Chuggington:
Chuggineers Ready To Build
(Anchor Bay DVD)/Lalaloopsy
Babies: First Steps
(Lionsgate DVD)/Paw
Patrol: Winter Rescues
(Nickelodeon DVD/all 2014)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C/C+/C+ Extras: C+/C-/D Main Programs: C/C/B-
Here's
the latest set of child TV titles to know about...
Chuggington:
Chuggineers Ready To Build
is another consistent installment of the DVD series, but it only runs
64 minutes for the five episodes included, which I do not think is
enough, no matter the price. Still, they are good enough and no
problem for family viewing, but just not enough. They follow the
theme of the disc too, of course.
A
couple of profiles, Music Video, brief extra adventure, downloadable
coloring & activities and a bonus poster inside the case are the
extras.
Lalaloopsy
Babies: First Steps
is dubbed a movie, but it is actually shorter at 45 minutes (!),
though this is the first time I have seen this offshoot of the show.
Eventually these days, you get baby versions of all the child
franchises (think Muppet
Babies,
Flintstones
Kids,
etc.) and this one is not bad, but not too memorable unless you are a
fanatic of the original show. We'll have to see where this version
goes and how long it lasts.
Digital
copy, a game and Mini-Adventures are the extras.
Finally
we have Paw
Patrol: Winter Rescues
is more like it at a healthier 92 minutes and offers seven fun
installments of the show that is more than just fluff, no pun
intended. Versus the previously reviewed Chuggington:
Ready To Rescue,
it is more than comparable and a solid installment in the Nickelodeon
series.
There
are sadly no extras.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on all three releases looks
good and are even with each other, even if they have some softness
and detail limits, color is usually good. The lossy Dolby Digital
5.1 on Babies is on the quiet side, to the point that the
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Paw can compete, but the
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Build is a little weaker
than expected throughout. Who knows why, but it is.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
