Postman Pat - Postman Pat And The Giant Snowball (DVD)

...be a big fan of Postman Pat when I was growing up, it was one of the things both my little brother and I used to love to sit and watch together. But I think it's fallen out of fashion with toddlers a bit lately, what with the newer funkier characters such as Bob the Builder and In the Night Garden taking over the market somewhat. I did want Harry to at least try the show, so I hired a DVD from the library. It claimed to be 'All New' so I guessed ...
.../> This DVD is called Postman Pat and the Giant Snowball, and it is the newer series of Postman Pat. The characters are much smoother now, the mouths move when they talk unlike on the old puppets and they've now introduced more characters, including a new Asian family so that things are politically correct! The voices seem to be the same so the continuity in Pat is the same, but it doesn't have the same charm the old series does, but maybe that's ... more

I used to be a big fan of Postman Pat when I was growing up, it was one of the things both my little brother and I used to love to sit and watch together. But I think it's fallen out of fashion with toddlers a bit lately, what with the newer funkier characters such as Bob the Builder and In the Night Garden taking over the market somewhat. I did want Harry to at least try the show, so I hired a DVD from the library. It claimed to be 'All New' so I guessed it wasn't going to be like the ones I used to watch, and I was right.

This DVD is called Postman Pat and the Giant Snowball, and it is the newer series of Postman Pat. The characters are much smoother now, the mouths move when they talk unlike on the old puppets and they've now introduced more characters, including a new Asian family so that things are politically correct! The voices seem to be the same so the continuity in Pat is the same, but it doesn't have the same charm the old series does, but maybe that's just me resisting change! Also, the old guitar music theme song has changed to a jazzier version, and there is an awful closing song over the credits, terrible!

This DVD contains 4 episodes, each of which are 15 minutes long, so they are a nice length for a child to sit and watch without getting too bored. This gives the DVD an overall length of 1 hour, which isn't that great but for a toddler this is plenty. The DVD has a nice interactive main menu featuring a snowball scene from the first episode, and this replays over and over until you select the play option on the menu. Each of the episodes are explained below:

Postman Pat and The Giant Snowball - It's snowed all over Greendale, and Pat has to trudge through the snow in his van with Jess. The children of Greendale are having fun on their snowboards, and having snowball fights. But things turn bad when Pat's son Julian and his friends make a giant snowball which rolls onto the railway line in front of the train, the Greendale Rocket. Can Pat and the children warn Ajay the driver in time before the train is derailed by the big snowball?

Postman Pat and the Ladder - Following on from the snowy first episode of the DVD, Greendale is still covered in snow. Pat is struggling to get around the snowdrifts in Greendale, and so starts to deliver the mail by bike and on foot. But Pat receives word that the twins Katie and Tom are stuck on a sledge in the middle of the lake. He wants to rescue them but doesn't want to end up in the freezing water himself. Pat calls on his friend Ted Glenn for help, will they be able to save Katie and Tom from the dangerous lake?

Postman Pat and the Spooky Sleepover - Tom and Katie come to Julian's hosue for a sleepover. Julian's mum tells them a spooky story before bed, and all 3 children are a little bit spooked. Pat is behaving rather oddly, he's out in the middle of the night looking for Ted Glen, who's got a surprise for Pat's wife. The children are trying to get to sleep, but they hear a strange noise and start to investigate. Is there something sinister lying in Pat's house, or is it something silly after all? And what is Pat's surprise for his wife?

Postman Pat and the Train Inspector - Pat's back at work. The Greendale Rocket isn't working, and Ajay's worried because the Train Inspector is coming to visit. The train isn't working properly, the station is a mess and Ajay has no one to help him clean everything up! Pat goes around the village trying to drum up help for Ajay to fix the train and make the station look lovely. The villagers of Greendale are happy to help Ajay, but will they make everything better in time for the Inspector?

This is a really fun DVD for toddlers to watch, and its a nice one for you to share with them as well. It's particularly fitting because Christmas is on the way, and the snowy episodes can be viewed as nice wintery ones, getting them in the mood for the coming winter weather! The animation is great quality, with the puppets being much smoother and cooler than ever, but it's nice to see that the old characters have remained through the changes! Pat is as brilliant as ever, with his catchy Northern voice and funny exclamations which will make you laugh, if not your toddler! It's a joy to watch, and there is a good variety of episodes to keep you and your child entertained for a fun hour. There is a also an Interactive 'Dress the Snowman' game on the disk, but I didn't play that with Harry as he is a bit young to understand. Overall, it's a great DVD and one which is recommended and would make a nice stocking filler for Christmas time!

This DVD is available from Amazon for £4.98, which is very good value if your child is a Postman Pat fan! The DVD obviously has a U certificate and runs for 60 minutes. It was released in November 2006 by Universal Pictures UK.

Find Postman Pat on the web: www.postmanpat.com

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