Welcome to the Garden DVD Review
Buy Episodes of In the Night Garden Kids TV Programme
With the release of the Welcome to the Night Garden DVD, the charming kids tv programme In the Night Garden... can reach a wider audience and make it easier for parents in Canada and elsewhere to share this gentle preschool kids' tv programme with children at any time of the day.
In the Night Garden... Kids TV Programme
Created by the same team behind the children's tv programme Teletubbies and narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi, In the Night Garden... is designed to help toddlers and preschoolers ages 1 to 3 conquer anxieties about sleeping alone and establish bedtime routines. Each episode of this children's tv show is bookended by a scene at the beginning of the character Igglepiggle preparing to sleep in his boat and another scene at the end of him actually falling asleep (using the sail as his blanket!).
During the rest of each episode, Igglepiggle pays a visit to his friends in the Night Garden, an imaginative place located between waking and sleeping populated by characters and vehicles that are like nursery toys come to life. After figuring out a problem (What's wrong with the Ninky Nonk?) or solving a mystery (Where is Igglepiggle's blanket?) the characters often dance together and then are always shown settling down to sleep in their respective beds.
Parents can read a review of In the Night Garden... for a more comprehensive evaluation of its characters, plot, structure, and purpose.
Episodes on the Welcome to the Garden DVD
Four Series 1 In the Night Garden... episodes are included on the Welcome to the Garden DVD for a total running time of 112 minutes. The first episode serves as a good general introduction to the main characters, while each of the other three focuses on one of the characters in turn – Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, and Makka Pakka.
In Everybody All Aboard the Ninky Nonk, Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, and the Tombliboos all board and enjoy a bumpy ride on the Ninky Nonk until Makka Pakka shows up and seems to want a ride as well. Does Makka Pakka want a ride? No, Makka Pakka wants to wash the Ninky Nonk with his agga pang (soap and sponge).
In Igglepiggle Goes Visiting, Igglepiggle travels around the garden visiting each of his friends. Can he and Upsy Daisy visit the Pontipines? No, they can't find the Pontipine house because it is too small.
In The Prettiest Flower, Upsy Daisy searches the garden for the prettiest flower. Does she find it on her own? No, Igglepiggle takes her for a ride on the Ninky Nonk to show her the prettiest flower of all.
In Makka Pakka's Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise, Makka Pakka, Igglepiggle, and Upsy Daisy are puzzled when Makka Pakka's trumpet keeps making a funny noise. What is wrong with it? It has a blue stone inside, which Makka Pakka gives to Upsy Daisy as a present.
While the episodes may seem nonsensical at first, the plots of each are actually tightly structured and contain many moments of visual and situational humor that will appeal even to an adult audience. As each story resolves itself neatly, often with a twist, parents may find themselves nodding in agreement with the narrator's regular final observation, "Isn't that a pip?"
Special Features on In the Night Garden... DVD
The Welcome to the Garden In the Night Garden DVD comes with several special features:
- A message from Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport, the creators, explaining to parents the purpose of this Treehouse TV show and how it works.
- A Nap Time Mode that can be set to start after an episode ends so that instead of returning the viewer to the main menu, the DVD will instead display a scene of Igglepiggle sleeping peacefully in his boat (presumably to help a child then fall asleep him or herself).
- PC DVD-ROM bonus materials consisting of an In the Night Garden... story and colouring pages to print and colour.
Benefits of Purchasing an In the Night Garden... DVD
Some parents may restrict children from watching television right before bed, believing that it can disrupt sleep patterns and make it harder for children to relax. Such parents would benefit from owning the Welcome to the Garden DVD because it will allow them to view episodes of In the Night Garden... with their children at other times of the day, well in advance of bedtime. Kids can still have the fun of watching the stories and seeing gentle examples of how to go to bed without being exposed to the stimulating effects of television-watching right before their own bedtimes.
Also, if watching In the Night Garden... has become an essential and habitual part of a child's bedtime routine, and if the child will now not go to sleep without watching an episode, this DVD will make it easier for parents to schedule their days or to travel. A DVD episode can be shown at any time as needed, no matter where or when the child is going to sleep.
In addition to using this In the Night Garden... DVD as part of a bedtime routine, parents can read how to use a line of In the Night Garden... storybooks during shared storytime at bedtime.
Welcome to the Garden DVD Cover
|
What do you think about this article?
Comments
More in Film & TV
Latest Articles