Customer Reviews

National Geographic's Really Wild Animals: Adventures in Asia [VHS]

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My two-year-old chose this from a shelf because it had a panda on it. I fully expected that she would be bored with a nature documentary, or disappointed that it wasn't really about pandas, but boy, was I surprised!

First, this isn't a documentary. It's a fast-paced, lively entertainment program that splices together lots of really good National Geographic footage with tongue-in-cheek narration and some pretty good music. It holds my daughter's interest even after repeated viewings, but it doesn't annoy the grownups. We actually enjoy watching it with her now and then.

Second, it manages to incorporate a meaningful amount of information without becoming a dry tutorial. Because of the quick pace, it doesn't get too deep into anything, but it covers the most important facts.

Third, and perhaps most important, they've managed to produce a show that doesn't include any inappropriate material. I fully expected my daughter (who is pretty sensitive to scary stuff) to be frightened by at least some aspects of the tape, but even the scenes with predators and sudden attacks are handled gently and without undue emphasis. The overall impression of the show is mild and pleasant.

And finally, although pandas are certainly not the focus of the show (maybe 10% of the entire time is spent on pandas), my daughter happily watches the whole thing, and refers to it as "the panda video."

So overall, I have to say I'm very pleasantly surprised. This turns out to be age-appropriate for even quite young toddlers. I have to add that I'm not sure all 2-year-olds would be as taken with it as my daughter was, but she has definitely enjoyed this and at least one other in this series (Deep Sea Dive). It provides a nice change of pace from The Wiggles and Winnie the Pooh.