Customer Reviews

A Rugrats Chanukah [VHS]

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

 

 

Not only was this another endearing Rugrats episode, this video also had some very informative historical data. When my fellow teachers and I decided to expand our Christmas Around the World unit, we combed your website looking for innovative ideas.Unfortunately many teachers almost have to run a "dog and pony" show to compete with the visual stimuli of today's world. That's why we we so excited to find a copy of this great video that provides accurate historical and cultural information on a child's level with characters he/she recognizes and loves. Our second grade auditory learners were delighted with the video as were the visual learners with the paperback book of the same story. This video showed The Babies playing games and eating Chanakah snacks which we provided for our kinestic learners. This video held seven year olds' attentions while instilling information about the history and culture of the Jewish faith.

This is an excellent video that introduces young ones to the basic meaning of Chanukah, and I would recomend it to anyone who's interested. It combines the basic story of Chanukah, with the humor that the Rugrats provide.

The video does have some flaws. It's recorded in the fastest mode (apparently to save cost, but to be honest, I would have paid a few bucks more for a better quality recording) so the quality is not the greatest. Also, the closed captioning for the hearing impaired has lots of errors, such as some Yiddish expressions, and at the end when the blessing is given, it just says "(speaking Hebrew)" where the TV version spells it out and suffers from none of the above-mentioned flaws.)

Still, it is not enough to change my rating of 5 stars, or my recommendation of this video, as the content of the video is, of course, the most important part.

I might be in my pre-teen ages where people think they might not know what a good or bad movie is but I think all ages could enjoy. I'm not Jewish and many viewers probably aren't but I never was told or knowing the story behind Chanukkah and the whole episode explains it. Of course they even add a fun storyline to it (as the Rugrats try to put the Chanukkah play leader to a nap) to help people enjoy it. I definitely recommend it.

We found this to be an informative video for our children and entertaining to us as well. It explains Chanukah to children in a way they can understand when they are coming from another cultural background. The story is clear, easy to understand and follow, and entertains at the same time. It also shows the need for understanding, tollerance and the acepting of others different from ourselves in the world today. As a parent, I apprciate holsom videos that teach a lesson as well.

As usual, the producers of Rugrats have given us an entertaining and enlightening kids-eye view of the adult world that truly does appeal to both children and adults. The subjects covered include Christmas TV specials, Hanukkah customs, multi-ethnic families, and ancient rivalries. A second "bonus" cartoon (without a holiday theme) is also included.

My biggest complaint is with the video itself. In an apparent effort to save money, it is recorded in EP/SLP mode (very slow speed). This uses much less tape than videos recorded in the standard mode and thus costs less to make. The results show. The images are grainy at best and often snowy. I had to readjust the tracking on my VCR several times during the 17 minutes of the actual story time. This is especially disappointing coming from Nickelodeon inasmuch as Rugrats spinoffs are ubiquitous and are typically of better quality than this. It's hard to imagine the need to control costs here since the cartoon is not new; it was originally produced and broadcast in 1997.

I'm not a big Rugrats fan but I struggled to find a video that would explain Hannukah AND captivate my 3 year old. This video does both. I love the Yiddish phrases sprinkled throughout, they remind me of my culture. I also love that they incorporate the Hebrew blessing.