Customer Reviews

Little Bear - Little Goblin Bear [VHS]

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

 

 

Little Bear explores Fall traditions - pumpkins dance up a hill towards the moon to Moonlight Serenade, ghost squirrels play funky jazz, Autumn leaves and acorns falling. I have always loved the Little Bear videos and books because of Minarik's ability to create engaging stories without good v. bad conflicts.

Like all of the Little Bear videos, this charming collection of four seasonal tales is so good that it almost justifies watching TV instead of playing outside in the falling leaves! These stories are about kids just being kids (or rather, animal kids just being animal kids): exploring, playing with friends, laughing, and using their imagination to make up playful games with eachother. In this way, they are like A.A. Milne's original "Winnie the Pooh" stories, in which the characters' games and discoveries are the main attraction, and we come to love the characters not despite their flaws but because of them. And, in the Little Bear stories, mom and dad are supportive presences, mirroring the real world in which mom and dad are usually the most significant people in young children's lives.

My 3-year-old daughter loves the stories, and all other Little Bear videos. The stories are neither too simple, nor too complicated. Similarly, the action unfolds at the perfect pace for young kids, neither too sluggish nor too fast. Little Bear won't insult your kids' intelligence, and you may enjoy them yourself, too!

Unlike so much of TV/movies for kids, the Little Bear stores are not about conflicts with bad people [who, invariably, are bad for no reason other than to move the plot along (e.g., the wicked queen or stepmother, etc.)], or are about loud-mouthed kids who argue with eachother and avoid adults at all times (Rugrats and the like). I recommend all of the Little Bear stories, and the Little Bear show on Nicklelodeon, for any parent who wants a positive alternative to the brain-rotting noise that one usually finds on TV.

Hurray for Little Bear!

My two year old son loved everything about this video. We found it so entertaining. I love the music, and I never got tired of watching it in spite of all the requests. My son did not find it scary in the least. He would laugh and laugh.

My four-year-old daughter has always loved Little Bear, and this video is no exception! As soon as she received the tape, she watched it twice all the way through. What is truly noteworthy about this collection of four stories is how delightfully imaginative they are. In one story Little Bear and the garden scarecrow lead a procession a la the pied piper dancing under the Harvest Moon. In another story, Little Bear's trumpet lesson is followed by an ensemble playing music to ward off the fright from the storm and the wind. These are just some examples of the simple but enchanting creativity of this video. Little Bear & Friends scaring goblins in the forest on the way to the bonfire for roasted pumpkin seeds and corn beats trick-or-treating with mounds of candy, in my book! Refreshingly original!

My two year old loves Little Bear, but this video was too scary for her. She had me turn it off when they were running from the golbins. She did not like the scarecrow either. It's to bad that they couldn't have made it a little more fun.