DVD Review: Wonder Pets Save the Nutcracker
Josh Selig's Children's Cartoon Show on Nickelodeon
Nov 4, 2008
The Wonder Pets Save the Nutcracker is a sweet little DVD designed for the preschool set. It's not saccharine enough to scare away parents, but beware of the disturbingly catchy songs.
What's Wonder Pets About?
The Wonder Pets are three small animals – Linny the guinea pig, Tuck the turtle and Ming-Ming the duckling – who live in a schoolroom. When the kids leave, the Wonder Pets put on their costumes and go on adventures, usually saving an animal from some peril. This involves various hijinks and songs, which the Wonder Pets sing to hammer home the message that teamwork gets the job done.
There is one double-length feature, "Save the Nutcracker," plus six regular length episodes that go 2 at a time.
- "Save the Pangaroo" + "Save the Cricket": The Wonder Pets save a hand-drawn character from the trash and paint for him a new place to live as well as a new friend. Then they go to Chicago to rescue a baby cricket trapped in a bubble.
- "Save the Old White Mouse" + "The Adventures of Bee and Slug": The Wonder Pets go to Linny's grandmother's nursing home in order to save an old white mouse. Bee and Slug go joyriding in the Wonder Pets' flyboat.
- "Save the Cow" + "Save the Skunk": The Wonder Pets journey to Oklahoma to pull a calf out of a tree. Then they join forces with Ollie the Bunny to rescue a scared skunk.
"Save the Nutcracker" is unusual in that it allows for more story development. The Wonder Pets receive only one gift for Christmas: a nutcracker soldier. However, the Mouse King steals their toy and disappears into a book. At which point, the Wonder Pets board their flyboat and follow the Mouse King into the book in order to get back the nutcracker. The songs in this episode are based on Peter Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite."
Extra Features
Not a lot here, besides the inevitable previews. The "Waltz of the Flowers" music video is an instrumental version of the Wonder Pets dancing through the snowy forest, set to Tchaikovsky's music. There's also a "Decorate the Christmas Tree" game. Both are fun little time wasters.
The Final Analysis
The Wonder Pets Save the Nutcracker DVD is a no-brainer for parents of small children. It's cute, if a little repetitive, and the songs are catchy enough. The characters have realistic foibles (even if they violate various laws of physics on a regular basis). Part of the show's charm is their willingness to help others in need and the awareness that, as long as the Wonder Pets work together, they can get anything done.
The animation is appealing, if somewhat basic at times (shadows appear and disappear at odd times) and the stories are cute but repetitive. It's a good DVD to drop your pre-school kid in front of, but don't linger too long unless you want the songs to get drilled into your head.
Wonder Pets Save the Nutcracker gets a 8/10.
Fun fact: Danica Lee, who voices Ming-Ming on the show, has been criticized by parents for regularly voicing 'R' as 'W.' The producers defended her casting, saying that there are plenty of cartoon characters with speech impediments, and that it gives Lee's voice an endearing quality.
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