Bottom line: Featuring The Jumpitz, a diverse group of performers who create socially responsible content for kids, Celebrate Animals! contains two musical episodes (10 songs in all) which teach kids about animals and songs and dances from around the world.
MPAA Rating: NAGenre: Children's educational/Music
Target age range: Preschoolers
Runtime: Approx. 60 minutes
The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals - Overview
The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals contains two episodes of The Jumpitz, featuring the diverse group of musical performers seeking to create socially responsible, educational and of course, entertaining content for kids:
- "Celebrate Animals": In the first episode on the DVD, The Jumpitz get the exciting opportunity to care for a friend's pet turtles. But wait, how do you take care of turtles anyway? The Jumpitz turn to "the world in books" to find information, and they even take a little field trip to find out about turtles and other animals.
- "McSniffley's Birthday Celebration": The Jumpitz want to plan a surprise birthday party for their friend, McSniffley, but first they have to figure out his favorite song and dance. Watch as The Jumpitz explore celebrations from around the world in order to plan the perfect party for their furry friend.
The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals - Guide Review
Preschoolers will enjoy the bright and colorful live action episodes on The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals DVD. The Jumpitz are a talented group of singer/dancers whose Broadway-style performances are integrated into the stories they act out in each show. The series is well-put-together, and it is unique in that it utilizes the real talent of individuals, as opposed to computer graphics, to teach and inspire kids.
The episodes on the Celebrate Animals DVD center around subjects children adore -- animals and parties -- and children will learn from each one. The Jumpitz' goal to help children experience the wonder of diversity in our world comes through in the episode "McSniffley's Birthday Celebration," which exposes kids to fun music from other countries. In "Celebrate Animals," The Jumpitz use music and examples to show kids that the exciting "World in Books" is both fun and very useful.
In addition to the DVD, The Jumpitz do live performances. They also have an interactive website where kids can go to learn and play. The site features a "video of the day," so parents can see what The Jumpitz show is like before buying a DVD.
The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals - Expand Upon the Curriculum
- If you are thinking of getting a pet, this is a great DVD to show kids so that they understand that caring for a pet takes time and responsibility. Discuss with kids how to take care of your family pet, and let them share some of the responsibility.
- The Jumpitz turn to books to answer questions they have. With my kids, I often turn to the internet to find information and photos about subjects they show interest in. The Celebrate Animals DVD reminds me that I need to do a better job of showing my own kids that books can be useful too, and sometimes more reliable.
