Nickelodeon // 2010 // 95 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge David Johnson // July 18th, 2010
We've got the whole wide world in our yard to explore!
Nickelodeon unleashes another collection of its winning little kiddo-friendly musical franchise, The Backyardigans. Who are the Backyardigans? They're only the most talented, most musically-inclined band of multicultural CGI animals and one weird alien thing to ever grace your television set. They're Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua (the weird alien thing), Tasha and Austin and they have huge imaginations and a large enough backyard to implement them in.
Four episodes:
* "Elephant on the Run"
Pablo and Tyrone team up as delivery
agents to return a large elephant to India. Along the way the Backyardgians chew
through some seriously brutal alternative rock or, rather, what people composing
music for a kids show thinks that kids show alternative rock sounds like.
* "The Magic Skateboard"
Obsessed with becoming the finest
skateboarder in the backyard, Tyrone seeks the one thing to put him over the
edge against rival skateboarding phenoms Uniqua, Pablo and Austin. That one
thing is a skateboard that's...wait for it...magic.
* "The Flipper!"
Pablo has taken upon himself to be the last
line of defense for Earth's asteroid problem. To swat away these lethal space
rocks he uses the Flipper, which is a tennis racket, but don't tell him, he's so
cute when he's in the middle of a sugar-fueled stupor.
* "Super Team Awesome!"
Great title. The Backyardigans
assume superhero persona and team up to ride around on a mine cart and prevent a
lava geyser from destroying the planet.
There you have it, four shows, 95 minutes and a boatload of charm. I like this show a lot. The music is catchy (alternative rock excluded), the characters are bright and charismatic and the computer animation is clean and full of energy. Plus that theme song -- good luck getting that sucker out of your subconscious for the next five months.
The DVD: full frame, 2.0 stereo, no extras.
Not Guilty.
Review content copyright © 2010 David Johnson; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2013 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 85
Perp Profile
Studio: Nickelodeon
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* English (CC)
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Release Year: 2010
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* None
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0439349/combined