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Bob the Builder: Truck Teamwork
Friendship and fun in the world of construction
Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Animation
Likes: DVD magazines, documentaries, out-there movies
Dislikes: meandering films
Hates: Getting depressed by documentaries
The Story So Far...
Originally a British series that's been re-dubbed for North American audiences, Bob the Builder follows the titular handyman as he aids the people of Bobsville and the local area, with the help of his talking trucks and tools. Why he does it isn't clear (does he work for the government?) but he's dedicated to the tasks at hand. There have been several releases to date, and DVDTalk has reviews of all eight.
The Show
If you've read my reviews of kids DVDs, you'll know one of my pet peeves is the lack of season sets and the willy-nilly nature of the collections that actually are released. Most of them are theme-less and uninspired, but here, new framing scenes, which follow Bob and his crane Lofty as they make repairs after a big storm, give the disc a bit of structure, and make it a bit more than just reruns on a DVD.
The new "story" winds its way around five previously-aired Bob the Builder tales, which are pretty representative of what the series is all about. Each episode focuses on one of the machines who work for Bob, as they learn a life lesson (with the exception of the final show, which seems to just be about beating the heat.) These lessons range from remembering to rest when exercising to not writing something off if you haven't tried it, and they are more like morals than your usual aggressive kids TV teaching. At the end of the bit, we've all learned a little something and life is better for it. Of course, more than anything else, there are two overwhelming lessons, and that's the value of teamwork and positive thinking.
If anything stood out about these episodes though, it's how short they are. When you add up all five, plus the new footage, you come up with less than an hour of construction fun. Kids may enjoy the silly voices of the machines and the adorable look of the clay animation, but the show doesn't have the widespread appeal of other series, which could leave the adults watching along with kids a bit bored. Part of the problem is you can see where the stories are going immediately, so it becomes a matter of waiting. That these episodes don't feature Greg Proops as the voice of Bob is just another strike for his fans.
On the plus side, the negative behavior on the part of vehicles like Packer the tractor trailer or Muck the dump truck is quickly pointed out as bad through the consequences they face (never anything dire, but enough to be meaningful), and a positive alternative is presented to correct the situation, as Bob is never preachy or mad about what happened. Whether these lessons connect for kids when it's trucks doing the learning instead of fellow children, or even humanoids, isn't clear, but hey, my little girl sure seems to enjoy it.
The DVD
This disc is packaged in an eco-friendly clear ThinPak, which is tucked into a far-less-eco-friendly box that's about three keepcases thick, with a window for the Scrambler toy (see The Extras.) The DVD features a static full-frame menu with options to watch all the episodes, select shows, adjust languages and check out the extras. Audio options include English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks, but there are no subtitles and no closed captioning. The disc also offers the Hit auto play option, which will play everything on the disc, including all the commercials/promos, so you don't have to press any buttons.
The Quality
The full-frame video is quite nice, presenting the animation clearly, without any issues with compression or dirt and damage. Color is bright and vivid throughout and the level of detail is high, showing the quality of the work on the characters.
The sound on this disc definitely was a surprise, as the usual kids DVD just shoots for clarity, and nothing else. Here, everything is clear and clean, but the Dolby Digital 2.0 also has some nice mixing, separating audio between the two channels, and even featuring some panning between them. It's a solidly impressive delivery.
The Extras
The key extra is the plastic Scrambler toy that's included in the packaging, which fits the scale of the smaller Thomas the Train toy line, complete with a magnet hook-up on the back. The wheel movement is very smooth, and the knobby tires give the toy a unique sound as it rolls. It's also made pretty solidly, as it passed testing with a three-year-old who treats her toys pretty roughly.
The extras on the disc include a read-along story about Bob and his friends, and a personality quiz. The story can be read by Bob and automatically moved forward, or you can manually progress, but either way it's a cute little bonus. The personality quiz, which features the voice of the other Bob (Greg Proops,) lets you figure out which member of Bob's team you are most like, by answering questions about how you work. In case you were wondering, I'd be Scrambler.
Also included are a bunch of promos for other DVDs.
The Bottom Line
Bob the Builder is a cute kids show that sneaks little social lessons in, waiting to hammer home the point until the end of the show. That these episodes are tied together with new framing scenes is an added bonus, but it still offers less than an hour of content. Yes, that content looks and sounds nice, and offers a few brief, but interactive extras, but it's still not much to watch. If you want that toy though, and can find it cheap, that's probably the only reason to make a purchase.
Francis Rizzo III is a native Long Islander, where he works in academia. In his spare time, he enjoys watching hockey, writing and spending time with his wife, daughter and puppy.Follow him on Twitter
*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.
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