true. **.
Beat The Time: Cookie Monster: Beat The Time however is always good for a laugh. Cookie Monster driving that train through the studio was hilarious. ****1/2.
Count It Higher: I have no idea what this is a spoof of but I've always loved it. Great song. ****.
Six Dollar Man: This was absolutely hilarious. And I've actually never seen it before. *****.
Born To Add: A little bit boring but the melody is nice. ***1/2.
Family Food Game: Richard Dawson frenching Muppets? Oh, I'm there. ****.
Hey, Food: Decent but not great. **1/2.
Rebel L: I didn't like this much. *1/2.
Hill Street Two's: I love spoofs that star Muppet regulars. Especially funny are Ernie and Grover. ***.
Gone With The Wind: Monsterpiece Theater has done MUCH better. **1/2.
High Twelve: Forgetful Jones is someone I really miss on The Street. ***1/2.
King And I: Another Monsterpiece Theater, this one is much funnier. ***1/2.
Oooo-Klahoma: I love it when Kermit goes nuts. VERY funny. ****1/2.
Casablanca Alphabet: Tedious. Good things? It's a surprisingly faithful spoof. *.
Cereal Girl: Catchy if dated. ***1/2.
Twin Beaks: Another classic. It helps that they used the entire Monsterpiece Theater opening. I loved the bird named David Finch too. I also like that they spoofed the music and the Log Lady. *****.
Ronnie Trash: Meh. **.
Bonus Spoofs:
Beat The Time: Grover: I love how anxious Guy Smiley was making Grover. The guy is a nut. ****.
Beat The Time: The Count: The best of the Beat The Time segments on the DVD. And the Count actually knew what he was doing and won! I especially liked the twist. Genius. *****.
Beat The Time: Elmo: A love old-school Elmo and bits like this are reasons why. I just wish the ending were stronger. ****1/2.
Volume 2
Volume 2 features recent spoofs. I was a little surprised at how good some of these were. Usually Street fans think the recent stuff isn't up to snuff but some of these (like 30 Rocks and Dirtiest Jobs) were better than most of the ones on the classics disc. Best ones are those two, Spaceship Surprise: The Next Generation (with funny puppet stand-ins for Picard, Data, Crusher And Worf), an episode of Colambo and Grover's Smell Like A Monster (an Old Spice parody). Volume Overall: ****.
Colambo: I love Colambo! This was a funny one too. ****1/2.
Spaceship Surprise: I love how excited the puppet stand-in for Picard got. ****.
The Braid-Y Bunch: A bit lame but the tune is catchy. ***.
Six Feet Under: A bad one-note groaner of a joke. But I still laughed. ***1/2.
Dr. Phil Meets Dr. Feel: I hate Dr. Phil but this was pretty funny. ***1/2.
24: A literal cliffhanger. ***.
Desperate Houseplants: Stinky! The tank-topped gardener made me laugh. ***1/2.
Law And Order: Special Letters Unit: Dead-on puppet impersonations of the cast of SVU. The Ricard Belzer puppet was especially on the nose. ****1/2.
Outrageous Makeover Home Addition: I love Grover and the little blue guy. ****.
A's Anatomy: Grover was funny but the spoof was only so-so. **1/2.
GNN: Anderson Cooper looks like he's having a blast. Seeing him pop out of Oscar's can was delightful. ****1/2.
RSI (Rhyme Scene Investigation): The best Sesame parodies are at least a BIT authentic. This one wasn't so much. **1/2.
30 Rocks: Liz the Lemon is adorable and her interactions with Jack were spot-on. Funny stuff. *****.
Pre-School Musical: A lame as the show it is spoofing. *.
Dirtiest Jobs: Best parody on the disc. The Dirty Jobs guy has some of the best chemistry with the Muppets I've seen in a while and the segment is filled with laughs. And he even out-dirties Oscar! *****.
Mad Men: I loved Draper and the Mad Men always pounding the table. ***1/2.
True Mud: Groan. Outside of the funny opening (including Oscar's GrouchBO logo) the segment was a dud. Seriously weak. *1/2.
The Closer: Another groaner. **.
O Network: The only cartoon on the disc. Cute. ***.
Bonus Spoofs:
Jon And Kate Plus 8: Surprisingly funny. I especially liked how much mayhem the kids started at the beginning of the segment along with the mom wearily disciplining them. And the Count actually puts the whammy on the kids! He hasn't done that in years! ****1/2.
Smell Like A Monster: Grover as the Old Spice Guy? Genius. *****.
Sesame Street: 40 Years Of Sunny Days Trailer: Excellent. *****.
Volume 1 DVD Menu: Featuring Cookie Monster. ****.
Volume 2 DVD Menu: Featuring Elmo. ****.
Elmo's Musical Adventure
Peter And The Wolf
I love the Boston Pops. This special was cute especially the way Keith Lockhart interacted with Baby Bear. I wasn't TOO crazy about the wrap-around story but once they get to Elmo as Peter I was sold. The cutest characters were Zoe as the Bird and surprisingly Oscar as the Cat. My absolute favorite part was Telly angrily protesting the Duck getting eaten by the Wolf, ripping off his beak, and quitting midway through the story. The Pops are absolutely wonderful and it was cool that Baby Bear (and presumably the kiddies at home) learned that classical music often tells a story through song. Worst part of the special was Baby Bear constantly shouting in the opera house and even interrupting the Pops. If I were a patron there I would have been furious. A fine special otherwise. ****1/2.
Games And Music:
What Instrument Makes This Music?: A matching game with the Pops' music clips. **1/2.
Whose Music Is This?: Another matching game with Clips featuring the characters. **1/2.
Meet The Muppets: Character profiles for Elmo, Zoe, Big Bird, Oscar The Grouch, Telly, The Two-Headed Monster, Baby Bear and The Wolf. ***1/2.
Music Tells A Story: Easy way to access the clips from the games without having to play them. ***.
The Orchestra: New clips of the Boston Pops. The best of the special features. ****1/2.
Previews
Get Up and Dance: What is "A New Way To Walk" without the Oinker Sisters? Answer: not as much fun. ***.
Sleepytime Songs & Stories: Any DVD that has the classic Bert and Ernie "I Dance Myself To Sleep" is a gem in my book. I love The Boogie-Woogie Sheep. ****1/2.
Play-Along Games & Songs: Best bit is Grover's "Around, Over, Under and Through". **1/2.
Sesame Workshop Promo: Fun. ***1/2.
Sesame.org Promo: Best Sesame Trailer I've seen in a while. *****.
DVD Menu: Fully animated on each menu. BUT I must protest the guy urging menu selections (and voicing the various games) is quite annoying so marks off for that. ***.
Dr. Suess' The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat
Battle of the Dr. Suess titans! I loved this special as a kid and it's still pretty good for the era it was produced in. It's one of the few Dr. Suess specials featuring a story written specifically for television. Max is in it too, so that's much appreciated. And yes, the Grinch repents at the end which is always nice. If I had any complaints it's that the Grinch gets it TOO much over the Cat in the Hat. The Cat In The Hat is the Bugs Bunny of the Seussverse and seeing him go through so much torment without getting revenge was kind of sad. Still, I admit his solution to remind the Grinch of his mother was a funny one. The other complaint I had is that the songs weren't all that great. This can't top any of the great music from How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Good special though. ***.
The Hoober-Bloob Highway
Groovy. Not as good as The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat but the songs were about a million times better. Parts of this were boring but whenever a song started, I perked right up. This is basically the Dr. Suess version of the story of storks bringing babies or the cabbage patch. It's kind of cute. The animation is 70's funky too. **1/2.
Sing-Along-Songs:
These are two songs from the specials with the words on the bottom of the screen. Overall: ***.
What Makes a Grinch Tick?: This is the worst, least hummable song from the special so it makes no sense that they made it a singalong. *.
It's Fun to Be a Human: A really fun song. Only problem is it cuts off abruptly. ****.
DVD Menu: Bland. **1/2.
Rocko's Modern Life: Season One
Warning: do not watch this show on a full stomach. I cannot think of a cartoon with more disgusting gross-out gags. This makes Ren and Stimpy look like something on the Food Network.
It also happens to be mad-funny. It was created by Joe Murray (Camp Lazlo) and features a lovable wallaby named Rocko, his dim best steer friend Heffer and his adorable dog Spunky. It's actually a pretty neat satire of comsumerism and mega-corporations. It reminds me a lot of Jim Henson's Dinosaurs without the uplifting morals. It's a good show.
Best cartoons of the year are the Heffer spotlight (Who's For Dinner), Rocko on a dating spree (Love Spanked), and the classic where Spunky falls in love with a mop (Clean Lovin'). There aren't really any bad episodes on this set but I don't love Power Trip and The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby. Season Overall: ***1/2.
"No Pain, No Gain / Who Gives A Buck"
No Pain, No Gain: Richard Simmons! Ha! Funny episode. ***1/2.
Who Gives A Buck: The first time the show tackles consumerism. Good stuff. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Leap Frogs / Bedfellows"
Leap Frog: This banned episode is actually pretty tame. It's also really funny but I would think Nickolodeon would have had a bigger problem with the nudist party in the next cartoon. ****.
Bedfellows: Heffer is just SO gross. And funny. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Jet Scream / Dirty Dog"
Jet Scream: I would hate to see this episode's take on airlines after 9/11. Kind of nightmarish and almost accurate in a lot of ways. The only problem with it is that air travel has gotten MUCH worse since this first aired so it seems less biting than it was when it first aired. ***1/2.
Dirty Dog: Bloaty and Squirmy are things of genius. ****.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Keeping Up With The Bigheads / Skid Marks"
Keeping Up With The Bigheads: Ed Bighead is a fun character to see continually tortured. ***1/2.
Skid Marks: Rocko's take on the DMV. I loved the running "Don't get the fat guy" joke. ****.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Power Trip / To Heck And Back"
Power Trip: Rocko is a bit out of character here but I suppose that was the point of the episode. **1/2.
To Heck And Back: I love Peaches. A lot of great humor this episode that relies a great deal on the voice performances and not just the visual gags. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby / Trash-O-Madness":
The Good, The Bad, And The Wallaby: A little bit boring but not too bad. **1/2.
Trash-O-Madness: I love episodes of Rocko with a ticking clock scenario. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***.
"Spitballs / Popcorn Pandemonium":
Spitballs: This episode made me laugh. ****.
Popcorn Pandemonium: Like the airline episode, this episode seems tame merely because movie theaters have gotten so much worse in the years since this first aired. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"A Sucker For The Suck-O-Matic / Canned"
A Sucker For The Suck-O-Matic: Memorable episode. ****.
Canned: Rocko being laid off was funny. Another good showing for the constantly abused Ed Bighead. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
"Carnival Knowledge / Sand In Your Navel"
Carnival Knowledge: Upon reading the episode description, I expected better. Rocko versus those games of chance was funny though. ***.
Sand In Your Navel: Good episode but I hate the Hippo Lady. I actually don't usually mind Charlie Adler's voice but her's is like nails on a chalkboard. Thankfully she's only in a few scenes. I only note it here because this is her biggest episode this year. ***.
"Cabin Fever / Rinse & Spit"
Cabin Fever: This reminded me a bit of The Simpsons' Mountain of Madness except the only one who went insane here was Mr. Bighead. ****.
Rinse & Spit: Classic episode. One of Filburt's best showings. I love Dr. Hutchison and her hook for a hand. Weird, weird episode. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
"Rocko's Happy Sack / Flu-In-U-Enza"
Rocko's Happy Sack: Another good episode because of the ticking clock scenario. ***1/2.
Flu-In-U-Enza: This episode was disgusting. And I couldn't help but laugh when I wasn't throwing up. ***.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
"Who's For Dinner / Love Spanked"
Who's For Dinner: This is actually my favorite episode of all time. Heffer's wolf family is hilarious and there are a bunch of great sight gags involving them and their eating habits. The racist grandfather was funny too. My absolute favorite part was Rocko saying he didn't know Heffer was adopted, followed by a silence where you could hear a pin drop, and then Heffer crying "Is that TRUE?!" *****.
Love Spanked: The dating game show was the best part. I laughed when the audience "picked" Heffer. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: *****.
"Clean Lovin' / Unbalanced Load"
Clean Lovin': This episode didn't even NEED to be funny. It would have gotten a perfect score from me simply for the plot: Spunky falls in love with a mop. So it's to the ep's credit that it takes a hilarious (but admittedly thin) premise and mines a great deal of laughs from it. Excellent. *****.
Unbalanced Load: Another gross, but funny episode. I was relieved when Rocko saved his lucky shirt. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
DVD Menus: With Rocko And Heffer. ****.
Best Of Sesame Street Spoofs Volumes 1 and 2
A two disc set of old-school and recent spoofs. Surprisingly the new stuff is just as good as the old stuff when it's at it's best. Still, there are more outright stinkers on the Volume 2 set. Both Volumes Overall: ****.
Volume 1
Volume 1 Features Old School Classic Spoofs. Some goodies on here although some spoofs inclusions are head-scratchers. For instance, I think Hill Street Two's was only included because of the clever name, instead of it's quality which is merely so-so. Some of the gags are classics. We get THREE Monsterpiece Theaters and FOUR Beat The Clocks. The Monsterpiece Theater Twin Beaks is great and even included the revamped segment opening with all of the pictures and books. Volume 1 Overall: ****.
Dragnet: All right, I guess but for an earlier spoof I expected better. ***.
King Minus: Classic cartoon with impossibly good rhyming. *****.
Here Is Your Life: Oak Tree: I hate Here Is Your Life. That may sound like sacrilege from a Street Geek but it's true. **.
Beat The Time: Cookie Monster: Beat The Time however is always good for a laugh. Cookie Monster driving that train through the studio was hilarious. ****1/2.
Count It Higher: I have no idea what this is a spoof of but I've always loved it. Great song. ****.
Six Dollar Man: This was absolutely hilarious. And I've actually never seen it before. *****.
Born To Add: A little bit boring but the melody is nice. ***1/2.
Family Food Game: Richard Dawson frenching Muppets? Oh, I'm there. ****.
Hey, Food: Decent but not great. **1/2.
Rebel L: I didn't like this much. *1/2.
Hill Street Two's: I love spoofs that star Muppet regulars. Especially funny are Ernie and Grover. ***.
Gone With The Wind: Monsterpiece Theater has done MUCH better. **1/2.
High Twelve: Forgetful Jones is someone I really miss on The Street. ***1/2.
King And I: Another Monsterpiece Theater, this one is much funnier. ***1/2.
Oooo-Klahoma: I love it when Kermit goes nuts. VERY funny. ****1/2.
Casablanca Alphabet: Tedious. Good things? It's a surprisingly faithful spoof. *.
Cereal Girl: Catchy if dated. ***1/2.
Twin Beaks: Another classic. It helps that they used the entire Monsterpiece Theater opening. I loved the bird named David Finch too. I also like that they spoofed the music and the Log Lady. *****.
Ronnie Trash: Meh. **.
Bonus Spoofs:
Beat The Time: Grover: I love how anxious Guy Smiley was making Grover. The guy is a nut. ****.
Beat The Time: The Count: The best of the Beat The Time segments on the DVD. And the Count actually knew what he was doing and won! I especially liked the twist. Genius. *****.
Beat The Time: Elmo: A love old-school Elmo and bits like this are reasons why. I just wish the ending were stronger. ****1/2.
Volume 2
Volume 2 features recent spoofs. I was a little surprised at how good some of these were. Usually Street fans think the recent stuff isn't up to snuff but some of these (like 30 Rocks and Dirtiest Jobs) were better than most of the ones on the classics disc. Best ones are those two, Spaceship Surprise: The Next Generation (with funny puppet stand-ins for Picard, Data, Crusher And Worf), an episode of Colambo and Grover's Smell Like A Monster (an Old Spice parody). Volume Overall: ****.
Colambo: I love Colambo! This was a funny one too. ****1/2.
Spaceship Surprise: I love how excited the puppet stand-in for Picard got. ****.
The Braid-Y Bunch: A bit lame but the tune is catchy. ***.
Six Feet Under: A bad one-note groaner of a joke. But I still laughed. ***1/2.
Dr. Phil Meets Dr. Feel: I hate Dr. Phil but this was pretty funny. ***1/2.
24: A literal cliffhanger. ***.
Desperate Houseplants: Stinky! The tank-topped gardener made me laugh. ***1/2.
Law And Order: Special Letters Unit: Dead-on puppet impersonations of the cast of SVU. The Ricard Belzer puppet was especially on the nose. ****1/2.
Outrageous Makeover Home Addition: I love Grover and the little blue guy. ****.
A's Anatomy: Grover was funny but the spoof was only so-so. **1/2.
GNN: Anderson Cooper looks like he's having a blast. Seeing him pop out of Oscar's can was delightful. ****1/2.
RSI (Rhyme Scene Investigation): The best Sesame parodies are at least a BIT authentic. This one wasn't so much. **1/2.
30 Rocks: Liz the Lemon is adorable and her interactions with Jack were spot-on. Funny stuff. *****.
Pre-School Musical: A lame as the show it is spoofing. *.
Dirtiest Jobs: Best parody on the disc. The Dirty Jobs guy has some of the best chemistry with the Muppets I've seen in a while and the segment is filled with laughs. And he even out-dirties Oscar! *****.
Mad Men: I loved Draper and the Mad Men always pounding the table. ***1/2.
True Mud: Groan. Outside of the funny opening (including Oscar's GrouchBO logo) the segment was a dud. Seriously weak. *1/2.
The Closer: Another groaner. **.
O Network: The only cartoon on the disc. Cute. ***.
Bonus Spoofs:
Jon And Kate Plus 8: Surprisingly funny. I especially liked how much mayhem the kids started at the beginning of the segment along with the mom wearily disciplining them. And the Count actually puts the whammy on the kids! He hasn't done that in years! ****1/2.
Smell Like A Monster: Grover as the Old Spice Guy? Genius. *****.
Sesame Street: 40 Years Of Sunny Days Trailer: Excellent. *****.
Volume 1 DVD Menu: Featuring Cookie Monster. ****.
Volume 2 DVD Menu: Featuring Elmo. ****.
Elmo's Musical Adventure
Peter And The Wolf
I love the Boston Pops. This special was cute especially the way Keith Lockhart interacted with Baby Bear. I wasn't TOO crazy about the wrap-around story but once they get to Elmo as Peter I was sold. The cutest characters were Zoe as the Bird and surprisingly Oscar as the Cat. My absolute favorite part was Telly angrily protesting the Duck getting eaten by the Wolf, ripping off his beak, and quitting midway through the story. The Pops are absolutely wonderful and it was cool that Baby Bear (and presumably the kiddies at home) learned that classical music often tells a story through song. Worst part of the special was Baby Bear constantly shouting in the opera house and even interrupting the Pops. If I were a patron there I would have been furious. A fine special otherwise. ****1/2.
Games And Music:
What Instrument Makes This Music?: A matching game with the Pops' music clips. **1/2.
Whose Music Is This?: Another matching game with Clips featuring the characters. **1/2.
Meet The Muppets: Character profiles for Elmo, Zoe, Big Bird, Oscar The Grouch, Telly, The Two-Headed Monster, Baby Bear and The Wolf. ***1/2.
Music Tells A Story: Easy way to access the clips from the games without having to play them. ***.
The Orchestra: New clips of the Boston Pops. The best of the special features. ****1/2.
Previews
Get Up and Dance: What is "A New Way To Walk" without the Oinker Sisters? Answer: not as much fun. ***.
Sleepytime Songs & Stories: Any DVD that has the classic Bert and Ernie "I Dance Myself To Sleep" is a gem in my book. I love The Boogie-Woogie Sheep. ****1/2.
Play-Along Games & Songs: Best bit is Grover's "Around, Over, Under and Through". **1/2.
Sesame Workshop Promo: Fun. ***1/2.
Sesame.org Promo: Best Sesame Trailer I've seen in a while. *****.
DVD Menu: Fully animated on each menu. BUT I must protest the guy urging menu selections (and voicing the various games) is quite annoying so marks off for that. ***.
Dr. Suess' The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat
Battle of the Dr. Suess titans! I loved this special as a kid and it's still pretty good for the era it was produced in. It's one of the few Dr. Suess specials featuring a story written specifically for television. Max is in it too, so that's much appreciated. And yes, the Grinch repents at the end which is always nice. If I had any complaints it's that the Grinch gets it TOO much over the Cat in the Hat. The Cat In The Hat is the Bugs Bunny of the Seussverse and seeing him go through so much torment without getting revenge was kind of sad. Still, I admit his solution to remind the Grinch of his mother was a funny one. The other complaint I had is that the songs weren't all that great. This can't top any of the great music from How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Good special though. ***.
The Hoober-Bloob Highway
Groovy. Not as good as The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat but the songs were about a million times better. Parts of this were boring but whenever a song started, I perked right up. This is basically the Dr. Suess version of the story of storks bringing babies or the cabbage patch. It's kind of cute. The animation is 70's funky too. **1/2.
Sing-Along-Songs:
These are two songs from the specials with the words on the bottom of the screen. Overall: ***.
What Makes a Grinch Tick?: This is the worst, least hummable song from the special so it makes no sense that they made it a singalong. *.
It's Fun to Be a Human: A really fun song. Only problem is it cuts off abruptly. ****.
DVD Menu: Bland. **1/2.