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Stanley: Hop to It
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // Unrated // March 11, 2003
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
"Stanley" is a television show which airs on The Disney Channel. However, the shows overt educational content would probably be better suited for PBS. As with many educational programs of late, "Stanley" focuses on science, or more specifically, animals.
Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone), is a young boy who loves animals. He lives with his mother (voiced by Ari Myers), father (voiced by David Landsberg), and his brother Lionel (voiced by Shawn Pyfrom), who is always wearing earmuffs for some reason. But, Stanley spends most of his time with his pets, his fish Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy of "The Nanny"), his cat Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walsh), and his dog Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica, here sounding a lot like Bobcat Goldthwait). As Stanley is obsessed with animals, he approaches everyday activities and events by wondering what specific animal would be related to that moment. This leads to a lesson about the animal, where Stanley learns the traits and activities of that animal. Stanley uses his "Great Big Book of Everything" to learn about animals.
"Hop to It" contains two episodes of the show, and each episode contain two short stories, each lasting about 10 minutes. The stories on "Hop to It" each deal with taking responsibility for making a mess, and are as follows:
"Kangaroo Clean Up" -- When Stanley's parents find his room to be a mess, he is told that he needs to have it cleaned by dinner time. Fearing that he can't meet that goal, Stanley wishes that he had a kangaroo to help, as it could put the mess in its pouch. Stanley then learns all about kangaroos and what their pouches are really used for.
"The Big Spill" -- Stanley wants to prove that he is a big boy by making his own breakfast, but he spills his milk in the process. Stanley decides that an ant-eater would be the perfect animal to help clean up this mess, but soon learns that ant-eaters only like to eat ants.
"Ant Picnic" -- Stanley and his friends decide to have a picnic in the backyard. But, after they spill the food everywhere, the picnic is soon invaded by ants. The kids are fascinated by how the ants work to carry the food off and are soon learning much more about these insects.
"Sloth for a Day" -- Everyone in Stanley's family does a project on Saturday. When Stanley asks for an assignment, his father decides that Stanley should bundle the newspapers for recycling. But, Stanley procrastinates and is danger of running out of time. This leads to a discussion of slow animals, and Stanley learns more about the sloth.
"Stanley" is quite an odd show. On the one hand, you've got a cute story about a boy who loves animals, and engages in everyday childhood activities. But, once the premise for each episode has been set up, the show then awkwardly segues into the educational component. Yes, this is a neat way to get kids interested in animals, but some may tune out once the "Animal Planet" portion of the show begins. (My 4-year old didn't care for the show at all.) And while Stanley offers reams of information about each animal, the unusual animation style renders some of the animal illustrations unrealistic. I prefer PBS' "Zoboomafoo", which depicts humans interacting with live animals.
Video
As "Stanley" is a children's TV show, the episodes included on this DVD are presented in their original full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain, nor any defects from the source print. The colors here are excellent, and the bright hues may be one reason why younger children will watch the show. The digital transfer reveals no problems with the animation.
Audio
This DVD sports a Dolby Digital stereo audio track. This track provides clear dialogue and sound effects, in a well-balanced manner. There are a few stereo effects, but for the most part, the auido is serviceable, but unremarkable.
Extras
The DVD contains an excellent set-top game which invites viewers to learn more about animals, by identifying the animal by sight and by sound. Once this task has been completed, the viewer can select a specific animal and learn more about it. By and large, this game is the best part of the DVD (and the only part that my daughter wanted to see again!). The disc also includes a music video for the show's theme song, which is performed by the Baha Men.
"Stanley" comes from Jim Jinkins, the creator of the successful "Doug" and "P, B, & J Otter". But, "Stanley" isn't quite as good as those show, as the series never seems to find its focus. Children may enjoy the animation and the stories, but there are better outlets for learning about animals.
"Stanley" is a television show which airs on The Disney Channel. However, the shows overt educational content would probably be better suited for PBS. As with many educational programs of late, "Stanley" focuses on science, or more specifically, animals.
Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone), is a young boy who loves animals. He lives with his mother (voiced by Ari Myers), father (voiced by David Landsberg), and his brother Lionel (voiced by Shawn Pyfrom), who is always wearing earmuffs for some reason. But, Stanley spends most of his time with his pets, his fish Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy of "The Nanny"), his cat Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walsh), and his dog Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica, here sounding a lot like Bobcat Goldthwait). As Stanley is obsessed with animals, he approaches everyday activities and events by wondering what specific animal would be related to that moment. This leads to a lesson about the animal, where Stanley learns the traits and activities of that animal. Stanley uses his "Great Big Book of Everything" to learn about animals.
"Hop to It" contains two episodes of the show, and each episode contain two short stories, each lasting about 10 minutes. The stories on "Hop to It" each deal with taking responsibility for making a mess, and are as follows:
"Kangaroo Clean Up" -- When Stanley's parents find his room to be a mess, he is told that he needs to have it cleaned by dinner time. Fearing that he can't meet that goal, Stanley wishes that he had a kangaroo to help, as it could put the mess in its pouch. Stanley then learns all about kangaroos and what their pouches are really used for.
"The Big Spill" -- Stanley wants to prove that he is a big boy by making his own breakfast, but he spills his milk in the process. Stanley decides that an ant-eater would be the perfect animal to help clean up this mess, but soon learns that ant-eaters only like to eat ants.
"Ant Picnic" -- Stanley and his friends decide to have a picnic in the backyard. But, after they spill the food everywhere, the picnic is soon invaded by ants. The kids are fascinated by how the ants work to carry the food off and are soon learning much more about these insects.
"Sloth for a Day" -- Everyone in Stanley's family does a project on Saturday. When Stanley asks for an assignment, his father decides that Stanley should bundle the newspapers for recycling. But, Stanley procrastinates and is danger of running out of time. This leads to a discussion of slow animals, and Stanley learns more about the sloth.
"Stanley" is quite an odd show. On the one hand, you've got a cute story about a boy who loves animals, and engages in everyday childhood activities. But, once the premise for each episode has been set up, the show then awkwardly segues into the educational component. Yes, this is a neat way to get kids interested in animals, but some may tune out once the "Animal Planet" portion of the show begins. (My 4-year old didn't care for the show at all.) And while Stanley offers reams of information about each animal, the unusual animation style renders some of the animal illustrations unrealistic. I prefer PBS' "Zoboomafoo", which depicts humans interacting with live animals.
Video
As "Stanley" is a children's TV show, the episodes included on this DVD are presented in their original full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain, nor any defects from the source print. The colors here are excellent, and the bright hues may be one reason why younger children will watch the show. The digital transfer reveals no problems with the animation.
Audio
This DVD sports a Dolby Digital stereo audio track. This track provides clear dialogue and sound effects, in a well-balanced manner. There are a few stereo effects, but for the most part, the auido is serviceable, but unremarkable.
Extras
The DVD contains an excellent set-top game which invites viewers to learn more about animals, by identifying the animal by sight and by sound. Once this task has been completed, the viewer can select a specific animal and learn more about it. By and large, this game is the best part of the DVD (and the only part that my daughter wanted to see again!). The disc also includes a music video for the show's theme song, which is performed by the Baha Men.
"Stanley" comes from Jim Jinkins, the creator of the successful "Doug" and "P, B, & J Otter". But, "Stanley" isn't quite as good as those show, as the series never seems to find its focus. Children may enjoy the animation and the stories, but there are better outlets for learning about animals.
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