Product Details

• Format: Color, Live, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Big Kids Productions
• VHS Release Date: May 16, 1995
• Run Time: 27 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303482546
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,271 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for young railfans!, September 9, 2005

By 

J. Levie - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Trains, Little Trains (DVD)

We originally borrowed *Big Trains, Little Trains* (VHS) from the library, along with the *I Love Toy Trains Vols. 1-3* DVD; *Choo Choo Trains: Close Up and Very Personal* (VHS); and the *Travel Adventures* DVD, which contains *There Goes a Train.* My 23 month-old son enjoyed *Big Trains, Little Trains* the most out of the bunch.

The DVD is pretty much an exact transfer of the VHS version; both are 27 minutes in length. The image and audio quality are both fairly good; certainly better than the VHS copy from the library. The DVD has no menus, no chapters, no bonus features...just press "Play"! Most of the footage seems to have been shot in the San Diego area, and includes trains from the LGB of America showroom, model railroad clubs and enthusiasts, museums, and mass transit. The variety of footage really holds my son's attention.

As previous reviews for the VHS version state, the dialogue can be rather annoying at times, but the 2 children in the video are engaging and enthusiastic. Carly, the little girl, comports herself very well as narrator.

The segment on the commuter railroad, near the end of the program, also has its cheesey moments when Connor drives away in the train. Although the scene is portrayed in a cutesy manner, including a "don't try this at home" warning might have been apropos. (A general disclaimer about the dangers of railroads and playing on tracks _is_ given at the end of the program.)

The soundtrack includes instrumentals, as well as songs with vocals, and both are unobtrusive and enjoyable (which makes a big difference for parental sanity, if your child wants to watch the DVD again and again, day after day).

My son didn't care much for the *I Love Toy Trains* DVD, which seemed to have choppy editing (both audio and video) and cheesey sound effects. *There Goes a Train* didn't hold his interest, either, as there's a lot of narration; and the goofy narrator, Dave, got pretty annoying (to Mama) by the end of the program. The *Choo Choo Trains: Close Up and Very Personal* video was probably my son's next favorite after *Big Trains, Little Trains*, because it contained straight footage of steam and diesel trains--no narration, no music, no actors.

He's totally entranced by *Big Trains, Little Trains.* It's just right for his attention span and interest in trains. He loves his wooden Thomas the Tank Engine trains and his train books, but really isn't into the Thomas videos yet, so this DVD was a great alternative.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of interesting train viewing, December 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Trains, Little Trains [VHS] (VHS Tape)

My train-loving sons have really enjoyed this video. They like the Big Train portions best---especially seeing the inside of an Amtrak and seeing the newest commuter rail model. My only problem with this video---why do the writers of such videos give the child actors such annoying lines? They are good actors, but are made to constantly say lines like "I want that!" when they see anything train related, and to ask everyone for a hamburger, etc. If they were just allowed to act like the natural train lovers that kids are, I think it would be more realistic and enjoyable! But it's still a very enjoyable video.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very appealing, especially for its genre!, December 30, 2002

By 

Christine M. Schroeder "mum2sparky" (Camden County, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Trains, Little Trains [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Child narrators in videos tend to get on my nerves pretty quickly, but the kids in this video are really pretty appealing, and I can tell that my son likes them too because he refers to the video as "Carly-Connor". Yes, they do have a couple of silly lines, but all in all, the annoyance factor is pretty minimal, and I love how they interact with some of the train hobbyists. It also does a nice job of bringing in a lot of variety without straying from the subject matter at hand - for example, we may see a petting zoo or a tractor being used to load coal into the tender car, but then we are right back to watching trains - overall a very well done video that does not feel overly "slick".