DVD Reviews: Albert & PAW Patrol (The Great Snow Rescue)

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story

With Christmas approaching, it’s time to think of seasonal kid shows to brighten the family room with cheer. Nickelodeon provides two DVDs that will make your little kids get into a holiday mood. Albert and Paw Patrol: The Great Snow Rescue look at snowy time from the perspective of trees and dogs. Normally this is a messy combination, but thankfully the stars did not cross in these productions.

Albert is subtitled “A Small Tree with a Big Dream.” Albert (Saturday Night Live‘s Bobby Moynihan) is a small Fraser fir pine tree that lives inside a flower shop. He has only one dream, to be the huge Christmas tree in the nearby big city. Sure Albert is about 80 feet short of the role, but he has dreams. He also has a partner in helping him in Lola (The Loud House‘s Lara Jill Miller) except she’s a palm tree so a snowy adventure might not be good for him. The duo hit the road with a weed (30 Rock‘s Judah Friedlander in the pot. Things get nasty when Albert crosses needles with a cactus that hates how Christmas trees take over his prime spot in a Mexican restaurant. The CGI animated film has a few scares, but nothing that should ruin the holiday spirits for a young kid.

PAW Patrol: The Great Snow Rescue contains seven episodes that have a wintery feel to them. The pups are still a favorite among kids as they figure out ways to rescue animals in trouble with their amazing vehicles. Puppies and trucks are always Christmas favorites. “The Pups’ Winter Wonder Show” features Everest, the snow dog. Also on the set is “Pups Save a Sleepwalking Bear,” “Pups Save Jake’s Cake, “Pups Save a Teeny Penguin,” “Pups Save a Wild Ride,” “Pups and a Whale of a Tale” and “Pups Save a Floundering François.”

Here’s Josie’s review of the DVDs.

The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfers look fine as the CGI animation dazzles with snow. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. Both discs sound nice with the mix. There’s also a Spanish dub. Both are Closed Captioned.

No bonus features.

Nickelodeon and Paramount present Albert. Starring: Bobby Moynihan, Lara Jill Miller, Judah Friedlander and Rob Riggle. Running Time: 43 minutes. Released: November 14, 2017

Nickelodeon and Paramount present PAW Patrol: The Great Snow Rescue. Starring: Everest and Tracker. Boxset Contents: 7 episodes on 1 DVD. Released: October 24, 2017

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.