Welcome to the world of Rosemary Wells. She's an author and illustrator of children's books and now we are able to see these books come to life. Is this a good thing? Allow me to go out on a limb and say 'no, it is not.' However, it is possible that viewers ages 2 to 7, (the age range for which the DVD indicates this series is intended), might enjoy this. If so, then we as a society need to evaluate what the kiddies are watching.
What do kids ages 2 to 7 look for in being entertained via the TV? If we chalk it up to bright colors and a soothing storytelling narrator, then why even bother animating the talking animal cartoons and writing a story that likely was written in under three minutes? The two discs each come with four animated tales along with some extra content. Because this series is best for kids, and probably in a classroom setting, allow me to give you some bullet points on a few of the stories' content, and you can be the judge as to whether this should be shown to kids at the impressionable ages of 2 to 7.
"Max's Chocolate Chicken"
Max and Ruby are bunnies hanging out in a field. Another mysterious bunny places a large piece of chocolate shaped like a chicken on some kind of pedestal, to which Max immediately says “I love you.” Ruby wants the chocolate chicken, too, so she tells Max that whoever can collect the most Easter eggs will get the chicken. Ruby finds several eggs. Max goofs off and plays in the mud the whole time. When Ruby declares herself the winner, Max steals the chicken, eats it, and then after Ruby gets pissed off, another chocolate chicken is placed on the pedestal. The end. Yes, that's the end. In a country of rising obesity rates in children, red flags should go up right away at the fact that the main character's goal is to eat chocolate. Also, he cheats and steals to get it and faces zero consequences.
"Morris's Disappearing Bag"
It's Christmas morning, and Morris and his three siblings open their gifts. Everyone is happy with their gift except for Morris. Morris is a total grump that he didn't get a cool gift, and it isn't until he discovers an unopened gift for him under the tree that the story takes a turn and he becomes happy again. And who wouldn't be happy? He received a disappearing bag, which is pretty much just like that invisibility cloak thing from Harry Potter. Point is, all I can see that kids would take from this is that one shouldn't be happy during Christmas until he or she gets a kick-ass gift. I'd love for Rosemary Wells to discuss how this would not instill materialism in kids.
"Otto Runs for President"
This is the most recent of stories featured in this collection. It's about two of the most popular students at the all-dog Barkadelphia School (Barkadelphia, because they're dogs, you see) running for school president. As popular as these two dogs are, they are totally self-centered and not into what the voters want. Otto sees this, asks the voters what they want, and wins. When I first watched this, I thought it was written in the early 90s, because the girl dogs talk like valley girls. They say things like “as if,” and there is not one, but two “not” jokes. Alas, it was published two years ago. Rosemary Wells really has her finger on the pulse on today's youth. Maybe her next story will be about a cartoon turtle asking another cartoon turtle to the sock hop. The lesson taught is a decent one, but it's hard to cut through the irritating narration in this one.
"Noisy Nora"
Nora is the middle child, er, rat, and feels completely ignored by her parents who are always busy tending to the baby rat, or hanging out with the eldest sister. Middle child stories have a good place in children's literature and shows because it's what I imagine a middle child really goes through. The error this story makes is the way they have Nora deal with it: she knocks stuff over and breaks things. Okay, fair enough. In the end, when none of her attempts to get her parents' attention works, she pretends to run away. Her family freaks out, but then she pops out of the closet, having never left. The family rejoices and laughs and all is well. Again, the world Rosemary Wells establishes is one void of realistic consequences.
"Voyage to the Bunny Planet"
This is truly one of the weirdest things to be burned on to a DVD. The whole of it is divided into three separate shorter tales. Each tale involves a disgruntled child bunny who is unhappy because of various reasons, usually something along the lines of not fitting in, or not getting their way, etc. Reasons that kids get angry over. It gets points for that, however, what follows is pretty strange. Each of the bunnies is whisked away to Bunny Planet, (Bunny Planet, because they're bunnies, you see). Bunny Planet, located 20 lightyears south of Mars to be exact, is some strange, fairytale-ish world where the Bunny Queen lives and ushers in young, troubled bunnies to her world. When they enter her world, she has them do odd things, like work in her garden. Seriously, the first story involves a troubled bunny going into her garden to pick a big tomato. Somehow this solves things. I'm not saying it makes little sense. I'm saying this makes no sense. To boot, the music is so serene and the narration so soothing that I almost nodded off during the whole thing.
There are a few other stories that don't hit any particular good notes and with that, this is an easy one to pass on. With all the terrific shows out there aimed at children that strive to educate and inform in creative ways, why choose this? A few of these stories have some good to them; some of the morals they try to teach aren't bad, but they're portrayed in a way that will either confuse kids, put them to sleep, or possibly freak them out depending on their level of cognizance.
DVD Bonus Features
Two of the stories, “Noisy Nora” and “Max's Christmas,” are retold in Spanish. Why just the two is beyond anyone but at least they got some diversity in there. There are a couple interviews with Rosemary Wells, two of which are about 15 years old, and one that is rather new, where she discusses her story “Otto Runs for President.” There's the obnoxious music video/song that was featured in the story “Reading to your Bunny.” Then on each disc there are questions outlined for what I would assume the teacher or the incredibly over-involved parent to guide the class/children in discussion of the story. A more appropriate activity for the kids would be to allow them to use these discs as Frisbees at recess.
"The Rosemary Wells Collection" is on sale July 27, 2010 and is not rated. Children & Family. Directed by N/A. Written by Rosemary Wells. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.
