All Rise...

It's time for Judge David Johnson to have a snack.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of The Backyardigans: High Flying Adventures! (published May 28th, 2008), The Backyardigans: It's Great To Be A Ghost (published May 10th, 2006), The Backyardigans: Mighty Match-Up! (published August 20th, 2008), The Backyardigans: Operation Elephant Drop (published July 18th, 2010), The Backyardigans: Surf's Up! (published May 30th, 2006), The Backyardigans: The Snow Fort (published January 10th, 2006), and The Backyardigans: Christmas With The Backyardigans (published December 12th, 2010) are also available.

The Charge

Yes. Yes, they are my friends. The Backyardigans.

The Case

No, this isn't the long awaited Backyardigans sex tape. "Cave Party" refers to the titular episode, where your friends the Backyardigans use their formidable imaginations and time warp back to caveman days and have a party. That's all, you filthy pervert.

The Backyardigans is one of Nick Jr.'s heavy-hitters, a half-hour excursion into music, dance, and bright CGI animal kids. Each episode is themed with a certain type of music, and finds any combination of the five characters embarking on a little adventure while dancing it up and belting out the tunes. Our five players: Tyrone , Austin, Pablo, Tasha, and Uniqua.

Cave Party features four total episodes (including two bonuses), adding up to 99 minutes of fun time singin' and dancin':

• "Cave Party"
Tyrone, Pablo, and Uniqua pretend they're cave folk and set out on a quest to Tasha and Austin's cave to hook up with the first party in recorded history. Along the way, the three friends invent items to help them cross the frozen landscape, such as sleds, skates, and the like.

• "Race Around the World"
Austin is amped up to win the gold medal in a race around the world. But he has some competition, in the form of Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua, who will battle him all the way. Well, it's actually more like friendly competition. Adventure—and buttloads of singin' and dancin'—awaits!

• "Eureka!"
Everyone but Austin joins in for some good old prospecting fun. The pals congregate in a canyon and whip out their metal detectors to try and find some buried treasure. Though the gold eludes them, they score some sweet dinosaur bones. Which is kind of like gold, you know, with the preciousness of learning and all.

• "Castaways"
Austin steps back in and Tasha hits the road as the four pretend they're marooned on a desert island. Singing and funny tricks commence, but, thankfully, no cannibalism.

Well, another round of Backyardigan fun, and it's just as sweet and engaging as it's ever been. I really love me some Backyardigans, and, if I had kids, would love to have them watch these things dance around. The music is catchy and the premise is simple: friends using their imagination. It's a great piece of animation (literally; I really enjoy the computer work here, especially the rendering of the dance moves) and harmless as all get out. Keep up the good work!

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