Cynical Cinema

The Backyardigans are a crew of creatures that sing songs for very small children. The Backyardigans High Flying Adventures comes out tomorrow, May 13th, on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment. It features four episodes, “Fly Girl”, “Who Goes There?”, “What’s Bugging You?”, and “Chichen-Itza Pizza”. Each episode features a certain style of music. The songs in Fly Girl are all fifties tunes (like The Wanderer), with new lyrics by the Backyardigans. What’s Bugging You features Rumba music, Who Goes There is set to flamenco, and Chichen-Itza Pizza is set to…get ready…college fight songs! This is a good way for kids to learn about history, but far be it from me to suggest that perhaps Chichen Itza and the Mexican jungle are a location that might perhaps…historically speaking…be best served with the Rumba music, while the episode about the Spiffy Spiffy club could perhaps make better use of the fight songs? Perhaps I’m thinking too much. This is, after all, a show for four-year-olds.

This bunch of creatures seems to be assembled as though they are all animals who one might find in one’s backyard. Or at least that is what the name of the group would indicate to me. However, they are a penguin, a hippo, a moose, a sheep, I think a rabbit, and another pink polka-dotted creature which might be an insect, but is more likely something created by Dr. Seuss. Like, a capblabber, or a jilskittler, or something. I can’t imagine what it really is. Again, I am thinking too much. It’s tough to write a review from the perspective of a four-year-old, it having been so long since I was one. I just know that these animals do NOT exist in my backyard. Maybe the rabbit. If that’s what it is supposed to be. Or that pink thing, if it’s supposed to be a beetle.

The animation is computer-generated, in a sort of claymation way, and it is certainly much better than the animation of similar children’s shows, like Jakers! And the Wonder Pets, which it has been my pleasure to watch and review of late. And the writing, while not as good as say, Spongebob, is better as well. Also, the music is decent, much better than Wonder Pets, but not nearly as good as the VeggieTales. All in all, the Backyardigans are middle-ground children’s fare at best. They may entertain your children just fine, but if you want to get them good stuff, you’d be better off with Spongebob or Veggie Tales.