Get ready for an adventure with everyone’s favorite furry monkey, Curious George, in his latest movie, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey. This fun-filled sequel will keep you entertained the entire time with the usual silly antics and some oh-so-sweet moments.

George and the man in the yellow hat, Ted Shackleford, visit the Piccadilly Circus and end up on the trip of a lifetime when Kayla, a zoo elephant turned magician’s assistant, decides that George should take her home to her family in California. Not to mention that Ted has been offered the opportunity to become the museum’s new director and should be preparing for a meeting with the board of directors.

Ted is focused on getting Kayla back to Piccadilly’s so he can focus on his speech, but George and Kayla have other plans. By foot, bus, train, and truck, this cross-country adventure takes many bends, turning into a fugitive chase to find “the missing elephant.” Of course it’s just a failure to communicate, but nonetheless Ted and George realize they are on the run and have to decide between turning themselves in or keeping their promise and taking Kayla back to her family at the zoo.

This movie is filled with some great characters. Of course the lovable Curious George, as always, intrigues us with his sweet, curious nature and big heart. The man in the yellow hat, Ted Shackleford, voiced by Jeff Bennett (known for many cartoon voice-overs), brings accidental sensibility to this elephant chase. Lastly, Jamie Kennedy voices “Danno” Wolfe, an overboard private investigator who brings many laughs to the movie because he’s just too much. You’ll find yourself wondering what move he’s going to make next. Other star voices in this film include Tim Curry, Matt Lauer, and Jerry Lewis.

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey focuses on the importance of family and shows examples between George and Ted, Kayla and her family, and Kayla and Piccadilly. It is a movie that will warm your heart and bring family together. This movie is suitable for children of all ages.

I won’t give the full story away but Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, directed by Norton Virgien, has a happy ending for everyone, and Ted realizes what is truly important in life — his best buddy, George. This movie is one you’ll want to add to your collection even if you haven’t seen the first Curious George movie or any of the television or book series.

What’s your favorite children’s book turned movie?

Can we fix it? Bob the Builder and his crew can fix anything if they put their minds to it in The Best of Bob the Builder. This DVD features 140 minutes of some of the greatest episodes from the hit television show,Bob the Builder.

Bob the Builder is a children’s television character who is a building contractor in a stop motion animated program. Along with various neighbors, friends, and a crew of construction vehicles and equipment, Bob seeks to help the neighborhood.

While I’m not a huge fan of Bob the Builder, the show does have some good points emphasizing conflict resolution, cooperation, and socialization, and it introduces various learning skills.

Several episodes included in this film highlight working together and the back story of how Bob the Builder began. Featured episodes include: “Lofty to the Rescue,” “Mucky Muck,” “Dizzy Goes Camping,” “Bob’s Big Plan,” “Two Scoops,” “Off-Road Scrambler,” “When Bob Became a Builder,” “The House That Lofty Built,” “Bob’s Big Idea,” and “Roley’s Flat Garden.”

As touched upon earlier, I do not enjoy the show as a whole and would not encourage my children to watch either. Personally, the character voices annoy me, they have weird pink cement, and most importantly, I feel that there is a lot of whining, complaining, and some unnecessary negativity within the episodes themselves.

In regard to the DVD, it feels as though a couple of the episodes are repetitive in their message. Both “Lofty to the Rescue” and “Mucky Muck” have their main characters overcoming their fear by helping others. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great message, but considering this DVD is almost three hours long I would have though that they either could have chosen a different episode with a new message or at least spaced the episodes out so they weren’t back-to-back.

I do like the focus on recycling, reusing, and reducing waste and that message is placed in several episodes and reinforced by the actions of Bob and his crew.

The story of Sunflower Valley is told throughout several of the latter episodes featured in The Best of Bob the Builder, showing how Bob wins the bid to construct an eco-friendly city.

Also included in the DVD are episodes of how Bob became a builder himself and how his friends, equipment, and vehicles came to be part of his crew, which I think is a nice touch if you are a big Bob the Builder fan or even a first time viewer. Bonus features include the never before seen On Site: Trains, and a few games.

All in all this DVD has some great messages if you can get past some negativity and annoying characters. If you’re a fan of Bob the Builder you will certainly want to add this to your collection for the back story if nothing else.

Are you a fan of Bob the Builder? If so tell me why?

Let’s Grow: Lend a Helping Hand features popular Sprout shows like: Barney and Friends, Bob the Builder, Thomas The Tank Engine and more great shows that your child will love, even if they haven’t seen any episodes. Kelly explains that someone who lends a helping hand is someone who helps people. She and Chicka give the viewers lots of ideas on how we can help one another. In this DVD, each show’s episode focuses on a great message that each child should be exposed to: helping others.

In the Barney and Friends episode “Litterbot,” Barney’s pal Riff creates a recycling robot that in the end makes more of a mess than it cleans up. Barney, Riff, and friends learn how to help each other and the environment by cleaning up the playground and using teamwork and some fun songs along the way. I loved this episode because it showed how sometimes we need to rely on other people to help us accomplish tasks. To reinforce the learning experience from Barney and Friends Kelly and Chicka not only give them a “Good Egg Award”, but also make their own Litterbot out of recyclables and teach viewers how to make one as well.

In the next episode, Bob the Builder’s “Clean As a Whistle, Bristle,” we meet Bristle, a new team member who is eager to do his job, cleaning up with his brushes. As everyone has lots to do to prepare for the Promenade, Bristle is a little too eager and ends up cleaning too much. Oops! Fortunately Bob and his team work together with Bristle to make the night spectacular.

As Chicka gets ready for the next episode, she dresses like a train conductor for a smooth transition to Thomas the Tank Engine. While this isn’t one of my favorite shows in general, the story behind the episode “Dirty Work” is good. James is chosen to be the one special train with a task at the Festival of Lights and after hearing that he wants to make sure he stays in tip-top shape. All of his train friends have many tasks to accomplish before they can attend the festival. James makes a big sacrifice and ends up covered in fish, coal, and quarry dust, all in the name of lending a helping hand.

This episode shows that even though sometimes we may be reluctant to help out another person because it may not benefit us, or even sometimes put us in a bad situation, that in the end it really is the best thing to do. Definitely one of my favorite stories from the Let’s Grow: Lend a Helping Hand DVD.

We also see in the episode “Mother’s Helper”, from the show Fireman Sam, the consequences of being too rushed when helping out. When Norman’s mother asks him to do two loads of laundry he figures one will allow him to go play. unfortunately the washer breaks and Mike the Fix-it man comes to help, causing even more chaos because each of the “helpers” in the stories are rushing to the point where they don’t think and cause dangerous situations. Luckily, Fireman Sam and the rest of the brigade are on the job. Sometimes we all need reminders that even though we’re helping we still need to be safe!

In the last episode from Angelina Ballerina, “The Ballerina Ragdoll”, we see that giving things to others can be a way to help out. Angelina donates one of her old rag dolls in an effort to help children in need out. Unfortunately, she thinks giving it away was a big mistake and tries to find the doll. After stumbling upon the already claimed doll, Angelina realizes that in giving up the toy she made another little girl happy.

Whether you’re a fan of Sprout shows or not, this DVD has a quality message with fun shows to enhance learning. It’s certainly a DVD that I could watch over and over again with my children. I think helping others is one of the most important lessons we can learn. I would definitely recommend Let’s Grow: Lend a Helping Hand to anyone I know.

What’s your favorite way to lend a helping hand??