Review: Character DVD's - Parenting to Impress

As I have stated several times, we watch very little TV. So when we do watch something, it is a treat and I want to make sure that what the kids watch is character building and educational. I am always looking for something that reinforces what we are teaching at home.

A few years ago, Alpha Omega Publishers released an animated DVD set called the Character Builders. Each of the eight DVDs contains two characters or Fruit of the Spirit covering sixteen characters total. Each story is approximately ten minutes in length. The writers did a good job of explaining each character and driving home the importance of possessing the attribute.

The story characters in these animated stories are animals and children. The stories are read by a narrator instead of having different voices per character.

Our kiddos enjoyed watching these short story clips. I wish that instead of eight DVD’s the stories would have been linked together on one disc. This would save an adult a lot of time of switching out DVD’s!

Benny’s Biggest Battle is a second video available from Alpha Omega. In this 25 minute DVD, Benny learns self-control after he puts Agapeland in danger because of his enormous appetite for honey. If you are familiar with the 1980’s CD Music Machine: The Fruit of the Spirit, you will recognize the main characters Mr. Conductor, Stevie, and Nancy thrown into the video.

Very similar to the Character Builders set, our kiddos enjoyed this story as well.

The Kingdom Under The Sea is the final DVD in this review. A very loose spin-off of Nemo and the Little Mermaid, this DVD contains two underwater stories about forgiveness and trust. Also included with the DVD is an old cartoon version of Humpty Dumpty.

This wasn’t our favorite video. The “bad” characters in these stories are a little dark and not something I felt comfortable with the kids watching. While the stories are morally sound, I feel there are better video options available.

Just to clarify…All three of these videos are animated but not at the same level as Pixar movies or even Veggie Tales. Think cartoons in the 80’s.

Thank you to Bridgestone for allowing me to review these products.