Nickelodeon and Paramount have released Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles, a four-episode collection (comprised of eight, 11-minute shorts) of the popular young children's series on Nick, Jr.. A particular favorite around our house with our littlest kids, the Wonder Pets! are a natural for parents looking for wholesome, sweet programming for their preschoolers. Animated in a bright, sunny fashion, with a consistent message of teamwork as the key to success in learning, the Wonder Pets! is one of the more accessible kids' shows out there for family viewing.

Understanding that little children love repetition and a familiar, recognizable pattern to their storytelling, each episode of Wonder Pets! follows a fairly dependable line. As the camera tracks in to a little, red, one-room school house set amid bucolic surroundings, we hear children leaving for the day, saying goodbye to their class pets: Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming the Duckling, and Tuck the Turtle. As soon as the children are gone, the "phone" (a tin can holding pencils, with a secret string at the bottom) rings, alerting the Wonder Pets to their next rescue mission. The phone also acts as a sort of telescope, so they can see their next assignment, which almost always involves a baby animal, somewhere in the world, in some sort of danger and in need of rescuing. Jumping into a box of doll clothes, the Wonder Pets emerge with their makeshift superhero costumes on, and proceed to assemble the "Fly-Boat" (usually a Frisbee with some Legos and wheels) which will take them to their destination. Once at the rescue site, the Wonder Pets employ various methods of problem solving until they work out a successful plan - which always depends on teamwork for success. Flying back to their safe, cozy school house home, they return to their cages, ready for another adventure.

Employing a photo-collage type of animation (real pictures of various animals are manipulated and animated, along with traditional photo and animated backgrounds, similar to other cartoons such as Charlie & Lola or Little Einsteins), Wonder Pets! has a realistic pop to its visuals that children respond to quite enthusiastically. While I must admit at times I find the animation of the real-life photos of the pets sometimes a little creepy (I had a high school classmate who made a marionette out of his Biology frog, and it looked disturbingly like the Wonder Pets' movements), children love the contrast between the realistic photos, their blocky, chunky movements, and the more traditionally drawn animation backgrounds.

The show's stories vary little from episode to episode (which again, little kids crave), but I would imagine children especially love the idea of docile, non-talking classroom pets suddenly becoming walking, flying, talking superheroes the minute the school bell rings. I remember as a boy wondering if our 1st grade classroom bunny was lonely or scared being left all alone over the weekends, so perhaps the same dynamic is at work here for the Wonder Pets, with children delighting at the idea of their little school pets becoming adventurers. Certainly the bright animation, the catchy little songs ("We're Wonder Pets! We're Wonder Pets! And we'll help you!"), and particularly the notion of tiny creatures being far more powerful and resourceful than anyone would imagine, strikes a chord with young viewers who may fantasize about being equally strong and inventive, if only given the chance.

Parents shouldn't find sitting through a couple of Wonder Pets! shorts too taxing, either (the short, 11-minute running times help). While I admit that I sometimes find Ming-Ming's "adorable" speech impediment (using the "W" sound for "R") at times a little too cloying and cute for the duckling's own good (a nice bed of rice with a sweet-and-sour orange sauce might take care of that), Wonder Pets! is designed for children, and a little sticky sweetness is to be expected, I suppose. I do find it amusing that the show is so resolutely "team-oriented," particularly at the expense of individual effort. Twice in episodes from Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles, Ming-Ming, the most "rebellious" and independent pet in the group, tries to accomplish something on her own - only to be thoroughly defeated in her efforts, with the other two pets making sure she understands she failed because she tried to go it alone and didn't use teamwork. While I'm certainly not suggesting (although it's fun to write it) that the Wonder Pets! are some kind of mouthpieces for Commie/socialist claptrap where the individual is thoroughly debased and individual initiative is to be distrusted and denied at all costs (see, it's fun), it would be nice to see one of those pets do something on their own, and get praised for it.

Here are the 4 episodes of Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles, as described on the back of the DVD hardcase:

Save the Beetles/Three Wonder Pets and a Baby!
The Wonder Pets journey to Liverpool to save four Beetles trapped in a yellowish submarine...and they realize the importance of teamwork while caring for a new classroom pet.

Save the Chameleon/Save the Platypus
It's off to Madagascar to help a young chameleon in trouble! And will Ming-Ming and Tuck's feud stand in the way of rescuing a baby platypus?

Save the Duckling/Save the Kitten
Ming-Ming tries a rescue on her own, and then the Wonder Pets travel to Venice to help save a kitten floating down the canal.

Save the Sheep/Save the Hermit Crab
The Wonder Pets are off to Switzerland on a wooly rescue, and then they take a break from their vacation to help a hermit crab who's outgrown his shell.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full-screen, 1.33:1 video transfer for Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles is perfectly rendered, with brilliant color and a super-sharp image. No compression issues I could spot.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo audio mix is entirely adequate for the sweet little songs the Wonder Pets sing. Close-captioning is available.

The Extras:
The only "extra" is a clip from Save the Beetles, which shows The Beatles knock-off band performing their hit song, Kelp!. Since you can just watch this in the episode, it's not really an extra.

Final Thoughts:
Cute and sweet, little kids adore the superhero Wonder Pets. Brightly animated with agreeably short running times, these little charmers won't bother parents looking for something to watch with their kids, either. The only consideration one might have with the Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles DVD is whether or not you want to buy it, when the episodes are running for free on your TV every day. I recommend Wonder Pets! Save the Beetles, but only if your child is really a big fan, and wants a block of episodes to watch at one sitting. Otherwise, a rental would do.