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Stanley: Spring Fever

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // Unrated // March 11, 2003
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Mike Long | posted April 14, 2003 | E-mail the Author
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.

"Spring Fever" 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 the way animals change along with their environment, and are as follows:

"Searching for Spring" -- Stanley is tired of the cold, winter weather and wishes for Spring. Following the Groundhog Day festivities, Stanley wants to learn more about groundhogs and how Springtime effects animals.
"Save the Bluebird" -- In this story, Stanley learns about Earth Day, and decides that he wants to help endangered species. He soon learns that even common animals, such as the bluebird, can be effects by changes in their environment.
"Caterpillar Countdown" -- In this fairly straightforward effort, Stanley and his pets watch a cocoon, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. Stanley learns all about caterpillars and their incredible metamorphisis.
"Baby Pictures" -- One of the odder episodes of Stanley, and one that doesn't really fit the show's format. Stanley's class is going to play a game in which they must pick out their classmates from a series of baby pictures. This leads Stanley to find out more about how animals and humans change as they grow up.

"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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