November 13, 2009

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!:
Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure (2009)

DASH LOVED Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! when it debuted on Nick Jr. in 2006, but lately he hasn’t watched it or requested it.

So when I was given the opportunity to preview the new DVD Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure, I wasn’t sure if Dash would still be drawn to Wubbzy and his pals the way he was in his younger years.

Plot:

Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure features six winter- or holiday-themed episodes from the show:

• “Snow Day” – Wubbzy (Grey DeLisle) and Widget (Lara Jill Miller) try to fix Walden's (Carlos Alazraqui) polar bear sculpture, after they wreck it several times in his absence
• “O Figgity Fig Tree” – Wubbzy, Widget and Walden struggle to decorate the town’s Christmas figgity-fig tree
• “The Snow Shoo Shoo” – Wubbzy, Widget and Walden try to track down the shy Snow Shoo Shoo (think the Abominable Snowman’s pink, lesser-known cousin)
• “Dash for Dolly” – Widget wishes for a special birthday gift, the Hammering Holly Dolly doll, but Wubbzy can’t afford it – so he makes his own Hammering Holly Dolly for her
• “Great and Grumpy Holiday” – Wubbzy and the gang try to help the town grouch, old man Grumpus, appreciate Christmas
• “The Super Special Gift” – Wubbzy seeks out Santa to see if the fat man can help Wubbzy give a rainbow to his friend Daizy (Tara Strong) as a gift

There is also a music video in between each episode, featuring the show’s trademark new-wavey, kid-friendly, and highly addictive tunes.

Critique:

There’s no denying there’s something endearing about innocently mischievous Wubbzy, handywoman Widget, and affable egghead Walden. And the show itself is a visual treat, with its vector animation and colorful, deliberately pixelated characters and set designs.

The episodes compiled here are all good, but there are a few standouts, particularly “Snow Day,” “Great and Grumpy Holiday,” and “The Super Special Gift.” Best of all, every episode ends with strong yet un-preachy messages about the value of friendships, working together, and forgiving friends when they make mistakes.

There are also several funny nods to A Charlie Brown Christmas strewn throughout, plus a couple winks at Rudolph and the Grinch.

Trivia:
• The voice of Wubbzy, Grey DeLisle, also voices Daphne in the new Scooby-Doo animated films.
• Carlos Alazraqui, the voice of Walden, was the voice of the Taco Bell dog and also currently voices Felipe the screwdriver on Playhouse Disney’s Handy Manny.

Rating:

What did Dash think?
Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure got lots of chuckles from Dash, who’s watched the DVD multiple times (a la Gotta Catch Santa Claus) since our first viewing together. Specifically, he can’t get enough of “Great and Grumpy Holiday” and old man Grumpus’ hatred for long underwear.

Will your kids like it?
I would think that any kid 7 or under would find Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure to be fun viewing.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?
There’s enough going on to keep her interest – cute characters, funny stories, good morals, and enough grown-up jokes to make it enjoyable rather than just tolerable.

Win Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!:
Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure on DVD!
I’ve got three copies of this DVD to give away! Contest ends November 20th! How many exclamation points can I put in one paragraph?! Scroll up for click here for contest details.


Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure
• Director: James Burks, Ron Crown, Steve Daye, Larry Hall
• Screenwriters: Suzanne Collins, Frank Rocco
• Stars: Grey DeLisle, Lara Jill Miller, Carlos Alazraqui, Tara Strong
• MPAA Rating: N/A


Buy Wubbzy’s Christmas Adventure at Half.com >>

2 comments:

ericdbolton said...

WWW is one of those cartoons my daughter will stop everything to watch.

Victor Tse said...

Maddie's a pretty big fan of the Wubbz-ter ... although, given the choice, she's still a "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" girl!

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