Review of Engie Benjy: Friends To The Rescue

Introduction

"Welcome to the world of Engie Benjy and his friends - and what a world it is!
Fantastic, colourful and exciting, Engie`s world brings the joy of pantomime and fairground together. It`s where adventures take place which reflect the kind of stories our children make up as they play with their favourite toys. It`s a world specifically written to illustrate how children think, behave and react. And it`s FUN!". (Source: www.granadakids.com/engiebenjy )

Yeah well. I suppose you could argue that it`s colourful with it`s rich saturated pastels. And if losing your hat is `fantastic` and `exciting` then I guess it`s all of that too. I`m not sure whether it `…brings the joy of pantomime and fairground together`. It seems to represent neither. But it is a rather fun, straightforward pre-school programme featuring Engie Benjy, essentially a mechanic for cars, buses and planes that talk, and his dog (Jollop) and his car (Dan).

Hold on - I can feel that damn theme song coming on again! `Engie Benjy Engine Man; Engie Benjy Jollop and Dan`.

There are also a whole host of side-kicks, all of whom seem to represent a different part of Britain in terms of their regional accents. Naturally main man Engie Benjy has the de rigeur media favourite accent of the moment, namely Ant & Dec / Big Brother style geordie.(Actually…it may well be Ant or Dec doing the VO). Dotty, the bus driver, has a strong northern accent. Pilot Pete can only be described as a nervy and slightly camp brummie. Astronaut Al is another indefinable northerner who`s every utterence is suffused with a `Wa Ha Hay!` style giggle, potentially quite irritating for the over fours. There`s Motorcycle Mo, the pink leather clad biker chick, who could really be from anyplace, and Farmer Fred who sounds like a principal cast member from The Archers on acid with his OTT Somerset burr. Fisherman Fin, the last of this impressive ensemble, is pure scots. So that`s everyone then…

It`s all very pleasant in `Engie Benjy`s` world. Oh, sure there are problems. In fact every episode features one. But Engie`s soon on the case with his always to hand reference guide (a bit like me with my Readers Digest DIY manual …not!), and his side-kicks, Dan the Van and Jollop the Dog. There`s even a great catch phrase too. `Whadda-we-do-Dan?`. Full of great teamwork, compromise, good reasoning and fair-mindedness, every challenge is an opportunity and Engie`s world is a happy one.

The visuals are a very pleasing mix of that weird `plasticiney` stop-frame animation and CGI, with the emphasis firmly on the former. It`s a world full of appealing pastels - and will certainly be kind on the eyes of it`s intended audience, the 3-6 year olds in your life.

The disc has a nice selection of six episodes with the right mix of familiarity, repetition and newness to keep pre-schoolers happy again and again. This one could end up being the most played DVD in your entire collection.

Out of a sense of pure duty (honest), I watched the lot. And whilst I`m hardly qualified to comment (being over 6 years of age), for my money `Buses need holidays too` and `Nightlight` were the most engaging, full of surprises, humour and fun. It`s worth mentioning that every episode has the usual spoonful of moral content too, so no guilty conscience as you put little Ben down in front of this for 45 minutes.

Video

What you get is probably as good as it gets, with this transfer direct from the Digital source. Widescreen anamorphic 1:78:1, this is a recent production with all the production values you would expect from that.

Audio

Well, as long as trendy regional accents sit OK with you, there`s nothing to complain about here. A standard Dolby Digital Stereo mix (2.0) - this won`t upset the hi-fi sensibilities of your pre-schooler.

Features

None. But then what would a three year old do with a Director`s commentary?

Conclusion

I`d never heard of Engie Benjy until this disc landed on my doorstep. But a quick search on the web indicates how out of touch with the pre-school generation I`ve become. Obviously I`m putting that right now, having ordered the pre-requisite `Engie benjy` back-pack, quilt, dolls, towel, lunch-box and computer game. Having viewed all 6 episodes on this volume, I can say with some authority that I guess this is just the ticket for the tiny ones in your life. Engie Benjy`s world is rather nice. It`s full of problems, but these are all resolved before each episode closes thanks to the collaborative efforts of EB and his extended family of friends and neighbours. Using a pleasing mix of stop-frame animation and CGI, the colourful pastels and gentle soundtrack will please all but the most jaded of 5 year old pallettes. Recommended.