Nickelodeon:
Let's Learn Kindness
(2015 DVD)/Scooby Doo! and
KISS: Rock And Roll Mystery
(2015/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)/Count
On Elmo (2015/Sesame
Street/Warner DVD)
Picture:
C+/B & C+/C+ Sound: C+/B & C-/C+ Extras: D/C/C+
Main Programs: C+
Here's
a mixed bag of new children's titles...
Nickelodeon:
Let's Learn Kindness
(2015) is another 6-episode DVD of various series from the various
hit shows they have (Wallykazam!,
Bubble Guppies,
Blue's Clues,
Team Umizoomi!,
Dora
and Ni Hao, Kai-Lan
in this case) tied together by the title theme. That does not make
it a deep concept release, but just fine for what it is. There are
now a good number of these DVDs issued and though it is a good idea,
I wonder if they should soon quit while they're ahead.
There
are no extras, save being able to color in the inside paper cover
illustrations.
Scooby
Doo! and KISS: Rock And Roll Mystery
(2015) brings back the infamous rock band's superhero personas
invented at Marvel Comics (Warner, who issued this Blu-ray/DVD set,
owns rival comic book company DC) and also appeared in the TV movie
Kiss Meets The Phantom In
the Park (a widescreen
theatrical film issued in the U.S. finally in its 2.35 X 1 scope
framing on the third KISS
Anthology set; see
elsewhere on this site) in a pairing that makes some sense, but some
parents might not approve of considering the sexual nature of the
band, et al.
We
get the original KISS line-up, though two of the personas are voiced
by new men, but KISS fans will love this enough, as will diehard
Scooby fans. I did not love it and was not that impressed, but it is
passable and they're lucky it turned out as well as it did. See it
only if you are curious.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and iTunes
capable devices, while the discs add a Behind The
Scenes/Making Of featurette, KISS
Cut-Ups Blooper reel and two bonus Scooby
cartoons.
Count
On Elmo (2015) features a
specific special where The Count and Elmo from Sesame
Street spend a particular
amount of time together counting, talking and having fun. Lasting
about an hour, it works just fine and has its moments, but I
personally think more could have been had out of it. Still, it is
fine and extras include the Elmo's
World: Friends
episode and Preschool Is
Cool: ABCs with Elmo.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the KISS
Blu-ray is easily going to be and is the best performer on the list,
a newly animated release for which the band would never settle for
second best, though the DVD version is softer. It is equalled by the
various aspect ratios of the Kindness DVD and anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on the Elmo
DVD, so this all plays as well as expected.
The
DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on the KISS
Blu-ray is loud and maybe a little hard at the edges, but some of
that is intended, though it may not be as child-friendly as it could
be. The
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD version is not as good, but is
still very active, yet has some of that harshness. The
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
on the
remaining DVDs
play as well as can be expected and are just fine, in live with what
we've encountered from both respective series before.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
