Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Animation
Likes: Leap Frog's educational toys
Dislikes: Simplistic kids DVDs
Hates: Getting little content

The Show
As a parent and a child at heart, I fight a constant battle whenever my little girl and I visit a toy store. I am a sucker for a cool or fun toy and can't help but spoil her, but I want to encourage her to learn as well, so I gravitate to toys with educational value. Of those she's played with, the ones she's responded to most have been those from Leap Frog, who seem to have a good handle on balancing fun and learning. Now, with DVDs from Leap Frog, the company tries its hand at non-interactive material, using the characters from its traditional products.

Here, froggy siblings Leap, Lilly and Tad join their dad at his letter factory, where he produces talking letters, in order to help him with a presentation for a potential new customer. While they get ready, Tad wanders off and meets Professor Quigley, who introduces him to the various letters in the alphabet, moving from room to room. Each letter has a particular personality and shows what sound it makes, while Professor Quigley explains in repeated songs set to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell."

The presentation is straightforward, with four letters done in a row, followed by a reinforcement of those four letters with Leap and Lilly, continuing the plot as Tad (and the viewer) learns. The format repeats itself over and over again, but it sets up arhythm that makes it easy for little kids to follow. After just a few letters, my daughter was singing along with Professor Quigley as if she's known his song forever. The simple, but attractive animation, including silly letters with various props and costumers and the cute frog characters, is bright and cheery, helping to make sure it's appealing to young ones.

The only thing that's not good about this DVD is how short it is, clocking in at just over a half-hour in length. Admittedly, with all the repetition, any more of the same would certainly be overkill, but there's still a distinct lack of content.

The DVD
A one-disc release packaged in a green, single-width keepcase, the DVD features an animated full-frame menu, with options to watch the show, select scenes and check out the extras. There are no audio options, no subtitles and no closed captioning.

The Quality
The full-frame animation looks pretty nice, sporting bright, vibrant colors and a clean image, free of any dirt, damage or digital artifacts. The only obvious negative is the usual DVD issue with pixilation along thin black lines.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 is the simple center-focused presentation you'd expect from a kids show, with clean, distortion-free dialogue and solid music.

The Extras
The only real extra included is a rather extensive alphabet game (not games, as listed on the back of the box.) All of the letters are displayed, and the user chooses a letter based on a verbal clue given. It's a cute little game and is lengthier than most DVD games out there.

Also included on this disc are a handful of promos for other Leap Frog and Lionsgate products.

The Bottom Line
This DVD does one thing, teach letters and their sounds in a kid-friendly way, and it does it well, but that takes only a little over a half-hour. It looks and sounds fine for those 35 minutes, and has a little learning game too, but unless your little one can sit through repeated viewings, the value just isn't there.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.