droolicious : dvds

SALE: Barnes & Noble Kid's Sale 40% Off

AmandaHill — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Sometimes quality children's books can be expensive. Today through March 4th, Barnes & Noble is having a Kid's Sale. All kid's products are up to 40% off: Books, toys, DVDs and even music. They also have a deal going on for fast and free delivery in just 3 days.This might be the perfect time to purchase a fantastic book for your little one.

Click on over to Barnes and Noble to check it out.

CES 2009: Blank CDs and DVDs Get The Disney And Marvel Comics Treatment

Chris Ford — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Many people are saying that recordable media (blank CDs, DVDs, Blueray discs and the like) are on the way out and in the future it's going to be all about streaming and downloading content. But people haven't thrown out their CD and DVD burners yet. KDT USA makes blank discs with all sorts of DIsney and Marvel Comics characters and brands printed right on the top, for a blank disc that's just a little more special.

The Disney licensed discs come in all sorts of themes, the best selling of which are (not surprisingly) Disney princesses, Spiderman, High School Musical and Hannah Montana. They cost $1.39 individually or $8.99 for a ten pack. It seems to me if you're thinking about a party favor for your kid's birthday party or something like that, you could do a lot worse than a mix of your kid's favorite songs with a Spiderman or Hannah Montana picture on the cover.

They should be available in stores, and you can check out the manufacturer's web site at KDTUSA.com

CES 2009: Game On - An Awesome Video Game Storage System For Your Kids

Chris Ford — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Game On might have, for a lot of parents, the answer to a problem that has been nagging them for a while. How do I keep al of this video game stuff looking neat and all in one place in my house? Well, I think Game On has the solution.

In the picture, you're looking at the one-two punch from Game On - the Video Gaming Storage System (on the top) and the Stash Box on the bottom. Both are made of durable MDF, can take up to 50 pounds of weight (when mounted to a stud) and have been designed to take the wear and tear that children can dish out.

The top portion holds your console (XBOX, WIi, PS3 etc.), has games on top and four side support handles for controllers, guitar controllers or any other gaming associated stuff. It also has curved vents on each side to let air pass through - keeping your console nice and cool.

The Stash Box underneath is meant to work in conjunction with the top portion, and it provides extra storage for more games and DVDs. All put together it's a pretty awesome clutter solution for your kid's room or playroom. At least when you tell them to put their video game stuff away, they'll have a place.

Both are available in black, white, green, red, blue and yellow; and both will cost about $59 each. Neither are availalbe in stores in the US yet, but you can check them out at IWantMyGameOn.com

DVD/Blue-ray for Your Earthlings

Erin Behan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:52:00 GMT

There are some gifts I keep coming back to and the Planet Earth series is one of my favorites. All 11 episodes (from Pole to Pole to Seasonal Caves) are breathtaking looks at our planet and its amazing diversity. I sock this one away every year as the gift to give when I don't know what else to give--and usually it ends up being the giftee's favorite. Get it at the Discovery Channel for $42.46 DVD, or $52.99 Blue-ray. Upgrade to a set that includes the Sunrise series ($89.99) or add the book ($16.95).

Amazon Deal Alert: A Slew Of Thomas The Train DVDs Under $5

Chris Ford — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:04:00 GMT

Thanksgiving (and the holiday shopping season) may still be three weeks away, but it's never too early to start thinking about stocking stuffers. Over at Amazon I found thirty four Thomas and Friends DVDs on sale, all for $4.99.

Check out this page at the sale at the Kids' DVD and Toy Sale at Amazon.com. My girls actually make me turn the channel when Thomas comes on in my house (my two year old always says "Boring!"), but I know lots of families that are crazy about Thomas. And with 34 to choose from, I'm sure you can find one you don't have.

Kids' DVD and Toy Sale, Under $5 at Amazon.com

Move Over, Yule Log: It's The Halloween Jack-O-Lantern DVD

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:04:00 GMT

Sure, there's something magical about picking out and carving your own family jack-o'-lantern, but if you'd prefer to skip the pumpkin guts, the candles and the subsequent rot, The Halloween Jack-O-Lantern DVD could be just the hands-off experience you're seeking. Essentially a Halloween-themed version of the classic Yule Log video, it cycles through eight different jack-o'-lanterns that flicker on your screen as an appropriately cheesy soundtrack of organ music and screams plays in the background.

Obviously, things might get a little complicated once you realize a jack-o'-lantern works much better outside the home, so the DVD also comes with eight different stencils that let you replicate the designs shown in the DVD, as well as a book of Halloween tales and seasonal recipes -- including pumpkin pie, of course.

$14.95 from Spoon Sisters.

Sleeping Beauty Released From Her Deep Slumber In The Disney Vault Tomorrow

Chris Ford — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:10:00 GMT

Tomorrow is a big day in our household. Sleeping Beauty, the favorite princess of my eldest daughter, is finally being released from the Disney vault tomorrow. Sleeping Beauty the movie that is, not the princess. But where is the best place to pick up your copy (assuming you haven't already pre-ordered it)?

If you're looking for extras, Best Buy has a special promotion going on for the release. If you purchase the movie (in either DVD or BluRay), you will get a free Sleeping Beauty Alarm clock (exclusive to Best Buy). If you purchase Sleeping Beauty with two other Disney releases (Tinker Bell and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning), you'll get a "free lithograph of the classic film's theatrical release." The price for the DVD at BestBuy.com is $14.99. Here's a link to the info about the promotion.

Amazon.com doesn't have any special promotions going on, just the same low price of $14.99 for the DVD and $23.95 for the BluRay edition (which also comes with a bonus DVD of the movie for playing in the car or in the kid's room).

Interestingly enough, the Disney Store online is selling the DVD for $19.99 with no special promotions, though I was in a Disney Store last week and they were offering a free lithograph (which quite frankly didn't look that great) with every Sleeping Beauty pre-order.

So I think the choice is clear. See you at Best Buy tomorrow.

Giveaway: Win 1 of 5 'Where the Wild Things Are' DVDs

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:04:00 GMT

On Aug. 26, Scholastic Storybook Treasures will release an all-new DVD edition of Where the Wild Things Are... and 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak, but we're giving five lucky Droolicious readers the chance to score their own free copy of the DVD now. Just send an email to babblecontest@gmail.com with your name, address and daytime phone number -- winners will be chosen at random on Friday, Aug. 29.

Previously available on VHS, this edition of Where the Wild Things Are includes the title classic and In The Night Kitchen, along with four other Sendak short stories -- "Alligators All Around," "Pierre," "One Was Johnny" and "Chicken Soup With Rice" -- all sung by Carole King.

In the event you don't snag a copy in our giveaway (or you just can't wait till we pick the winners), you can order the DVD for $12.99 at Amazon.

New DVD Set Rolls Eight Disney/Pixar Classics Into One Box

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:11:00 GMT

You won't find anything in the way of new features or bonus material inside the just-released Disney/Pixar Ultimate 8-Movie Collection, but if you're tired of renting Pixar's Oscar-lauded flicks on family movie night, the set is a convenient way to score some of the best CGI films in recent memory in one shot.

The box includes Toy Story 10th Anniversary Edition; Toy Story 2; A Bug's Life; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars; and Ratatouille, but unfortunately doesn't pack the shorts and documentaries available on the films' previously released DVD versions. Given the release date, there's also no WALL-E, but at least you can still catch that one in theaters.

$110 (coming soon) from Amazon.

First Day of School Propaganda from Sesame Street

Chris Ford — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:04:00 GMT

It might be three months too early for most people for this post, but if your child is going to be attending a pre-school summer camp for the first time (like mine will), this is a DVD you might want to check out. Sesame Street - Ready for School deals with the anxieties about going to school for the first time. And as I'm sure you can guess, Elmo and Baby Bear end up loving it.

This certainly won't be the most exciting DVD in your children's DVD arsenal, but my daughter loves it. And, although this may be complete wishful thinking, if it helps her deal with the moment when I leave her at summer camp for the first time, then it will have paid for itself many times over. At least it couldn't hurt, right?

Sesame Street - Ready for School, $10.99 from Amazon.com

From Our Gift Guide: Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics from Scholastic Video -- $53.49

Erin Behan — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:10:00 GMT

There's no need to feel guilty about giving kids more screen time with this fantastic 16-disc collection; if anything, it will give them a new appreciation for the local library. Scholastic has assembled one hundred of their best storybook adaptations, including "Harold and the Purple Crayon," "In the Night Kitchen," "Good Night, Gorilla," "Make Way For Ducklings" and "The Snowy Day." Every story is narrated with the text of the book, accompanied by music, and animated in the style of the original illustrations (though a number of the stories are presented Reading Rainbow-style, scanning the illustrations without animation). No story is more than ten minutes long, and the leisurely pace is great for all ages. DVD extras include bonus stories, author interviews, Spanish-language versions, and a subtitled "read-along" option. Whether your kids are avid readers or non-readers, this is a painless way to introduce them to several decades' worth of classic picture books. Ages 2-10. Get it at Amazon (Today, Dec. 21, is the last full day to order to have your gift delivered on Dec. 24).

Find this and other great holiday gift ideas on our Babble Gift Guide.

From Our Gift Guide: The Princess Bride 20th Anniversary Edition -- $14.99

Erin Behan — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:00:00 GMT

It's hard to find a film more universally loved than The Princess Bride. Grown-ups appreciate its quirky wit; young kids love the over-the-top characters; and even at that age when boys' and girls' tastes tend to diverge, this fractured fairytale has something for both. This brand new edition is especially tailored to families, with a built-in videogame (more educational than Nintendo-like), a storybook with two retellings of the film, and three featurettes: one about fencing, one about fairytales, and a retrospective that will make you gasp at middle-aged Fred Savage. To skip it would be, well, inconceivable. Ages 6 and up. Get it at Amazon.

Find this and other great holiday gift ideas in the Babble Holiday Gift Guide.

PBS Classic, The Electric Company, is STILL Outta-sighteous!

Sarah Verdone — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:19:00 GMT

If you didn’t catch the Emmy award-winning show, The Electric Company, as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s, it’s not too late to tune in and turn on. Your kids can learn reading funk-damentals, while grooving with a fly, young Morgan Freeman as DJ Mel Mounds (“Outtasighteous!”). Other cast members include Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, and a pre-Fame, Irene Carra, with voices by Joan Rivers and Mel Brooks. It's educational, hilarious and graphically mind-blowing. Although the show was developed to help ages 6 and up learn to read, it's fab viewing for younger kids, too. And you're guaranteed to learn a few new dance moves.

The Best of The Electric Company 4 DVD pack is $49.98 (and worth every penny) from Shop PBS.

Give Thanks: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Mir — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 22:02:00 GMT

The meal's over, everyone's stuffed, and all the adults want now is a nap. The kids still need entertaining, though, and if you're lucky you'll have the time-honored Charlie Brown classic on hand to pop into the DVD player. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ($9.49 at Amazon) is that special sort of movie where you can sit back and reminisce... and your kids will dig it, too.

Braincandy DVDs Touch, Feel, Smell, See and Taste Their Way Into Stores

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:32:00 GMT

There's no evidence that Braincandy -- the surreal, sensory-based answer to visual board books -- is any better for babies' development than Baby Einstein. Braincandy does, however, beat the competition in reinforcing the idea that video time can never replace real human interaction; and as a company co-founded by an ex-Microsoft bigwig who's now seeking work/life balance as an entrepreneur, it also has a sympathetic tinge of Mommy guilt in its marketing copy.

Where Braincandy really strays from Baby Einstein is in its tone and visuals: Through its 5 Senses DVDs -- See My World, Hear My World, Taste My World, Touch My World and Smell My World -- the company shows real children using their senses to explore the world around them, and encourages viewers to interact by exploring their own worlds similarly.

The puppets and animated sequences significantly up the videos' weirdness factor, and indeed, parents may find some of the hands-on exploratory sequences closer to something out of, say, 9 1/2 Weeks. Kids, on the other hand, have no such frame of reference, and they're as likely to delight in watching the characters onscreen sniff, glop, slurp, observe and listen to the action as they are to mimic that action themselves.

Aimed at ages 6 months to 4 years (though admittedly a bit preverbal for older toddlers), the 5 Senses DVDs are available today in Borders stores everywhere, as well as at Amazon.com and through Braincandy's own online store.

Mo Willems Fans: Knuffle Bunny DVD Available for Preorder

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:30:00 GMT

You'll want to snuggle up in your Pigeon PJs to preorder this new entry from Scholastic Storybook Treasures: Led off by the titular adaptation of Mo Willems' multiple-award-winning classic Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Knuffle Bunny...and More Great Childhood Adventure Stories ($14.95; in stores Oct. 30) also features the bonus of Willems and his real-life family narrating the story. Celebrities from stage (Lindsay Crouse, narrating William Steig's "Brave Irene") and screen (Calista Flockhart, with Cari Best's "Shrinking Violet") appear on the DVD's five additional tales, and in typical Scholastic fashion, the on-screen read-along feature bridges the gap between book and video.

Maggie and Beast Return to DVD Sept. 25

Aaron Burgess — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:38:00 GMT

If your tots can't get enough of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast via Noggin (the books and toys aren't half bad, either), they're probably already prodded you to preorder Shout!Factory's newest DVDs featuring the precocious 5-year-old and her gigantic polka-dotted pal. Somewhere in Nowhere Land and Trick or Treat arrive Sept. 25, and both feature alternate Spanish-language tracks and a bonus "color your own cover" activity that extends beyond the usual DVD extras.

Use Your Words: Your Baby Can Read!

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:59:00 GMT

While I'm withholding judgment on the program's effectiveness (having just acquired it, I haven't yet made my 15-month-old a guinea pig), the five-DVD Your Baby Can Read! system carries a slight misnomer, as the program covers not only the baby years, but the entire 3-months-to-5-years window in which children's language development is at a prime.

Developed by Dr. Robert Titzer, whose daughter reportedly was able to read more than 100 words by her first birthday after following the program's methods, Your Baby Can Read! encourages children to make associations between written words, sounds and meanings by "interacting" (i.e., clapping, waving or pointing) with language. The system's hands-on, multi-sensory approach also extends to the accompanying materials -- five double-sided word/picture cards, one wipe-off word card and an erasable marker -- and encourages active engagement and co-viewing with children. (It also teaches phonics.) The DVDs are intentionally repetitive and somewhat demanding for children to follow on their own, so for those of us who savor those 20-minute spurts of video time while we scramble to make dinner, Baby Crack this ain't.

Tried this system? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know in the comments.

DVD Mega-Release: Scholastic's Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:55:00 GMT

It won't be available in stores until Sept. 25, but you can preorder Scholastic Video Collection's upcoming 16-DVD mega-collection Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics now ($99.95 list price; look real hard and you may even be able to enter to win a copy). Among the set's adaptations of classic children's books: Where The Wild Things Are...And Other Maurice Sendak Stories; Curious George Rides a Bike...and More Tales of Mischief ; Good Night Gorilla...and More Bedtime Stories; Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears...and More Stories From Africa; Harold and the Purple Crayon...and More Harold Stories; Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type...and More Fun on the Farm; and The Snowy Day...and More Ezra Jack Keats Stories.

Big Deal: Don't Buy It, Swap It with Swaptree

Mir — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:02:00 GMT

Reduce, reuse, recycle: These are the watchwords many parents are trying to live by these days. But selling your kids' old media items on Half.com or Craigslist and surfing around for used replacements can be time-consuming, right? Not anymore! Surf on over to Swaptree and start making "have" and "want" lists -- what your kids have moved past and what they're into now. Heave a sigh of relief as you relinquish the Junie B. Jones series in favor of Amber Brown, or trade in Laurie Berkner for They Might Be Giants. The possibilities are endless, and it's green as well as convenient. Cleaning out and stocking up in one fell swoop -- what more does any parent want?

Design with David Netto: Robert McCloskey DVD

davidnetto — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:59:00 GMT

You don't need me to tell you about Make Way For Ducklings. It's a classic among classics. And you will love it narrated sweetly on this DVD ($13). But what makes this video especially great is that it also features versions of several other Robert McCloskey stories, including the intelligent and beautiful "Time of Wonder." It's about the changing of the seasons in Maine, and it is unusually abstract and artistic for a children's book — which probably explains its relative obscurity. It teaches a child how to listen, look at nature and get in touch with a whole set of nineteenth-century perception skills that have been swept away in a typhoon of tripe spearheaded by the Doodlebops and Oobi. Be warned, there may come a time when your children are too old for something so simple, but until the age of three or four (when their lovely and serene natural states are corrupted), they may well adopt this as their favorite bedtime video. Get the book ($14), too. — David Netto