Featured TV on DVD Review: Nick Jr.: Nick En Francais
April 5, 2011
Nick Jr.: Nick En Francais - Buy from Amazon.ca:
On March 29th the first of several Nick Jr. DVDs were re-released in Canada, but these were different. They were, as you can probably tell by the headline, "en Francais", which means, "In French". Or possibly, "On French". "Near French"? They are not entirely in French, but include a French-language track to go with the regular English-language track. Additionally, on the 12th of April, two more such DVDs are coming out. Of the six, I've previously reviewed five of them and will include the links to those reviews, but one of them, The Backyardigans: Into the Deep, was new to me. So what episodes does that DVD contain?
First, let's get to the links to the five other reviews. They are:
The Backyardigans:
The Backyardigans: Into the Deep
And now I have The Backyardigans theme song stuck in my head, in French. Granted, even in Canada the number of French-speaking people is quite low at around 21%. However, out of the roughly 7 million people that are native speakers of Francias, they should be happy to be able to watch some of their favorite Nick Jr. shows in their native language. Since I'm not bilingual (I'm barely lingual) I will instead celebrate the release of these DVDs by getting some Poutine.
The Backyardigans: Into the Deep, Join the Adventure's Club, and Robot Repairman
Go, Diego, Go!: The Great Panda Adventure and Lion's Club Rescue
Spongebob SquarePants: To SquarePants or Not To SquarePants
Join the Adventure's Club - Review
Robot Repairman - Review
Go, Diego, Go!:
The Great Panda Adventure - Review
Lion Club Rescue - Review
Spongebob SquarePants:
To SquarePants or Not To SquarePants - Review
Pablo and Tyrone and exploring in their submarine looking for proof of mermaids. No one's ever seen a mermaid, so it will be difficult, perhaps even impossible, if mermaids don't exist. But they do exist. In fact, quite quickly they are spotted by Uniqua and Tasha. Mermaids don't like to be seen, but when Pablo and Tyrone nearly stumble into the Mermaid Gardends, Uniqua and Tasha have to try and lure them away.
Tyrone, Uniqua, and Pablo are the Harbor Rescue Team always ready to rescue someone in trouble. They are a little... overenthusiastic about their jobs, so much so that they follow Tasha into Sharkbite Bay and rescue her while she's trying fish. They will rescue her, even if she doesn't want to be rescued. It's a battle of the wills, after Tasha heads right back out to sea to catch herself a fish, this time in Catastrophe Cove. Who names these places? The Tourism Board must be furious.
Uniqua is a reporter for the Backyard Report and she's looking for the latest news flash. Sadly, it's a slow news day (there's been no reports of talking horses, for instance). She'll need to find something fast if The Morning Report (with anchorwoman Tasha and cameraman Austin) is to be a success. Fortunately farmers Pablo and Tyrone have a great idea for a story. They're growing corn. Corn is being grown, in Iowa. It's not to slow of a news day that Uniqua will cover that story, but once they fake a crop circle...
Pablo is a famous entomologist, who is on the trail of the Gilded Golden Butterfly. When he finally spots one, he chases it into its natural habitat, the wild west. Suddenly he's a proper English professor who hires the toughest stagecoach drivers in the west, Tyrone and Uniqua. At first Tyrone and Uniqua laugh at the very concept of chasing butterflies, and they certainly don't think it will be a challenge. They are quickly proven wrong. The Extras
There is a music feature plus a preview for an upcoming Dora the Explorer DVD. Sadly, there are no subtitles. I would have loved to listen to the show in French while reading the subtitles in English.
The Verdict
- Submitted by: C.S.Strowbridge
Filed under: Video Review