Disney // 2008 // 82 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge David Johnson // August 20th, 2008
"Everyone just loves my giant spinning pretzel!'
Handy Manny is back for seven episodes worth of animal high jinks.
* "Lyle and Leland Lopart"
Manny and his talking tools are
putting together a soapbox racecar for Manny's nephew. Mr. Lopart shows up with
his twin nephews Lyle and Leland, oblivious to fact that their shoddily-built
car sucks. Meanwhile, the tools interrogate the kids about what it's like being
twins. A moral conundrum presents itself when the Loparts' @#$%-box falls apart
and Manny is faced with the decision to either help them rebuild or keep hacking
away at his nephew's car.
LESSON LEARNED: Helping out your bitter soapbox derby rival will possibly earn you entrance into Heaven.
* "Blackout on the Block"
When the entire city suffers from
a blackout, Manny and the tools decide to circulate through the terrifying night
to help out. Rusty the wrench voices his cowardice, but eventually succumbs to
the pressure of his peers to pitch in. Their biggest challenge: keeping chickens
in a pet shop warm.
LESSON LEARNED: No one will mess with you if you're carrying a hammer and saw in the dead of night.
* "Squeeze Makes a Promise"
Squeeze, the pliers, agrees to
take care of a pet chameleon named Maurice, and promises to take care of him and
keep the cover on his tank. But when Maurice escapes, Manny and the tools brace
for all Hell to break loose. Squeeze sucks it up and confesses to her mistake
and the chameleon is eventually found.
LESSON LEARNED: Anthropomorphic hand tools may not make the best pet-sitters.
* "Pet Problem"
After a botched repair job on a rabbit cage
in Cassie's pet store, the bunnies escape and run amok, leaving Manny and his
tools desperate to corral the little animals. One of the tools realizes that
rabbits like food, so the team baits the cages and tricks the bunnies back into
their confines.
LESSON LEARNED: If it weren't for the tools, there's an excellent chance Manny would be a ward of the state.
* "Kitty Sitting"
Manny and the crew go to work on a
dysfunctional doorbell at the Sanchez residence. While they go off to get parts,
they leave a stray kitty they found with Mr. Sanchez. Upon returning, they
realize that the cat likes Mr. Sanchez a lot and the tools decide to let him
adopt her.
LESSON LEARNED: Mange-ridden street kittens will bring joy to a lonely Spanish man's miserable life.
* "Gopher Help"
Manny is called to the park to catch a
rogue gopher that has chewed through the metal sprinkler system. Using a banana
and some Handy Manny ingenuity, they catch the gopher and give him over to the
park ranger.
LESSON LEARNED: Gophers that can chew through metal are terrifying and should be avoided at all cost.
* "Renaldo's Pretzel Castle"
The gang is summoned to a
pretzel shop to fix a giant spinning pretzel. Turns out the birds are chewing it
to pieces. The tools' genius idea: hang bird feeders! That should keep the birds
away!
LESSON LEARNED: Birds are stupid and hungry enough to eat a fake pretzel. They deserve all the harm that will befall them.
Typical Handy Manny action and adventure: He and the tools are called to help out one of the town's many helpless citizens, they bump into an impasse, they talk out a solution, implement it, sing a song, and then...I don't know...retire for an evening of relaxing WD-40 lubrication. The animation is clean and attractive and the storytelling simple, but easy-on-the-brain and values-ridden. You can do worse for your kiddo, especially if you're angling to get the kids speaking some rudimentary Spanish.
The disc: Full frame, 2.0 stereo, an interactive game, and way too many Disney previews.
Review content copyright © 2008 David Johnson; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2012 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 80
Perp Profile
Studio: Disney
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Spanish)
Subtitles:
* None
Running Time: 82 Minutes
Release Year: 2008
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Interactive Game
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0451460/combined