Featured TV on DVD Review: Muppet Babies: Time To Play
August 14, 2018
Muppet Babies: Time To Play - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I loved the original Muppets TV show and really enjoyed the first Muppet Babies cartoon. Nostalgia was a big factor in requesting a screener for this TV show, because I’m clearly no longer in the age range that it is aimed at. Is nostalgia all it has going for it? Or will it work for kids of the right age range?
Each episode is divided into two approximately 11-minute long shorts. Included on this DVD are...
I’m obviously outside of the age range that this show is aimed at, but I can safely say it will entertain kids in the right age range. It colorful and energetic with plenty of adventures. The characters are engaging and there are good lessons to be learned. (Be patient, be happy with yourself, don’t be a sore loser, etc.) As for the nostalgia hit, it works, for the most part. Some of the voices are different enough that they stand out. That said, I think if you grew up with these characters and you have kids in the right age range, then this will be a fun show to watch with your kids.
In addition to the four bonus episodes included above, there are ten Muppet Babies Show and Tell shorts, each of which is two minutes long. There are also six minute-long music videos. This is a better set of extras than most similar DVDs aimed at kids will get.
Muppet Babies: Time To Play is the first release for the latest attempt Disney has made trying to create a successful Muppets franchise. They’ve had mixed results in the past, but I think this one will please preschoolers, as well as parents who grew up on the original show. The DVD has enough extras that it is worth picking up.
Video on Demand
The Show
Kermit the Frog and the rest of the gang are playing knights and dragons when Miss Nanny comes into the playroom looking for her sweater. When she goes into the art closet, there’s lots of noise and Summer Penguin thinks she’s being attacked by a dragon. Kermit is scared of the dark, so he imagines he’s a brave knight to get through.
The gang are making collages of their favorite place and Animal makes one of a plane. Miss Nanny’s favorite place is Paris, France, so the gang imagine flying to France.
Fozzie lends Kermit his favorite hat, a flying hat. However, Kermit accidentally loses the hat in the back yard of their neighbors’, Statler and Waldorf. Now they have to figure out how to get it back.
While playing outside, the gang see some Canadian Geese flying south for the winter. Miss Nanny explains what this is and mentions Camilla and the chicks are also going on a trip and Gonzo freaks out. Camilla is his best friend and he’s worried he’s going to be all alone, so he decides to migrate as well.
The gang learn about the Olympics, but they can’t actually use that name, so they call it the Sport-A-Thon instead. After learning what it is, the gang decide to hold their own. However, Miss Piggy keeps coming in second and decides to quit.
The gang is helping Miss Nanny harvest some food from the garden and Gonzo decides the Potato Animal dug up is his new best friend. This gets awkward when he tries to have Potato join in their games and it can’t play, because it’s a potato.
Miss Piggy and Summer Penguin don’t get along as well as everyone else, so Kermit decides they should help them become friends by making them work together. But what task could make them work together like that? They will be super heroes who have to rescue Kermit, who was kidnapped by Gonzo, Fozzie, and Animal.
It’s also Piggy’s birthday, but she can’t wait for tomorrow, so uses Gonzo’s time machine to travel to tomorrow. However, they quickly get lost in time bouncing between time periods.
The gang have to clean the playroom before the music time. It seems like an insurmountable task, but they quickly clean up and the room is spotless. That is until Rizzo the Rat shows up and starts making a mess. Rizzo refuses to leave and challenges Kermit to a dance-off for the rights to the playroom. One problem, Kermit doesn’t know how to dance, so it is up to the others to teach him.
Beeker and Bunsen Honeydew show up. Awesome. Summer Penguin is shorter than the rest of the gang, so she wants to be bigger. Bunsen Honeydew offers to help make her bigger. ... DON’T LET HIM DO SCIENCE TO YOU!
Miss Nanny loses her earring and the gang decide to help her find it. They mark where she was that morning and it looks like a pirate map, so they pretend to be pirates while looking for the missing treasure.
Piggy and Summer Penguin create a blanket fort, complete with dungeon, for people who break the rules. ... Which Piggy makes and this includes no saying no to the Queen. This will go poorly.
The Extras
The Verdict
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