DVD Review: Little Robots Reach for the Sky
Cosgrove Hall Films, Stop-Motion Series for BBC's CBeebies
Apr 20, 2009
Twentieth Century Fox Home Video and the Dove Foundation have teamed up to produce a series of family-friendly DVDs adorned with the Foundation's seal of approval. This seal is supposed to help direct parents to DVDs that will be appropriate for their children to watch.
Cosgrove Hall Films and Fox have compiled 4 episodes of the kids' stop-motion series Little Robots in a DVD 2-Pack with the 2005 computer-generated animated film Robots (click the link for a review).
Cosgrove Hall Films Little Robots Aired on The BBC
There's not a lot of background information available on Little Robots. Cosgrove Hall Films developed the series, which first aired on CBeebies – the British Broadcasting Corporation's kid-friendly affiliate – back in 2003. However, there's little information as to how long it lasted and when it was canceled. The official website for the show is currently suspended and, according to the BBC's website, the series is no longer airing on CBeebies.
The show follows 11 tiny robots who have made a world for themselves in a junkyard. Tiny is the leader and handyman, Sporty is the fitness fanatic, Stretchy the compulsive organizer, Rusty is feminine and impulsive, Stripy the introspective storyteller, Noisy the disruptive entertainer, bossy Spotty, black-caped Scary, and practical jokers the Sparky Twins.
The DVD collects 4 episodes from the series on one DVD:
- "Reach for the Sky": Stretchy battles a pair of magnets while Sporty gets into trouble when he wants to fly.
- "Scary, Scary": Scary's attempts to frighten the other denizens of the junkyard fall flat until he gets fouled up in his magnetic props.
- "A Bit of Give and Take": When Scary and Spotty refuse to help Tiny, despite everything he does for them, the Sparky Twins decide to teach the two a lesson they'll never forget.
- "Noisy's New Song": Noisy has a new song she wants to share with the rest of the junkyard gang, whether they want to hear it or not. Adding to their woes, the hatch leading out of the junkyard appears jammed.
This series is definitely for the little kiddies; anyone older than school age will probably be bored silly by the simple plots and simpler jokes. The stop-motion is well-done but the character design isn't a patch on similar work from Aardman Animation.
DVD Extras
You can play the show's episodes individually, or in one big clump of Little Robots goodness. That's about it for extras.
The Final Analysis
Although Little Robots is not without its charms, the fact that it had so many characters probably contributed to its premature demise. Little kids will probably enjoy the show's humour but it's not something for all ages. Parents who want truly family-friendly entertainment would be better off looking at something like Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Blue Elephant if they want something that both they and their kids will enjoy.
Little Robots gets a 6/10.
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