Featured TV on DVD Review: The Backyardigans: Escape From the Tower

March 26, 2010

The Backyardigans: Escape From the Tower - Buy from Amazon

The Backyardigans is a musical TV series for kids featuring the adventures of five friends: Austin, Pablo, Tasha, Tyrone, and Uniqua. I've reviewed five DVD releases for this show, so I've run out of things to talk about in the preambles. Let's jump right to the episodes, starting with...

  • Break Out!
    Princesses Tasha and Uniqua (each sporting Princess Leia hairdos) are trapped in a tall tower guarded by Pablo and Tyrone, who are two of the most clueless guards around. Fortunately for them, the tower is filled with cameras, laser security systems, big iron gates, and more. Fortunately for Tasha and Uniqua, they have Austin the magic mirror to help them out. Will Tasha and Uniqua make it out? Or will Pablo and Tyrone catch them? They could probably catch them, if they would stop singing and dancing.
  • For the Love of Socks!
    Tasha, Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua are playing factory workers that have to sort socks... huh? One of their parents convinced them that sorting laundry is a game. That person is a certifiable genius. They imagine they are working in a massive sock factory, but after Tasha drops her pencil in the machine, it goes haywire and the four have to travel deep within the machine to recover the pencil and fix the machine. And it's one trippy machine.
  • Los Galacticos
    Pablo, Tasha, and Tyrone are Los Galacticos, which is Spanish for The Galacticos. That's the name of their traveling Mariachi band. After accidentally getting on the wrong bus, they rocket into space. Once in space, they run afoul of the Googors, Austin and Uniqua (aka Goostin and Gooniqua). They're an alien race bent on covering the universe in green goo. No, I don't know why, and I don't want to know why. Can Los Galacticos learn how to fly their bus in time to stop the Googors?
In addition to the three episodes of The Backyardigans, there's a bonus episode from the new series, The Fresh Beat Band. The show is about the four members of the Fresh Beat Band: Kiki (guitar); Marina (drums); Shout (keyboard); and Twist (D.J.). In this episode, the band is planning a big Luau but every time they start playing Hawaiian music, Marina's hips and arms start moving in funny ways. This prevents her from playing the drums. She's doing a Hula dance, but what does it mean? And how will they stop her from dancing?

The Verdict

The Backyardigans is one of the best preschool shows. Far too many shows aimed at this target demographic are incredibly repetitive, but here each story is filled with unique situations and songs. How can I say a bad word about a show that gives its characters Princess Leia hairdos? What kid is going to get that reference? On the other hand, while the show is great, there are only four episodes on Escape From the Tower, including the bonus episode from The Fresh Beat Band. That means its price per minute is only average. That being said, an average price for an above average product is still a good deal. It is worth picking up.


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