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Nickelodeon Favorites: Sisters and Brothers
Score: 78%
Rating: Not Rated
Publisher: Sony Pictures Home
                  Entertainment

Region: 1
Media: DVD/1
Running Time: 122 Mins.
Genre: Family/Animated
Audio: Dolby Digital English Stereo
Subtitles: English

Features:
  • Team Umizoomi Music Videos:
    • Numbers Everywhere
    • Acorn Flower Pattern
  • Episodes:
    • Dora the Explorer: Big Sister Dora
    • Go, Diego, Go! The Babysit a Bobo
    • Blue’s Clues: The Baby’s Here
    • Wonder Pets! KalamaZoo!
    • Wonder Pets! Back to KalamaZoo!
    • Ni Hao, Kai-lan: Hoho’s Big Fight

Nickelodeon Favorites: Sisters and Brothers brings together several shows from the Nick Jr. title that deal with siblings, usually major events like new children coming into the characters' families.

The collection includes both a Dora the Explorer episode and a Go, Diego, Go! episode. In "Big Sister Dora," Dora learns that her parents are expecting a new baby. She is off to tell Boots and the rest of her friends the good news and when her dad calls, Dora and Boots have to make their way back to Dora's house. The duo will have to travel through the spooky woods and past the nut farm. Along the way, they will run into Isa the iguana, Benny the bull and even a squirrel named Tico. As usual, Dora expects audience participation as the viewers guide Dora through each of these locations and learn a few new words in Spanish. "Baby," "Red" and "Green" are all words taught to the viewers.

In the Go, Diego, Go! episode "The Babysit a Bobo," Diego shows off a picture of his cousin Dora and the new twins introduced in the "Big Sister Dora" episode, but the real focus of the show involves the Bobo spider monkey brothers and their new sisters. While gathering fruit for a big party, the Bobos lose track of the trio of girl monkeys and have to go looking for them.

The three monkeys have all gone off to different places in order to find fruit for the big party. One is hiding in some mango trees, while another will be in a papaya patch, while the third is heading to the big city in order to find some food at a market. Now Diego and the Bobo brothers are off to rescue each one before they can go back to the party.

In the Blue's Clues episode "The Baby's Here," Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper are having their second kid. This would be the episode where baby Cinnamon is born and little Paprika learns what it's like to be a sister. Meanwhile, Blue suggests that Steve and the gang do something special for the new baby's arrival, so they play Blue's Clues to find out what to do. Along the way, we get to see many of the characters' baby pictures like Slippery Soap's first bath or Tickety Tock's first bells.

Wonder Pets! have two segments in this Sisters and Brothers DVD. While neither have to deal with siblings, Ming-Ming and the rest of the Wonder Pets have to learn to manage Ming-Ming's young cousin Marvin who lives at a petting zoo called KalamaZoo. In the first segment, we get introduced to KalamaZoo and Marvin, and Ming-Ming learns that she will need some help if she is ever to look after the duckling again. So when her aunt calls on Ming-Ming a second time, she asks her two friends to join her in the babysitting job.

The final selection in this collection pulls completely away from the brother and/or sister theme. In the Ni Hao, Kai-lan episode "Hoho's Big Fight," Kai-lan and her friends learn about the Lantern Festival, but Hoho doesn't seem to listen to YeYe, Kai-lan's grandpa, when he gives his instructions. Kai-lan has to teach the little monkey how to listen and she also teaches the viewers the word in Chinese.

There are two additional feature on the Sisters and Brothers DVD. These are two Umizoomi music videos. One, "Numbers Everywhere," sings about the fact that you can find different numbers all over the place. The other music video teaches about patterns and the fact that you can extend a pattern if you know what it is.

All of the shows are filled with songs and tons of interesting lessons. For the most part, they also teach kids that it is exciting to have new babies around the house. Each of these series has also proven to be great shows for little kids, so a collection containing all five of these series is a plus. The only complaint I have is that the Wonder Pets! and Ni Hao, Kai-lan episodes don't really fit the message the DVD's name implies it is trying to teach. In the grand scheme of things though, that isn't such a bid deal.



-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer
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