Not about too much, but trying to keep up with alerts. xx
Not about too much, but trying to keep up with alerts. xx
Member since:01.12.2005
Reviews:49
Members who trust:77
~~ Introduction ~~
Ok - those of you who have previously read any of my reviews will know that my son is an avid Bob the Builder fan. It was only going to be a matter of time before he wanted to watch another one of these DVD's - and on the weekend we reached that time. He picked 'The Knights of Can-A-Lot.'
~~ General Information ~~
The Knights of Can-A-Lot was released in 2003 by HIT Entertainment. It is rated as a 'U', which means that it is suitable for everyone, and has a running time of 55 minutes. We bought this for Gareth quite a while back and paid £7.99 for it. I've had a look on the internet and found that it is now available for the following prices; Play - £6.99 (free postage and packaging) 101cd - £6.99 (free postage and packaging) Amazon - £6.97 (plus postage and packaging) E bay has a 'buy it now' price of £5.99 (plus postage and packaging)
~~ Packaging ~~
The DVD comes in the normal plastic case. The front of the case has the name of the DVD on the front. It also has a picture of Bob and his dad standing in front of a castle. Bob's dad is dressed in a medieval outfit and Bob is dressed in his normal overalls, holding a shield. The cover states that this is a feature length family special, which has never been seen on TV.
Upon opening the case, on the left hand side is a small booklet. The booklet has an identical picture on the front, as on the front cover of the case. When you open the booklet, it basically gives you step by step instructions on how to use the menus on the DVD etc. The back cover of the booklet gives you tips on how to handle the DVD.
On the right hand side of the case is the DVD itself. The DVD has a light and dark green checked pattern on it, with the same picture of Bob and his dad on.
~~ Who is Bob the Builder ~~
For those of you who have never seen Bob the Builder, I will just explain a little
about it. It is set in Sunflower Valley. Bob owns a builders yard and has a crew who help him with his jobs, made up of Wendy and the vehicles. The characters that feature in this are as follows; Bob the Builder - Bob (voiced by the brilliant Neil Morrissey from 'Men Behaving Badly') wears a yellow hard hat, a yellow and orange checked shirt and light blue dungarees. Around his waist he wears his tool belt, which goes everywhere with him. Likes to say 'Can we fix it?' an awful lot. Wendy - Bobs co worker. She wears a blue hard hat, green top and blue trousers. She also has a tool belt, which she always wears. Likes to can 'Can we build it?' Bob's dad - A retired builder who is also called Bob (voiced by Richard Briers). Bob's mum - Voiced by June Whitfield. Dr Florence Mountfitchett - Is from the Local Heritage (voiced by Brenda Blethyn). Pilchard - Bobs cat. She is blue and likes to say 'Meow'! Dizzy - An orange cement mixer. She sometimes likes to listen to music. Is Dizzy by name and dizzy by nature. Roley - Green roller. His favourite saying is 'Rock and roll'. Scoop - Yellow JCB. He likes helping Bob and Wendy. Muck - Red digger. He likes getting really dirty. In this feature length episode, he adopts the name of 'Sir Dump-A-Lot'. Lofty - Blue crane. He is very nervous and indecisive. His favourite saying is 'Um, yeah I think so!'. In this feature length episode, he adopts the name 'Sir Lift-A-Lot'. Travis - Green tractor owned by Farmer Pickles. Farmer Pickles - Owns the farm in Sunflower Valley. Scruffty - Farmers Pickles' Dog. Spud - Farmers Pickles scarecrow. Things always seem to go wrong for him. His favourite saying is 'Spuds on the job'. Bird - Blue bird with red feathers. Is friends with everyone. Mr Bentley - He is something like the Mayor, it never actually says quite what he is. Mr Sabatini - Owns the Pizza shop. Mr Beasley - Is a bit accident prone. Is hopeless at DIY. Mrs Potts - Loves making and drinking lots of tea. Has been known to take five sugars.
The DVD starts with the Bob the Builder music, but a nice touch is that its been adapted so that it now sounds medieval.
~~ The Plot ~~
Bob's dad, who is a retired builder, has come to visit Bob for a while, as he is fed up of being in the house all day with nothing to do.
Shortly after he arrives, he answers the telephone in Bob's yard. On the telephone is Dr Florence Mountfitchett, from the Local Heritage. She wants Bob and his team to renovate an old castle, so it can be opened to the public.
As Bob's dad has answered the phone Dr Mountfitchett assumes she is talking to Bob junior (an easy mistake to make considering that Bob's dad is also called Bob) and due to the case of mistaken identity, Bob's dad is put in charge of the job. Bob junior has to try and tell his dad that he should be in charge of the job without hurting his feelings, but the problem is how to do it.
When they arrive at the castle, Bob's dad's first task is trimming the hedges of the maze, but unfortunately he gets lost.
Meanwhile Bob junior is cutting all the old greenery and finds a hidden doorway around the back of the castle.
Will Bob go through the door to find out what lurks behind it ………………. Will Bob's dad ever escape from the maze …………….. Will the team manage to finish renovating the castle in time for the grand opening ………...
Watch the DVD to find out.
~~ The main menu options ~~
The main menu screen has a picture of Bob standing in front of the castle. The options on the main menu are; Play feature - Allows you to watch the episode. Select a scene - Allows you to watch a certain part of the episode. Extras - Takes you to the extras menu. The HIT parade - This had the title songs for; 'Angelina Ballerina', 'Kipper', 'The Magic Key', 'Percy the Park Keeper', 'Barney', 'Oswald', 'Pingu', 'Bob the Builder', 'Rubbadubbers' and 'Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!'. It also included a website address for each of them. Whilst it was nice to watch on the first Bob DVD I watched, it does get boring after a while because it is the same time and time again.
~~ The Extras menu options ~~
The extras menu screen has a picture of Spud and Wendy at the top of the castle. The options here are' Subtitle - Allows you to toggle between the words on and of the screen. I think that this is useful if your child is learning to read. Meet Bob's parents - All this is, is a picture of Bob's dad and a brief description about him and then the same for his mum. Bob's photo album - This has approximately 25 photos of different scenes from the episode. Bob's website - This gives you the website address for Bob the Builder. If you put the disc in your computer, you can access the website via the link given on the disc.
~~ My opinion on the episode ~~
To be quite honest, when I read the back of the DVD and found out that this was going to be a feature length episode, I was unsure as to whether it would work. Fifty five minutes is a long time to make an episode last, whilst still keeping it interesting and entertaining for children. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it worked really well. The storyline is simple enough for a young child to follow with ease, but is interesting and amusing enough to keep the adults entertained as well (it kept me happy anyway).
Another good thing with Bob the Builder is that it helps your child learn. For example - Spud asks Bob's dad about knights and Bob's dad explains to him all about armour and jousting. It is explained in such a manner, so that children can understand.
It also brings home the message that if a child has a problem then they should talk to their parents about it, as they will be able to help them sort it out. For example - Bob is having difficulty in telling his dad that he is the one who should be in charge. When he does tell his dad they manage to work through it and sort it out.
My son sat down and didn't move from the settee the entire time it was on, so it obviously kept him entertained, which is the most important thing. From the adult point of view, I must say I enjoyed it. It did have an interesting enough story to keep me sat with him watching it. I would happily watch it again with him.
~~ My opinion on the extras ~~
All I can say about these are what a disappointment. The extras on this DVD to me were clearly the worse out of all the Bob the Builder DVD's I have seen. This one had no story to read through with your child or anything. Considering that Bob is aimed for children aged from about two and upwards, then the extras do not cater for the needs of the age group at all. My little one just wasn't interested. There was nothing in the extras that allowed him to be able to do anything.
~~ Would I recommend ~~
Yes I would definitely recommend. Even though the extras are not the best, I didn't buy the DVD for that. I bought it for the actual episode. Although it would be nice to find a Bob the Builder DVD in the future which has something like a game included in the extra's to give the child watching a bit more enjoyment. I live in hope.
Even though the extras were a let down, my son enjoyed the episode and it kept him entertained, therefore it did the job it was supposed to do, so would recommend.
Thanks for reading, Cath. xx
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1993 - Family - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Michael Caine, The Muppets, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, Steve Whitmire
Family - Director: Sarah Ball - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Neil Morrissey, Noddy Holder, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Chris Evans, Elton John, Bob The Builder
The Knights of Can-a-Lotis a 45-minute never-televised adventure starring Bob the Builder, ... more
otherwise dubbed "Sir Fix-a-Lot". When Bob's dad, also called Bob, arrives for an unexpected visit, a simple case of mistaken identity lands Bob junior and his c...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
When an old castle needs renovating so that it can be opened to the public, Dr. Florence ... more
Mountfitchett of Local Heritage calls Bob the Builder to fix it. Unfortunately, a case of mistaken identity puts Bob's Dad in charge of the job! Tales of the Knigh...
The Knights of Can-a-Lotis a 45-minute never-televised adventure starring Bob the Builder, ... more
otherwise dubbed "Sir Fix-a-Lot". When Bob's dad, also called Bob, arrives for an unexpected visit, a simple case of mistaken identity lands Bob junior and his c...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Join Bob and his Knights of Can-A-lot in their biggest adventure to date! When an old ... more
castle needs renovating so that it can be opened to the public Dr Florence Mountfitchett of Local Heritage calls Bob the Builder to fix it! Unfortunately a case of...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: excellent storyline, quality characterisations, positive messages, well done educational content snuck in Disadvantages: Extras nothing to write home about, English only
Advantages: excellent storyline, quality characterisations, positive messages, well done educational content snuck in Disadvantages: Extras nothing to write home about, English only
![Bob The Builder - Knights Of Can-A-Lot [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78517664.jpg "Bob The Builder - Knights Of Can-A-Lot [DVD] [1999]")
exceptional by (9%):
very helpful by (91%):
