All Rise...

Judge David Johnson is working on a phonics farm, poking your hay.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of LeapFrog: Learning Set, Volume 2 (published December 5th, 2010), LeapFrog: Learn To Read At The Storybook Factory (published December 8th, 2005), Leap Frog: Math Circus (published January 21st, 2005), LeapFrog: Numberland (published February 26th, 2012), LeapFrog: Sing and Learn with Us! (published September 4th, 2011), Leap Frog: Talking Words Factory 2: Code Word Caper (published January 21st, 2005), and LeapFrog: Talking Words Factory (published June 18th, 2009) are also available.

The Charge

Join Scout and his friends as they learn letter sounds with the help of some amazing animals.

The Case

As far as preschool level kids animation goes, I give props to the LeapFrog brand. Eschewing bizarre, brain-cramping hyperactivity for clean playful animation, low-key songs, and hard-core learning, the series is obviously setting out to do one thing: teach your kids the basics of the alphabet. From my exposure to what's available to consumers, the LeapFrog guys are the best in the business.

LeapFrog: Phonics Farm is a 38-minute mini-movie, which finds Scout the dog and his pals Violet, Eli, and Penny jumping on board their best pal Axle the car and heading to the farm to do what everyone does at a farm: learn phonemes!

The entire alphabet is tackled here, with object lessons and songs brought out to illustrate the different sounds of the letters. Hey, the DVD case tells you what you can expect your kiddo to learn: early reading skills, the alphabet, phonics, and animals.

Some of the animals that stop by to help with the education are your usual farm stand-bys, but just to mix things up you'll have alligators and seals drop by to regale the viewer with songs about the alphabet. They may not fit on a farm setting per se, but they know their phonics and that's the only thing that matters.

The DVD: a nice 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, 2.0 stereo, sing-alongs, a music video, a bonus storybook, and a nifty curriculum commentary for caregivers, detailing the specific learning elements present in the feature.

The Verdict

Not Guilty.

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