Wonder Pets: Save the Wonder Pets - NR
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this cheerful, engaging special based on the popular Wonder Pets show on Nick Jr. teaches young kids about teamwork in a catchy operetta format. Classroom pets band together with pluck, humor, and imagination to save an imperiled baby blowfish. Soon after the Wonder Pets themselves are in danger, but it's never too scary for even the smallest viewers.
Families can talk about how the Wonder Pets work together to save their animal friends. Parents can also talk about the pets that children may have in their preschool classrooms or at home. If they had superpowers, what would they be? If they could sing, what would they sound like? What did Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming find out when they worried that the animals they had saved in the past might forget them?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Nancy Davis Kho
Wonder Pets is surely the first TV show for preschoolers that is performed entirely in operetta, where the music is recorded with a live orchestra and much of the dialogue is sung. In SAVE THE WONDER PETS, a musical special based on the show, Linny the guinea pig (voiced by Sofie Zamchick), Tuck the turtle (Teala Dunn), and Ming-Ming the chick (Danica Lee) respond to a call to save a baby blowfish in distress. Along the way in their underwater adventure, they demonstrate not only their vocal pipes but their trademark good cheer and a belief that teamwork can overcome anything.
The Wonder Pets are the pets in a cheerful, colorful classroom closing down for the afternoon. Tuck the turtle is wondering whether the pets that the trio has saved ever remember them when the call for help comes in on their special tin-can phone. Launching their flying submarine, the Wonder Pets are soon whisked out of the classroom and under the sea for a quick and ingenious rescue of the baby blowfish. Soon they themselves are in peril, as a gently gliding while inhales them along with the rest of his food.
Very sensitive children might be alarmed by the situation that the Wonder Pets find themselves in, but the episode is handled so lightly and optimistically that they might not even notice. It's sweet to see the mini-trio of marine fans who help the self-rescue along.
Two- to 4-year-olds are sure to find the story, the rich and textured animation, and the singing captivating. The action moves along at a nice pace and the songs are sweet but not cloying -- bearable for parents who will be asked to play the DVD over and over again.
The DVD includes the Save the Wonder Pets special as well as six bonus episodes from the TV show and a photo gallery. For more Wonder Pets action, the Nick Jr. Web site has a printable activity pack of games, as well as a new Wonder Pets "Save the Sea Creatures" interactive game. Fans of the series may also enjoy It's a Big, Big World.
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Social BehaviorTeamwork message is sung by animal friends who are "not too big, not too tough, but when we get together, we've got the right stuff!" |
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