Customer Reviews

Clifford's Fun With Shapes [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If I were rating this video just based on how well I like it, it would be one star for sure! It's done in a very amateurish way, the adult stars are truly strange looking and acting---extremely overacting! The kid stars seem poorly coached. Clifford really has no role except to be there---it could be any dog or animal star---his personality in the books has no part in this video. However, my 2 sons ages 5 and 2, and their friend age 5, watched this today absolutely fascinated. They sang along, did the hand plays, and seemed to think it was the best thing going. So I had to take their opinion into consideration and give this 3 stars! The songs are old classics (although when singing Kumba-Ya My Lord, for some reason they seem to not want to say Lord and say Friend instead) and it's always good to have kids exposed to classic kids songs, so I guess this does have some merit!

I bought this video to entertain myself, and I enjoyed it. For those who haven't watched it, Here's a quick synopsis of the episode. Emily Elizabeth and Clifford saw a poster advertising that the circus is in town. They have not enough money. So, they start a messaging service (I guess that cellphones with SMS services are hard to come by in the 80s ;) ). Along the way, Clifford encounters scenarios and educates childrens on the alphabet at the same time. They also have 2 short catchy songs that re-enforces the alphabet inbetween the movie to keep young ones entertained. At the end, they earned more then enough money, but saw an donation box for the animal shelter. They then decided to donate the surplus money to the shelter. Overall, I think that the video is great for entertaining children as it reenforces the alphabet and teaches a bit of moral to childrens as well. I give it 2 thumbs up.

This is definitely not the PBS cartoon. In my (adult) opinion, it is, as many have stated, a lame production BUT!...(this is a critical qualifier) my kids (ages 2 & 4) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this tape, as do their friends! I don't understand why, but I don't really have to. I just need to know that it is appropriate entertainment for young children and that my kids like to watch it -- and this meets both qualifications, without a doubt.

The songs are decently sung. They are the traditional, classic songs from our childhood -- "I've been working on the railroad," "Old MacDonald," "Shoo fly, don't bother me," "Them bones," etc. The viewers are encouraged to get up and do the activities with each of the songs too, which helps avoid the mesmerized couch-potato look that my kids get while watching some videos. My children especially love it if their parents come in and get involved too. It just strikes them as incredibly silly and fun.

So look past the 80's style haircuts/clothes and the fact that it feels like you're watching bad community theater, and instead focus on the fact that this will probably become one of your children's favorites, and that they'll learn lots of fun, old songs that you can sing anywhere, anytime. You don't want them learning to value style over substance anyway, do you?

my toddlers are big clifford (pbs show & books) fans so i was excited to find some product featuring the big red dog. the other reviews i read on-line prior to buying did not mention that this was totally different from the show - or books. (although there are some better- more true- reviews now). my kids like the songs ok, but it is poorly done and the people acting are goofy and strange. i can live with wasting the $$ if i never have to sit through it again! - NOT what i expected!

We were very disappointed with this video~ althoug it appeared to be a good ole' clifford video, it was in fact, something quite diffent. there is very little of clifford and a lot of rather annoying singing by some dippy guy in a tie...what's going on?

I purchased this video because my 20 month old son loves Clifford. Well, the Clifford in this video is really just a person in a Clifford costume and looks nothing like the character. It is also clear that this video was made a very long time ago (15 years), with poor production & props and terrible acting. The only reason I gave it a score of "1" is because for some reason my son likes it :) I should have read the other reviews!

I was going to return this video but as soon as my toddler saw the cover he had to see it. Don't waste your money. The video is poorly done my son has watched it twice. In the review it should state that is a man dressed up like clifford not the actual cartoon.

My toddler sits transfixed through this video where Clifford and Emily Elizabeth participate in a scavenger hunt to find different shaped things. The only reason I gave it 4 stars vs 5 stars is the ending where the winner gets tickets to the rodeo --not a politically correct event to promote I think (animals are not treated well in rodeos, although I don't think there was awareness of this in 1988 when the video was made) Nevertheless, the video is entertaining and actually thought provoking! For instance, one of the items on the find list is something that represents "a circle within a square" ... Although Clifford and Emily have different voices than the current series on tv and Emily looks like she does in the books rather than in the current PBS TV series, they are are still close enough and cute enough to pass. All in all I very much recommend this video for its educational and entertainment value --that is, if you can still find it!!! (Still thinking about that item to be found? It's a pizza in a box.)

This is a cool video. I liked the detail about a desire to go to the circus. I used to have letter hunts for the letters I needed to make messages(like in the video). But it doesn't show every letter of the alphabet. In the current PBS TV series, the theme song, setting, backdrop, and character voices have obviously been modified from that in this video. Why? Everything was perfectly fine the way it was, and why did they give a completely different cast? Oh, well, at least I've seen this video!

I got this video from our local library because it was a sing-along. My 2 year old daughter loves to sing and dance and also loves Clifford the big red dog! This video, although it is not the cartoon Clifford, is wonderful. It's interactive, inviting you and your child to get up and dance as well as sing along with the everyone else. The parents in the other reviews aren't looking at it right. It's for the kids enjoyment, not the adult. Since when do we as parents TRUELY enjoy any show, movie or song that our kids end up loving? It's great fun for kids who love to sing and dance. I would highly recommend this video.