Parents' Guide to

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Interactive story has pitfalls, but caper still entertains.

Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

age 7+

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This choose-your-own-adventure-style special puts the audience in the driver's seat ... in a sense. Carmen pauses at various junctures in the story to wait for direction from the viewer, and if no selection is made before the scene times out, a default pick proceeds. But several of the options play out their respective scenarios briefly before redirecting the viewer back to that same moment in the story to make the opposite choice, which feels disappointing and a bit anticlimactic.

Carmen herself continues to be a conundrum of sorts: a thief who does the wrong thing for the right reasons. In Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, the confusion is even greater as she's stealing for the bad guys -- instead of in an effort to thwart their schemes -- albeit for the good cause of saving her friends. But regardless of her motivation, her capers consistently entertain young fans and expose them to simple geographical concepts and specific places of historical importance.

TV Details

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