Amazon.com
This 30-minute HBO program is inspired by Rosie O'Donnell's
best-selling book examining kids and how laughter plays a vital part of childhood. The show is a mix of animated tales and snippets of children talking about what's funny to them. These snippets are quite amusing because, as Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby showed us years ago in their child-oriented interview books, kids say the darnedest things. The animated tales are all connected to the importance of laughter. Jackie Mason and Mary Tyler Moore lend their voices to a parable about a clown entering the pearly gates, and John Leguizamo lends his multivoice talents to the tale of "Tito the Frog." There are also stories of how a slave won his freedom from a cruel owner, a camel who wants to be a dancer, and how an elementary school class remembers their friend through laughter. A good age for kids to view the video might be hard to gauge. The animated cover of Rosie as a baby implies that it's made for all ages. Most of the kids interviewed are 7-10, however, and those ages should be able to comprehend and want to discuss some of the challenging subject matter: slavery, heaven, and a young girl who dies of cancer. A good video for families to watch together. Chris Rock, Marlo Thomas, and Madonna also add their voices to this show. All net proceeds will be donated to The For All Kids Foundation.
--Doug Thomas
