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Of late I have
been reacquainting myself with the writings
of Theodor Geisel thanks to the presence
of a beautiful little three year old girl
in our household. She loves to be read to
before she goes to sleep and I am forever
up to the task. If I'm not reading to her
about Beauty and the Beast (her favorite),
I'm picking copies of Geisel's books…
I'm sorry, you probably know him better
as Dr Seuss… and reading them to her.
("I do not like them in a box. I do
not like them with a fox. I do not like
them in a house. I do not like them with
a mouse. I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere. I do not like
green eggs and ham. I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.")
You would have to have lived under a rock
if you've never heard of such timeless characters
as The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, The Lorax,
or Horton. The only one of his characters
I was unfamiliar with was a little boy named
Gerald McBoing Boing. That is, until I received
a couple of DVDs that introduced me to the
character.
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Gerald was a little boy that became the subject
of a 1950 Dr. Seuss animated short, which in turn
won an Oscar. Gerald was a most unusual little
boy. He did not communicate by speaking; instead
using his unique powers of mimicry to create sounds.
Everyone thought there was something wrong with
him, but really he was only a bit different.
A few years back, two enterprising gentlemen by
the name of Robin Budd and John Derevlany decided
to create a new series of animated shorts based
on the character. They opted to use an animation
style that mirrored the simplicity of the original,
which was a great idea, and they aired on Cartoon
Network. Most were very cute, and while they were
firmly directed at audiences whose ages ranged
from 2 to 4 years old, Budd and Derevlany incorporated
small handfuls of material that would appeal to
the parents watching with their kids. Most of
this humor wasn't as blatant as the old Warner
Brothers cartoons, but rather it was more subtle
in its approach.
Last week, I received a couple of DVDs from Classic
Media. Set up as 'Volume 1: Adventures' and 'Volume
2: Fairy Tales', each DVD collects these shorts
and presents them by theme. In the first volume,
Gerald meets up with the likes of pirate Scritchy
McBeard, some mumbling mummies, and cute aliens.
The second offers up some skewed versions of 'Hansel
& Gretel', 'Cinderella', 'Jack and the Beanstalk'
and 'The Princess and the Pea.'
What I really enjoyed about these cartoon shorts
was that the creators decided not only to make
them in the style of the 1950's, but also kept
them closer to the humor. So unlike a lot of the
more annoying new cartoons that are around today,
there is nothing even remotely offensive about
them. Well, unless you have a problem with a dog
being named 'Burp', because he… well…
burps. Our little girl ended up totally loving
the series, and is already beginning to ask for
them almost as much as her favorite Disney titles.
Both of the DVDs come packaged with a 'Little
Golden Book' based on the original Dr. Seuss animated
feature. I was a little sad to see that the books
were the same in both releases, but then thought
perhaps the extra copy might make a great giveaway
to one our friends who have kids. Each DVD also
has a little extra feature (the same on both discs)
where kids are given the opportunity to identify
some of the sounds Gerald is making.
If you have young kids in your house, I'd highly
recommend both DVDs of "Gerald McBoing Boing."
The kids will love them, and you will, too.
Extras: Soundcheck Game
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Classic Media
Release Date: 9/5/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
We'll give Gerald McBoing Boing: Volumes 1 &
2 an A.
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