Nickelodeon: The First Day of School – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews



A parent should never dismiss the trauma of the first day of school. For many kids, this is the start of a two decade long process if they end up in graduate school. A little tyke realizes they’re stuck in a room with strange adult and dozens of children not used to sharing attention. This experience can only be compared to a first day in prison except with less tattoos on the pre-schoolers. How can a parent prepare their child for such a terrifying experience? You can spend weeks doing little socialization tricks and pay for “first day of school” prep classes. Who has time for all that? Luckily there’s reassuring TV characters wanting to ease the fears in Nickelodeon: The First Day of School.

Dora the Explorer‘s “First Day of School” isn’t too bad for her since she gets to go with her monkey and squirrel pal. Although in her neighborhood, there’s bad transportation. She has to cross a raging river using turtles. Guess that’s better than a crummy bus. Remind your child that their trip to school will be less thrilling. Go, Diego, Go! sticks to the books in “Linda the Librarian.” He’s got to take the tomes to a library on top of a mountain. Blue’s Clues gets my approval since the guy in the show is called Joe. “Blue Takes You to School” is a low impact introduction to the educational process. Through songs and little sketches, Joe and Blue make things a little less scary. Although someday your child will have to learn the horrible truth about the Spanish subjunctive tense.

As an adult, Wonder Pets! creep me out. The trio of a duckling, turtle and guinea pig are stop motion animated from photos and drawings. They look like a spin-off from South Park. “Off to School” has them help a blowfish go to school. Do you blame the kid fearing his trip since there’s plenty of Japanese sushi lovers wanting to risk their lives for a taste of his flesh? “ The second part of episode is “Save the Pangaroo” about a beast that’s a mix of parrot and kangaroo. It’s not nearly as unnatural looking as the guinea pig in this show. Ni Hao, Kai-Lan‘s “Lulu Day” has those creepy big eyed Japanese characters. The message of this episode is understanding that you can’t get everything you want. Learning to compromise is an important skill for Kai-lan.

Nickelodeon: The First Day of School is a sweet way to get your small child less panicky about the approaching yellow bus. As an adult, you’ll probably snicker at the underplaying of the event. The cartoon characters are directed at minds that haven’t spoiled by the pursuit of an MFA.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are rather new so there’s no issues with schmutz. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. The levels shouldn’t be cranked too loud since delicate ears are listening. The episodes are Closed Captioned.

None.

Nickelodeon: The First Day of School is a good DVD to stick in the mini-van for the kids. The Nick Jr. programs should help them want to flee to the world of education instead of stay home and watch TV.


CBS DVD presents Nickelodeon: First Day of School. Starring: Dora the Explorer, Diego, Blue and Wonder Pets. Running Time: 122 minutes. Released on DVD: July 13, 2010.



Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.