Review of Nouky & Friends: Nouky Discovers Tastes

Introduction

Nouky is hard to track down, this disc isn`t listed at any of the usual sites, and my first port of call was the www.noukies.com website, where if you don`t mind buying in Euros, then Nouky and Friends can be yours for the princely sum of €19.90. Rather than inhabiting your usual DVD emporium, the lesser-spotted Nouky bear can be observed closer to home in your typical preschool shop, and a quick Google pointed out names like Good4Babies.com and BabySleepShop.com as the sort of place to start looking if you`d rather spend Sterling.

When I saw that I`d be reviewing a disc about a bear called Nouky, I was immediately put in mind of Roger de Courcey, which is unfortunately indicative about my age. This Nouky doesn`t have to suffer the indignities of a ventriloquist`s right hand though, and is instead a character designed to appeal to children of pre-school age.

Nouky is a little bear that lives with his friends Paco the horse, and Lola the cow, and together they get into all sorts of adventures in their house. With the help of their friend the narrator, they experience all sorts of new things and learn important things about the world around them. Together with Nouky, your children can learn about how different foods taste, how mirrors work, how to make music, what dreams are, how jigsaw puzzles work, why you shouldn`t be greedy, what shadows are, and how to use the taps in a bathroom safely. Also emphasised is the importance of cleaning up your messes.

This disc contains eight 5-minute episodes, created with the input of child psychologists.

Video

Presented in 4:3, Nouky & Friends is a very pleasant CGI animation, presenting a nice child eye view of the world. The characters are fluffy and likeable, and the world they live in is full of colourful and warm designs.

Audio

A simple 2.0 English track is clear and audible throughout. There aren`t any subtitles.

Features

There is a 16-page colouring in book slipped in the DVD case.

Conclusion

Nouky is a pleasant and inoffensive animation, ideal for children of preschool age, that gently guides them through some fun edutainment. Each episode is short and sweet and carries a nice life-lesson within. The three children, Nouky, Paco and Lola explore the world around them, making mistakes and even getting into a little mischief, but there is always the caring voice of the narrator watching over them. He keeps them safe and answers their questions, reinforcing right and wrong. There is a neat device of a blackboard used to explain things, and at the end of the episode, both the characters and the viewers will be wiser than they started out.

The episodes are fine to watch with your children, I found them quite appealing if maybe a little saccharine, but they will be ideal for the target audience.

Now the distasteful part, Nouky and his friends are obviously created to be a preschool phenomenon, somewhat akin to the Tellytubbies. Visit the website and you are presented with plenty of merchandising including Nouky toys, books and now this DVD. It`s a whole Nouky lifestyle tailored for your toddlers, and it doesn`t come cheap. €19.90 is a high price to pay for just 40 minutes of animation, and I`m sure there are other products out there that will provide the same gentle guidance for young minds at a more reasonable price.

Nouky is gentle pre-school edutainment, which does what it sets out to.