Customer Reviews

Hello Kitty - Stump Village - A Place of Fun! (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD is very sweet and generally good-natured. At the same time, it is a little odd. In one episode, one of the friends borrows another's sunglasses while she sleeps. She accidentally breaks them and then simply returns them to the sleeping friend without saying or doing anything. Only after others borrow and further accidentally break them, and then the owner goes home in tears, is there any resolution. It doesn't seem to me that there is any good message in this. It doesn't show examples of taking responsibility or of conflict resolution or anything. That said, the DVD is appealing and has a great theme song!

My daughter received this for her 2nd birthday and it quickly became a favorite of my 4- and 2-year-old. I actually like the music - it's cheery with cute lyrics, though a bit repetitive. The narration is done by a cheerful female.

I do see a couple of pitfalls. First, there are a few minor things in the movie that are off-base for the little ones. A character throws things at a performer and in another scene, characters playing a board game hit each other with one of those squeaky hammers. However, to a young child who doesn't distinguish, it doesn't look like a squeaky hammer and the characters are shown later with band-aids on their heads. I talk to my girls about how this is not appropriate behavior, but some people might want to avoid it all together.

Also, I can see where it's not just for kids. The male college student in the Sanrio store where my dad bought the video said he had it in his collection and liked it. To each his own I guess.

I got this from the library along with some other vids, such as Barney & the Wiggles. I was not expecting... this. The theme song is super cheerful and hard to get out of your head (a little creepy to me, because NO ONE is that happy) I thought my daughter who is almost 2 wouldn't be interested since the little characters don't really talk, but BOY was I wrong! Thanks to this video, Dora has been displaced as my daughter's obsession. If I could get "kitty" squash, I think she'd eat it. Anyway, I haven't seen the other videos in this series, but here's what I have to say.

Good:
Short intro with limited/no commercials at the beginning.
Intro is VERY identifiable as "kitty" so my daughter calms down and knows she's gotten what she wants right away (unlike some other movies which leave her guessing and doubting my reassurances.)
Divided into short episodes, so my daughter can get a fix without me having her in front of the tube for an hour. (and she doesn't get bored)

Bad:
Ending credits take FOREVER. They seem almost as long as the actual show, so I frequently have to FFWD to the next ep. if I'm letting my daughter watch more than one so she doesn't have a coronary from the waiting.
Questionable point/purpose/moral. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but it seems so odd that the "friends" take things that belong to the others even though the owner has expressed a desire to not share, breaking said items and not owning up to it, and are getting mad at each other and not forgiving each other for days. I guess... they seem to be modeling the same behaviors that young kids exhibit (toddlers), but without explaining that we'd rather people share, take turns, own up to their mistakes, forgive each other, etc. I don't know...
Oh, and you will have that intro song stuck in your head forever.

Despite the negatives, however, I gave this a pretty high rating since I will be purchasing the DVD tonight. The other Hello Kitty DVD's (they appear to be from an 80's TV show) we've since rented from the library have come nowhere close to this in popularity in my household.

All the reviews make this seem like its for kids, but no!!! I'm 14 and i love this!!! Its a guilty pleasure!

Purchased for my daughters (5&2years),they have watched it numerous times and really seem to enjoy it. I watched the dvd with them once and have to admit was dissapointed that the characters dont speak. The stories are narrated but do teach lessons of sharing and being kind to others. The theme music is very, very annoying but that is from an adult perspective, the girls have learned the words and to my dismay will often break out into song especially when i'm trapped in the car with them :)

I read several negative reviews before purchasing this product, but thought they were probably just 'over the top' and being picky. I really wanted a Hello Kitty DVD for my girls and went ahead and purchased it. However, after watching the episodes I found the negative reviews quite accurate. We watched it once and had a discussion about how the characters' behaviour is not acceptable and the DVD has now been 'filed' in the cupboard. Sadly, I should've listened to the reviews and taken their advice.

Well, I would say it is perfect for babies because it really is, but my 4 year old and 7 year old get a kick out of watching this, too. From the "cotton" fight the friends have to the way the friends solve their problems, it is good fun with simple to understand morals. The animation is detailed and well done - some of the best I've seen. I highly recommend it. We've ordered the rest of the series.

My 4 year old and my 22 months old girls LOVE the entire series of Hello Kitty Stump Village. I'm very glad that I ignored the negative reviews. The characters at times misbehaves just the way little kids do in real life, which is probably why toddlers can relate to them and laugh along. Hello Kitty and friends sometimes do naughty things, fight and tease each other, but they DO come up with conflict resolutions and in the end everyone is happy. It teaches kids about true friendship, acceptance, forgiveness, staying healthy, resourcefulness, teamwork and creativity. Hello kitty and friends do a lot of things together in Stump Village. Aside from playing, they create crafts, bake, play music, perform puppet shows, gymnastics, workout, and the best of all their activities is gardening because it shows kids where food comes from and it also encouraged my kids to eat veggies. Overall I highly recommend Hello Kitty Stump Village, but if the characters' ocassional naughtiness bothers you then watch it with your kids at least the first time. Just explain any questionable behavior of the characters and tell them how one should handle similar situation. Another helpful feature is the subtitles. I turn it on and it helps my 4 year old practice her reading skills.