PLAYHOUSE DISNEY SELECTIONS
(TV-G)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
Studio: Playhouse Disney
BY KEVIN CARR
While prime-time, grown up television shows are being released in droves as complete seasons on DVD, the kids aren’t entirely left behind. Playhouse Disney has dropped two of their popular shows onto DVD for preschoolers and early grade school children to enjoy.
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Storybook Surprises” features four episodes from the Playhouse Disney show “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” Each of the episodes has a storybook theme, from “Sleeping Beauty” (aka “Sleeping Minnie”) to “The Frog Prince” (featuring Donald as the frog).
Viewers are invited by Mickey to come into his clubhouse and help his friends. Along for the ride is Toodles, a character that allows viewers and characters to choose different tools to help them along their quests. Usually Pete the chubby wolf (at least I think that’s what he is) stands in their way, but the club is able to thwart his plans and save the day.
Included on this DVD is a “Tales from Toodles” game, which works much like a MadLib. Kids are able to choose different elements from a story to put together a silly story. My kids loved this feature the most simply because some of the choices included a toilet and a diaper.
Another Playhouse Disney show that enjoys a new release is “My Friends Tigger & Pooh.” This relatively new revamp of the Winnie the Pooh character set follows the young girl Darcy and her dog Buster as she helps Pooh and his pals solve mystery cases. There’s no Christopher Robin, and Darcy is a little younger. The animation is 3D CGI, which is a little more sophisticated than that of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” but it’s still quickly produced (although the kids don’t care).
“The Hundred Acre Wood Haunt” has a distinct Halloween theme, prepping the kids for the holiday season. It features three episodes from the television show, each of which has two separate stories. Each episode has a fall or harvest theme. We see Piglet facing his fears of lighting and thunder, Eeyore trying to go to the moon and Rabbit growing a prized pumpkin.
The disc comes with a bonus Halloween episode of the rudimentary Playhouse Disney show “Handy Manny.” there’s also set-top game called “Super Sleuth Fall Harvest Festival.” Sorry, but no diapers or toilets in this one.