Children's DVDs: Small-screen summer
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Posted: 10:55 AM- "School's out!" launches the season of lengthy road trips and plane rides - journeys that parents can make more manageable by packing entertaining options for the kids. So before you saddle up the station wagon a la the Griswolds, check out some of the season's new children's DVDs, which feature educational fare, animated favorites and more. After all, you can only play the license-plate game for so long, right?

(ANIMATED) "Arnie the Doughnut ... and Other Fantastic Adventure Stories" (Scholastic Media: DVD $14.95; not rated): In this offbeat tale narrated by Michael McKean, a doughnut does his best to avoid being eaten. The DVD includes four other stories, one of which is read by Sean Hayes.

(ANIMATED) "James Marshall's Cinderella ... and More Beloved Fairy Tales" (Scholastic Media: DVD $14.95; not rated): Actors Kathy Bates and Patrick Stewart lend their voices to this set of five classic stories, including "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff."

(LIVE ACTION) "Bridge to Terabithia" (Walt Disney Video: DVD $29.99; rated PG): The beloved young-adult novel by Katherine Paterson comes to life in this CGI-enhanced retelling. Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb star as Jess and Leslie, an unlikely pair who bond over their love of make-believe.

(LIVE ACTION) "Flight 29 Down: Volume One" (Genius Products: DVD $14.95; not rated): The 'tween favorite that takes a cue from "Lost" stars an ensemble cast including Corbin Bleu and Hallee Hirsh. Originally airing on Discovery Kids Channel, the first four episodes of Season 1 are presented as a feature-length movie.

(MUSICAL) "A Treasure in My Garden" (Secret Mountain: DVD $14.97; not rated): This collection of 13 music videos, highlighting children's songs by Gilles Vigneault, is animated by artists at Tooncan, the Canadian studio that produced the Oscar-winning feature "The Triplets of Belleville."

(MUSICAL) "Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World" (Little Monster Records: DVD $16.99; not rated): Illustrator and singer-songwriter Morgan Taylor adds music to tales about Gustafer, a friendly creature from the Sun who settles in Minnesota and befriends a dragon, an eel and others.

(MUSICAL) "Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Country Songs" (Sesame Workshop: DVD $14.93; not rated): Elmo and his cousin Elmer host a jamboree of new and classic songs performed by the likes of Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack and Tim McGraw.

(TV ON DVD) "Charlie and Lola Volume 4: It Is Absolutely Completely Not Messy" (BBC Video: DVD $14.98; not rated): The charming British siblings face the ups and downs of being kids, such as cleaning their rooms and being afraid of the dark, in seven episodes.

(TV ON DVD) "Nick Jr. DVDs" (Paramount Home Entertainment: DVD $16.99; not rated): Nickelodeon's morning block of preschool programming gets the DVD treatment with four-episode collections from "The Backyardigans," "Blue's Room," "Go, Diego, Go!" and "Max & Ruby." The first two sets include music videos and bonus featurettes on shapes and colors.

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