Video/DVD Review: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Rated by 3 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this video is ideal for
pre-reading children -- if nearly static images don't lose
their attention entirely. Themes of creativity and diversity
are explored.
Families can talk about animation. What is animation? Does
moving around cut-outs of drawings qualify as animation? Or
must the characters speak and move fluidly?
Three well-known Dr. Seuss stories are fashioned into videos by adding a bit of animation to the original illustrations. The video's three episodes are taken directly from Dr. Seuss stories. "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" is a series of vignettes that explore counting and rhyming. Diverse species such as "wumps," "nooks," and "ginks" make appearances. "Oh the Thinks You Can Think" shows children all the silly things they can make up, including "snuvs in gloves." "The Foot Book" identifies right and left feet and the numbers of feet per person or animal. The vignettes explore the theme of tolerance by presenting diverse beings who look, speak, and act differently.
No one can beat Dr. Seuss for inventive rhyming, but the visuals are just close-ups of his original illustrations. Seuss's rhyming always reigns supreme but the poor visuals here will sink the interest of most preschoolers.
The original purpose of Seuss's beginner books was to aid learning by making reading fun and it's unclear how useful the videos are. Only the last episode, "The Foot Book," has writing on screen that synchs with the pictures and the dialogue, and could conceivably help children learn to read. Unfortunately, many kids won't last that long: two 4-year-old viewers walked away long before the third story started.
Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham and Other FavoritesThe Best of Dr. Seuss
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