Genre: Childrens educational/Environmental/Animated
Age Range: 3-8 years (DVD says 5-8 years, but preschoolers will like it too)
Runtime: 60 minutes
The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest - Overview
Now that he's a big Kindergarten graduate, Teddy is old enough to join a secret society that his family has participated in for generations - The Pedagogical Order of Boundless Exploration. Along with his new membership, Teddy receives a magical diploma, and a mission that involves doing something useful with a certain handful of beans.
The magical diploma transports Teddy, his cousin Tempest, and his faithful dog D'Artagnan to a magic space ship, where the three travelers find out all about their destination - the Amazon Rainforest. Once there, Teddy and his friends must learn about the rain forest and its inhabitants, as they search for a way to make the world a better place, using beans of all things!
The Teddy P. Brains series is 3D animated and is supported by an upbeat soundtrack which blends rock, hip hop and jazz. The series was created by Eugene Haynes and Joseph L. Lewis, III, two fathers who were concerned about the lack of diverse educational programming for children.
Photo © Teddy P. Brains, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest - Curriculum
The Teddy P. Brains series focuses on teaching children interesting facts about the various places that Teddy travels. Each mission takes Teddy to a new destination, where he must explore and learn about the environment, indigenous animals, people, customs, time period, or anything else that can help him complete his task. Along with Teddy, viewing children can exercise problem solving skills as they explore with him and work to solve the mission.The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest - Guide Review
Finding quality educational programming for preschoolers is easy, but as soon as kids hit 5 or 6 years old, the pickings suddenly become very slim. Therefore, the introduction of Teddy P. Brains is very exciting.Journey into the Rainforest, the first DVD in the series, contains all of the elements to make both children and their parents happy. The exciting adventure is replete with educational material and opportunities for kids to exercise thinking skills. The educational elements are worked into the fascinating story so well, that kids will hardly realize they are actually being taught. In fact, learning becomes the most exciting part of a fun and mysterious adventure.
The computer animation works well, especially for this being the first DVD in the series. While it may not be the fantastic graphics and effects that kids are used to seeing from the big-money studios, the story more than makes up for any lack. I would have liked to have seen even more of the real-life images that are woven through-out the movie, but the internet serves as a good supplement to see what animals like the Anaconda and the capybara really look like.
*Parents should know that a Yellow-rumped Cacique utters the words, "Dios mio!" one time during the movie. Also, Tempest repeatedly calls the bird "yellow-butt."
Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest - Expand Upon the Curriculum
- Before you watch Journey to the Rain Forest, study up on the reproductive process of the cocoa tree. The last part of the movie may be confusing to viewing children, as Teddy learns that seeds, not beans, must be planted. (Most websites use the word "bean" and "seed" interchangeably, so I wish the movie would have explained the difference instead of just using the "magic diploma" to come to the rescue.) Kid Zone has the best information I was able to find on cocoa tree reproduction.
- Use the internet or go to the library with your child and learn more about any animals or concepts that were of particular interest to him or her.
- The DVD introduces concepts such as ecosystems and the water cycle in a very fun and interesting way. Kids will likely be interested in exploring these concepts more. The Teddy P. Brains website has some downloadable materials for parents and teachers which give ideas for further learning. Other great resources include Geography4Kids.com and KidZone.com.
