Playhouse Disney has another delightful DVD release in Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid. Three adventures from this entertaining and educational series are included on this disc, along with a fun, interactive bonus game that the kids should like. If your children have never watched Little Einsteins on The Disney Channel, Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid is a perfect way to introduce them to this marvelous series.

Little Einsteins premiered on The Disney Channel on October, 2005, and proved to be an instant hit with parents and their pre-school viewers. The "Little Einsteins" in question are Leo, June, Quincy, and Annie, four preternaturally smart preschoolers who, with the aid of their faithful Rocket (which can morph into any kind of land, air or sea craft they need), explore various exotic locales all over the world, solving missions that involve clues based on famous works of art and music. For example, in the first episode included on this disc, The Legend of the Golden Pyramid, the Little Einsteins travel to Egypt to figure out how they can unlock all the music that's been stored away in the Golden Pyramid. But instead of hearing traditional music cues associated with movies and TV shows set in Egypt, we instead hear the lilting, vibrant strains of Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor as the Little Einstein's soar over the desert sands. It's a deliberate gimmick on the producers' part; the Little Einsteins directly address the viewer at the beginning of each show, telling them what art work and what famous composer are going to be featured in each particular episode. It creates an intriguing counterpoint to the usual marriage of visuals with expected, traditional music cues.

As well, the visual design of Little Einsteins is quite impressive, relying on quite a bit of photo-collage technique to fill in the backgrounds of the shots, making for a nice contrast with the animated characters. In other words, when the Little Einsteins fly over the sands of Egypt, it's real footage (either stills or live-action) of Egypt; it isn't animated or drawn. Of course, the Little Einstein characters are computer animated, and they're quite cute in their mock paper cut-out execution. So the visual environment of Little Einsteins is quite arresting and bright, particularly to young viewers.

Little Einsteins is also nicely interactive with its intended preschool viewers. The viewer is constantly engaged by the characters to participate in the adventures. When Rocket has to power up and take off, it's up to your children, as asked by the Little Einsteins, to pat their hands, louder and faster, to get Rocket going. The young viewer is always being asked questions about the various missions, as well, to not only make them feel included in the stories, but to help build their cognitive and problem-solving skills. With this kind of attention to visual detail, along with an emphasis on imparting early appreciation for the classical arts, as well as the educational value of the interactive experience, Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid is a grand slam for parents who want their children to learn something while they're having fun watching TV.

The Legend of the Golden Pyramid
The Little Einsteins travel to Egypt. Their mission: to find the fabled Golden Pyramid, and to decipher various clues to unlock the musical secrets buried within the mammoth structure. Featured artwork: actual Egyptian hieroglyphics. Featured composer: Johannes Brahms.

Dragon Kite
June befriends little Dragon Kite, who's afraid to fly too high in the sky. The Little Einsteins travel with Dragon Kite to China's Great Wall, where they must find the missing dragon kites in time for the Kite Parade. Featured artwork by Zhou Shen, Cail Jia, Zhang Lu, Chou Ying. Featured composer: Edvard Grieg.

Annie and The Little Toy Plane
Annie's new toy, Purple Plane, needs everyone to sing so it can fly high, and rescue a stranded green helicopter, in beautiful San Francisco, California. Featured artwork by Keith Haring. Featured composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full screen video image for Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid features pristine digital clarity.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo soundtrack is clear and strong. French and Spanish language tracks are also available. There are English subtitles and close-captioning options.

The Extras:
As a nice bonus, there's an interactive game called Little Einstein's Storybook -- Mission: Where's Froggy's Family? which is quite cute, and should please the little viewers.

Final Thoughts:
With bright, dynamic visuals, courtesy of an engaging photo-collage/animation combination, and the welcome inclusion of renowned works of art along with music from the world's great composers, Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid is a pretty classy little show for preschool viewers. I highly recommend Disney's Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid.