Customer Reviews

Real Wheels - Mega Truck Adventures

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

He'd probably watch it if it were just the monster trucks without any narration. Having seen this DVD about a dozen times in the past 48 hours since it arrived I have come to some conclusions. Before I write my opinions as a 36 year old father, let me repeat again that my 2.5 year old enjoys this video (though just the monster truck one really, the other ones seem to lose his interest). I'm sure he'd give it 4 or 5 stars, but then again he'd do the same for a camcorder recording of some nearby construction jobs. Anyways...

I find these videos strangely inspiring, in that anyone with a nice camera and a person with no acting ability willing to ham it up as a host could make a children's video. Dave does a good job being a 'real life' Homer Simpson type character, making stupid very predictable mistakes and saying 'I shouldn't have done that!' which I'm guessing is a tag line for these videos. He acts as narrator and over-enthusiastic big kid host. Other comments have hinted this isn't Dave & Becky's first video, which is unfortunate cause I thought maybe this was a pilot and they had better repetoire and 'characters' in future episodes.

Here's the thing, over the years I have made some really dumb and silly unscripted camcorder videos with friends and I recognize ad lib dialogue and 'lets make a story from the footage we have' type productions and these reek of that. I can't imagine the production costs for these videos was more than a few thousand, possibly just a few hundred, dollars. It's also is clear they spent at most a day or two shooting each segment, if not just a few hours.

This is certainly better than some free videos I've found on the net when looking for construction, motorcyle and monster truck videos (for my 2 year old), and while others have complained about Dave & Becky fighting there's no real violence (just basically falling in the mud). It's also a good combo having construction equipment, monster trucks and tanks on one DVD, and I was glad the Tank section didn't get into too much war talk. However, while this video isn't horrible, it could have been alot better. After recently viewing some of the well produced PBS series 'Modern Marvels' and other documentaries about construction equipment and trucks, this falls far short of what it could have been. Even with a target audience of kids there is no reason to do something this 'cheap' in look and feel, and it's also just 'dumb' entertainment, no real effort in trying to educate in any manner (except for occasional 20 second bits where Dave rattles off data way too fast with no context). Occasionally an off camera narrator comes in and gives an overly enthusiastic and overly brief bit of information that puts things in more context. I just think they could have made a much better 'story' that would work better in the context of the show and if they spent a few more dollars and/or hours in producing this they could have made something that would catch adults interest and challenge kids to learn more about the subjects they are covering.

I'm sure Dave & Becky are rich by now considering the number of these DVD's they've probably sold compared to the low production costs, so who am I to judge on what makes a good video? I just thought I'd write my honest opinion while these videos were fresh in my mind.

So basically, it's dumb but fun for kids. It could/should have been better but since it's target audience doesn't have a clue of the difference between something that took effort and something half-baked, it's good enough I guess. I just was hoping for more.

Our family enjoys these Dave Hood shows, and this DVD contains three: There Goes a Bulldozer, all about construction vehicles; There Goes a Monster Truck, with Dave and Becky driving trucks and visiting a monster truck show; and There Goes a Tank, where Dave messes up in the military!

Extras are good also: bloopers, a song and an interactive construction zone, where you watch things blow up in forward or reverse.

I am a strong supporter for the earlier Real Wheel Videos (before Dave and Becky began to fight during each of their episodes); however, this one should be skipped for more sensitive children. Specifically, Dave and Becky fight a little more harshly than in their previous videos, and I am not too keen on having my children exposed to monster trucks named "Big Dummy." Granted, they'll probably be exposed to this language later on, I'd just rather it didn't happen on my watch.

My family and I are such huge fans of this series! When we found out there were two more DVD's (Rescue Adventures) out we bought them both right away! My 3 year son adores this whole series! Both my husband and my son particularly love this DVD because there are enormous trucks and they get to see just how they work and move. The DVD has some really cool special features as well. The bloopers are great and we think the host, Dave, is fantastic! If you have kids or know of any kids who would love to learn and have a great time doing it, this series of DVD's and videos is the way to go!

My son is in love with monster trucks - this video has become his number one favorite video of all time. He would literally watch it 100 consecutive times if you allowed him to. This was money well spent.

We purchased this for our son's 2nd birthday after he had seen it once on loan from a library. He absolutely loves the heavy construction equipment segment but isn't so interested in the other two segments. He literally barely blinks through the entire show. For us it is a blessing and a curse...it is our ace in the hole when we need to keep him occupied for a short time, but on the other hand he has a fit when he can't watch it over and over again! We love the fact that the video features real working equipment. It is quite educational!

Grandsons love trucks etc. They will get many hours of enjoyment from this dvd also. It is also a Christmas present.

This DVD collection is fantastic! Dave and Becky's on screen antics are a prime example of good clean television fun. My children love both characters and enjoy the playfulness between the two of them. My children especially loved the "There Goes a Monster Truck," where Dave and Becky get in on the action. The kids get a great insight into Monster Truck drivers and the interesting sport they perform. In fact, I even learned quite a bit after watching these videos. Also, this DVD comes highly recommended from other children's video websites including MyParentime.com. Sit back, relax, learn, and Enjoy!

This product was an order for my son. He was very anxious to get this movie. It came in a timely manner and made his day.

My son just turned seven. He was originally given the videotapes of the "There goes a..." series by his older cousin (who is now fifteen) when *he* outgrew them. He was 18 months old then, and LOVED the fire trucks, garbage trucks and race cars. We held off letting him watch the tank one until he was a little older, but it is by far his favorite. My son wore out the videotapes. We had to replace them one by one with the DVDs. He now has the options to watch other stuff on Saturday mornings, and some of the shows that he loves to watch (just to give you an idea of his tastes) are Avatar, Justice League, Ben 10, Spider Man, Dragon Hunters, Bionicle, and Power Rangers (yeah, he's old school :). But, every now and again, he comes back to The Dave. He LOVES the trucks, he really likes Dave, and he likes that Dave messes up and doesn't always listen and gets himself into trouble (I think he can relate to that very well at his current age :D.) He gets this big smile on his face when Dave gets in trouble. I find it very cool that he still loves these after watching them so many times. He also loves to draw the various kinds of trucks in the videos.

I wish there was one about snowplows. He loves snowplows, even though we live in Southern CA where there is very little snow...