As a parent, I’m always looking for kid shows that do two things: teach basic educational skills and mesmerize.
I know there are plenty of pediatricians and education experts that will go nuts with such an outlook for kid programming … but they’re not the ones with a toddler screaming louder than Lemmy from Motorhead while you’re stuck in traffic. Nickelodeon’s Team Umizoomi qualifies for both of my needs. Once the DVD started the kid stared at the screen and attempted to follow along with the lesson plan.
Team Umizoomi consists of two little people and their mini-robot. They look like the offspring of Hello Kitty and Strawberry Shortcake. They live in Umi City which is a CGI city inhabited by live action people. They get called upon to solve mysteries using simple math skills and shape identification. There’s short musical moments to keep things from getting too complicated. Milli can change the pattern of her outfit. Geo just does stuff. Bot has a belly screen that shows the kids with the problems. Bot should sound familiar since it’s Joe (Donovan Patton) of Blue’s Clues.
There’s no real reason to go too far in depth in the four episodes on the DVD. “The Rolling Toy Parade” has them hunting down wheels on a wooden lion before a rolling toy parade. “Kite Festival” makes them hunt down the pieces of a destroyed kite. “The Legend of the Blue Mermaid” is a rescue case. “Wild West Toy Train Show” has a real boy lose his ticket to the event. This isn’t The Wire for kids. This is 20 minutes of silence in the backseat with only numbers being shouted. Ultimately Team Umizoomi is the math version of the spelling oriented Super Why.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers look good since it’s a recent show. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. They keep the music low so you can hear the kids and Bot talk louder. The episodes are Closed Captioned.
The Blue Mermaid Shapes Under the Sea Game is a pick out the shapes game. Little kids will have to get their parents to read the questions.
Meet Geo (0:32), Meet Milli (0:32) and Meet Bot (0:32) are channel promos.
Team Umizoomi is an easy going math oriented show for little kids.
Paramount Home Entertainment presents Team Umizoomi. Starring: Donovan Patton. Running time: 92 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Released on DVD: June 28, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.
