Review of Wide Eye: The Adventures Of Little Hoot And Flea (Special Edition)

Introduction

This DVD features the adventures of the creatures of Natterjack Forest, which is described in the PR as "a magical land of breathtaking, yet traditional colour and design". The forest is home to a range of unusual characters, many of whome you might not expect to find living together.

Look out for baby owl Little Hoot, his best friend Flea, a Natterjack toad family, Wily Komodo and his irrepressible and accident prone young son, Baby Komodo. There`s also Conchita the chinchilla, Ninety-nine, the centipede, Hetty Hornet and Rangatang. They are all overseen by their watchful guardian owl, Wide Eye.

This DVD is supposed to contain the following five stories:-

Little Hoot Learns to Fly
Toad in a Teapot
Rangatang`s Shop
Spotty Little Hoot
The Weather Machine

The review disc contains just the first episode, running to 10 minutes.

Video

A 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer which is nice to see. It`s all very well animated, and has a look of shows gone by, despite also being quite modern. Everything looks good, with the colour palette looking fine and contrast levels also looking good. I couldn`t really spot any major flaws on the review disc.

Audio

A standard DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is pretty much perfect. There`s nothing wrong with it and that`s all there is to say.

I`ve said before that the key to a great TV series for the younger generation is to have great voices for your characters. Willo the Wisp had Kenneth Williams, Dangermouse and Count Duckula featured David Jason. Here we have the calming authority of Anton Rodgers as well as the always amusing Jane Horrocks. Very good choices.

Features

Nothing else to entertain the little ones.

Conclusion

Maybe the future of pre-school entertainment is not so bleak after all. Wide Eye harks back to the good old days of Camberwick Green, Trumpton, Chigley, Fingerbobs and Bod. It`s made by made by King Rollo Films (another classic there!) and seems to combine both new and old to good effect.

You might ask where the other episodes of the show are, since I`m pretty sure that more were made and only 5 appear here. The "Special Edition" tag seems a little over the top too!

If your children have enjoyed this show on CBeebies, then you might want to keep them entertained by letting them watch it again. It might have been nice to see extras like games or DVD ROM content though. In the end it`s a reasonable way to keep the little ones entertained.