Product Details

• Actors: Click & Clacks
• Directors: n, a
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: September 30, 2008
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AZIRZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,069 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When it’s good, which is often, Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns represents some of the best that PBS has to offer in the way of children’s programming. Based on Car Talk, the popular NPR call-in show, this series finds brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi supplying the voices for their animated alter-egos, Click and Clack Tappet, who offer callers sound, if somewhat wacky, advice on car repair (in addition to maybe-not-so-good advice on a variety of unrelated topics) while they and their cohorts operate a Boston-based garage. Offered on two discs (there are no bonus features), the ten episodes manage to both entertain and enlighten; unlike a lot of mass-produced animation, it doesn’t talk down to its young audience but rather seeks to gently raise it to a higher level, and the educational content is surprisingly high-minded and not a bit perfunctory (a mechanic who reads Camus and spouts poetry? He’s right here, in the form of ex-Harvard professor Crusty). In "Campaign," a political satire, Click and Clack run for president (against major party candidates "Phil Lander" and "P. Varicator"), hoping to raise enough money to earn matching federal funds and thus save public broadcasting. In "Outsourcing," the guys, always looking for way to avoid work, decide to have their show produced in India, where they’re be replaced by spot-on impersonators (there are also amusing impersonations of Rush Limbaugh, Garrison Keillor, and Howard Stern). And in "Pasta Wars," we learn about alternative fuel sources (electricity, hydrogen, vegetable oil) as Click, Clack, and company invent a car that’s both built from and fueled by pasta. Some episodes are simply silly ("Gotcha!" is nothing more than an escalating battle of puerile practical jokes), and the show’s animation is very limited, with minimal character expression and largely static backgrounds. But any program that makes fun of its own network--at PBS, we’re told, "our Number One concern is keeping you from complaining to your senator about us," while references are made to "Antiques Roadkill," "This Old Hovel," and several other shows--definitely has its tongue in the right cheek. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 300 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cartoon Click and Clack, September 22, 2008

By 

Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (College Park, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (DVD)

I love NPR Radio's Car Talk with the Tappet Brothers . Now saying that, I say this cartoon is nothing like the Car Talk show..so those looking for the car talk humor that you hear on NPR, IT aint here!

I saw all these cartoons on my local PBS station. The same stuff as you will get on this 2 disk DVD package

First the bad news...Tom and Ray Magliozzi seem to dumb down their radio personas and tried to milk their Click and Clack characters in this cartoon. The pilots are paper thin. The animation is drawn so badly, you wonder if the animators drew their characters out of the line purposely.

Now the good news...It is cute cartoon for kids. To have good family entertain is a rare thing and should be patted on the head. It has a sugar sweetness that adults can enjoy with the kids. Some of the lines are pure groiner for adults but kids will laugh at the Tappets wholeheartedly.

Will Tom and Ray be the next cartoon superstars? I truly doubt it. But they can try! I will still listen to both of you on Car Talk for my laughs!

it is great to get for family viewing..so buy it for the kids and watch it with them!

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a Cartoon, October 19, 2008

By 

PyroAbyss (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (DVD)

I am probably the only person in the United States that found this DVD hilarious. Unfortunately, my girlfriend and three cats didn't last the first disc.

For the Nay-sayers:
1. This is a cartoon. It is meant to be goofy and not taken seriously.
2. When was the last time you turned to PBS to watch cartoons and comedy? British humor (oxymoron) doesn't count.
3. One can compare the artwork of this DVD to "The Lion King: The Musical". As one reviewer wrote about the musical, the story and music are great once you get past the costumes.
4. Get real expectations. When listening to "CarTalk", the fun is trying to guess the caller's auto/relationship problem. The humor is secondary. With cartoons, the intellectually part of your brain is not required. How much intelligence is needed to watch "The Flintstones", "The Little Mermaid", or "The Simpsons"?
5. Story lines are simple. Doh! Cartoons are designed to numb the brain from reality of life.

For others looking for positives:
1. You have to WATCH each episode. There is background humor that takes place in the artwork. For example: one of the books is titled: "Fundraising: From B.C. to Barack". Some of the humor follows the approach used in "Police Squad in Color". Too many people use television as background noise as opposed to actual entertainment.
2. If you love the wise-cracks from "CarTalk", you will love each episode. The humor is steadily paced. These guys grew up in the era of Abbott and Costello. The humor of this time period took a little time to set-up and is not rapid fire. Current humor is designed for the ADHD viewer: How many jokes can one insert into a sentence. Sit back, take your Ritalin or Focusyn tablet, and enjoy the show. If you want rapid-fire comedy, see CarrotTop.
3. I bought a used copy. One cannot say anything negative when paying $1.74 + shipping.

I like the show and am anxiously awaiting the debut of Season Two. It might be a long wait. I will be patient. : )

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Experimental Television, July 31, 2008

By 

Alfonso J. Cervantes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns (DVD)

People who complain that television networks aren't about taking risks need to see this show. It doesn't pander nor sugar coat complex adult political themes and never stoops to the level of mere entertainment. It's as close to video meditation as animation has ever come and for that alone, it deserves everyone's time. Do not confuse this with the Car Talk radio show. This is an entirely different animal. If you go in expecting some version of "Family Guy" you'll not be happy. Approach it with an open mind, however, and you will be rewarded with unrelenting bliss.