Eddy And The Bear - Silly Stories (Animated) (DVD)

Eddy & the Bear - Silly Stories is a charming collection of episodes featuring young Eddy and the bear he meets in the woods. The stories are based on the characters created in Jez Alborough's best-selling children's books, Where's My Teddy, It's the Bear, and My Friend Bear.

On the DVD, these three animated stories are weaved into one short film which follows the books almost perfectly - but with the added bonus of narrator Frances ...
...Garnsey is the voice of Eddy while Robert Linday is the voice of the bear.

The story begins as Eddy and his mum are moving into their new home. On the way there on moving day, Eddy's beloved teddy bear falls out of the moving van. Eddy is hearbroken. Eddy searches everywhere for his bear and ends up in the woods where he finds an ENORMOUS version of his teddy bear. It soon becomes clear that this isn't Eddy's teddy - it belongs to ... more

Eddy & the Bear - Silly Stories is a charming collection of episodes featuring young Eddy and the bear he meets in the woods. The stories are based on the characters created in Jez Alborough's best-selling children's books, Where's My Teddy, It's the Bear, and My Friend Bear.

On the DVD, these three animated stories are weaved into one short film which follows the books almost perfectly - but with the added bonus of narrator Frances de la Tour and a fun tune along away that eventually becomes the series theme song.

Rupert Garnsey is the voice of Eddy while Robert Linday is the voice of the bear.

The story begins as Eddy and his mum are moving into their new home. On the way there on moving day, Eddy's beloved teddy bear falls out of the moving van. Eddy is hearbroken. Eddy searches everywhere for his bear and ends up in the woods where he finds an ENORMOUS version of his teddy bear. It soon becomes clear that this isn't Eddy's teddy - it belongs to a very big bear!

The story continues through several more encounters with the bear until it becomes apparent that both Eddy and the giant bear are both lonesome and in need of a good friend. By the end, the two of them are inseparable and the awww factor is definately there.

Overall, the story is simple but enjoyable for young viewers. Alborough's writing style is similar to Dr. Seuss as it is written in a catchy rhyme verse. The narrator sticks to the story though extra verses are added or slightly changed to fit the animation.

In addition to these three stories turned into one, there are three additional episodes including Stuff, Rocketship and The Craze. From what I can tell, these episodes are not written by Jez Alborough and are simply based on the original stories. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this was or is going to be a show featured on CiTV - so this could be the beginning of a long series.)

At first glance, I was disappointed with these three. While they continue the relationship between Eddy and bear, they lack the innocence and charm of the first episode, the narrative does not rhyme throughout and the subject matter seems more commerical i.e. computers, spaceships, fads. They simply don't capture the feel good factor that is ooozing in the original story.

However, put that aside and they are still enjoyable to watch and doubtless the missing feel good factor won't be as evident to young viewers.

My daughter loves this DVD - however she also has the first three books which may serve as a bonus. While watching the DVD she often likes to follow along in the books as well. The two work nicely together and the animation is the same as the illustrations in the first two books.

Unfortunately, there aren't any added features on the DVD, but at a running length of approx 54 minutes there is more than enough entertainment to enjoy.

The DVD is rated U - suitable for all ages. It is probably best suited for children ages 2-5. It was released in 2003.

I would highly recommend this DVD - if only for the the first story which is sure to entertain young viewers. The extra episodes are probably the bonus I've been hoping for.  

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