Bear in the Big Blue House: A Bear for all Seasons (2003)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by P. Kevin Strader and Andy Yerkes
Directed by Hugh Martin and Dean Gordon
Starring Lynne Thigpen, Noel McNeal, Tyler Brunch, Alice Dinnean, Vicki Eibner, Geoffrey Holder, and James J. Kroupa

Features:

• Three episodes:
  
  • Summer Cooler
    
  • Falling for Fall
    
  • All-Weather Bear
    
• Continuous Play Feature
  
• 4 Sing-Alongs
  

Bear (McNeal) and his friends are back and they've got stories of their lives in the Big Blue House. This time their stories focus around the different seasons of the year and the various weather events that we come across in life. Pip, Pop, Ojo, Treelo, Tutter, Shadow, and Bear learn a lot about summer, fall, and why it rains.

There is no reason why these should not be on your child's DVD shelf. They are just outstanding children's programming. This is not my daughter's first encounter with Bear and his friends and she can not get enough of them. There are many more episodes in this series of shows and I recommend that you find all of them and buy them. They are entertaining for the little ones, but at the same time, they are written in such a way that they don't get on parents' nerves when they have heard them for the four hundredth time. Sure, there are some questions that us parental types ask, like who actually owns the Big Blue House, and what kind of interest rate are they getting on their mortgage; or, if Bear actually owns the house, what does he do to pay the mortgage, but the little kids don't have to worry about stuff like that so it's okay. Makes you yearn for those good, old days, huh?

The DVD does not disappoint, either. I've said it in my other Bear DVD reviews, but the most important feature for parents is the continuous play feature. If you put the DVD in your player, turn on this function and walk away, the player will continue to play all three of these episodes in order until the laser has worn a hole in your DVD (which should take several thousand years). But that's not all you get on these DVDs--there is also the option to sing along with four of the songs. Select this option and your DVD player becomes a karaoke machine for your little one. All of the lyrics flash across the screen so that s/he can sing along with Bear and company. That really about is all there is to this DVD, but believe me, it's enough for its target audience.

So, I say again, if you've got kiddos, this DVD should be on their DVD shelf permanently. If you don't have kids, this DVD will mean nothing to you unless you want to try to turn it into some kind of drinking game or something.