Princess DVDs

Click to Buy	Ratings Summary (Scored out of a maximum of five)
	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

What is it?

The DVD is a collection of four princess stories: Ariel, Belle, Cinderella,
and Jasmine. I found the princess stories to be even worse than a full-length
Disney animated sequel. Two of the stories look remarkably like Saturday
morning cartoons, and guess what? They are! Ariel’s and Jasmine’s stories
are straight from their respective syndicated cartoon series in the early
1990s. Adding insult to injury, the two Ònew storiesÓ from Belle and Cinderella
are mainly still pictures with accompanying text.

The Goodies

The DVD features “Magic Wand Play.” This allows children to click on
characters during the movie to hear additional dialog as to what they
might be thinking. Surprisingly, they don’t ever think that sequels to
classic Disney films are bad ideas. The Fairy Godmother narrates “How
To Be a Princess” game. It also has a craft activity showing kids how
to make a charm bracelet. Hey kids, just get charms, beads, elastic sting
or thread, and string them together! It also includes the “If You Can
Dream” music video, the new princess song—which appears on all three
of the Princess DVDs. One gets the impression that the song was the impetus
for all three projects. (More on this new song in the following Sing Along
review.)

Video, Audio and Interface

As I mentioned, the video quality of the stories themselves are poor.
The interface is actually more interesting and sparkly than the story
segments. They feature tapestry-like pictures of the princesses that move
around as the viewer clicks on them. The format is easy for even young
children to navigate.

The Final Evaluation

Are your children the type to enjoy “extra stories” about their favorite
Disney characters? Do they enjoy the cartoon series taken from Disney
films? Then they will most likely appreciate this DVD. Probably not passionately,
but it should hold their attention for the whole 60 minutes. I doubt the
same can be said for the parents that sit though the disc with their children.
I know Disney likes to repackage and resell its products, but this seems
to hit a new low.

Click to Buy	Ratings Summary (Scored out of a maximum of five)
	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

What is it?

This DVD is a cross between a party-planning instructional and a disc
made up of all special features and no movie. It is geared mainly towards
younger children. The games are structured so that a group of children
can participate, such as “Jasmine Says” a princess version of Simon Says
and “Sleeping Beauty’s Spell,” which resembles freeze dance. The disc
includes a section for parents with ideas on how to use the DVD during
a princess party, other than turning it on and having some peace and quiet
for aproximately 100 minutes.

The Goodies

The DVD-ROM has coloring pages and thank-you cards that you can print
out, as well as game instructions and party checklists. It also has the
omnipresent “If You Can Dream” princess video (more on that in the Sing-Along
Songs review).

Video, Audio and Interface

Everything is very crisp and easy to navigate. The same princess character
tapestries from the Princess Stories are used, and are very inviting for
young children.

The Final Evaluation

While I would rather sit through Princess Party Volume I than Princess
Stories, I’m not thrilled with either of them. This DVD will not hold
up well through repeated viewings. The games are too simple, and what
4-year-old wants to watch “Make Your Own Tiara” over and over again?

Click to Buy	Ratings Summary (Scored out of a maximum of five)
	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

What is it?

This is a mostly standard collection of songs and movie clips from Princess
movies such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Mulan
and the ever-popular Mulan II (coming direct to DVD next year.)
We all know that Mulan is not a princess, but I’ll be generous
and overlook it.

The DVD includes the brand new “If You Can Dream” mish mash of a princess
song. There are a few interesting aspects about this new song. The first
is the voice talent. All the princesses, with the exception of Sleeping
Beauty and Cinderella, are back with their original singing voices. Jodi
Benson (Ariel), Paige O’Hara (Belle), Lea Salonga (Jasmine/Mulan) and
Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas) all sound great, and the voices filling in for
the other two princesses, Susan Stevens Logan, and Christie Hauser, do
a pretty good job of approximation. It’s a bit difficult to pick out the
particular voices since it seems that each line in the song is sung by
a different princess.

The song itself tries to combine all of the princesses’ stories together
by using phrases or words reminiscent from each movie. Some sample lyrics:

Belle: So the story goes, Never die the rose

Jasmine: There’s a whole new world, Waiting there for us…

Get the idea? Rose? Whole new world? Really, it’s not a bad song, I’ve
caught myself singing it a few times so I know it’s catchy. The music
video is much more irritating. It attempts to synch original movie clips
of each particular character with the new song lyrics. Those of us who
have seen the films many times know what the character is supposed to
be saying, and it sure isn’t “When you’re finally mine, And just a kiss
away.” I was distracted by the technique and had a hard time concentrating
on the song for its own merits.

The Goodies

There are few nice additions on the disc. The karaoke section gives viewers
the chance to sing along with just the instrumentals, with or without
lyrics included. It also has a few games geared towards younger children.
“What’s This?” concentrates on reading skills and “Find It” is a word
recognition game. There is also a Dance Along section, which has live
kids bouncing around to pop versions of princess songs. Brooke Allison’s
“Put It Together” from Cinderella II, Jump 5’s “Beauty and the
Beast,” and No Secrets’ “Once Upon (Another) Dream.” The last two songs
first appeared on Disney Mania collections. The kids are really, really
perky, as are the songs. My kids enjoy the pop versions and like watching
the dance moves.

Video, Audio and Interface

The film clips looked wonderful, and the audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 track)
was crisp and clean. The interface was easy to navigate, even the “random
play” feature was easy for the kids to find.

The Final Evaluation

Of the three Princess Collection DVDs, this one has the highest quality
and the best value. It contains clips from actual Disney films, and does
not overload on filler games or narration. With the exception of a few
clinkers in the form of sequel songs, the music is an all-star line up
of classics that your children will want to hear again and again. It’s
the one DVD in the Princess Collection worth the list price of $19.99.