Amazon.co.uk Review
Maisy, the epony-mouse from
Lucy Cousins' hugely popular books, returns to the small screen in
Christmas and Other Stories. Each episode--"Snow", "Cards", "Christmas Tree", "Christmas", "Gingerbread", "Bird", "Bike", "Swing", "Ball" and "Guitar"--focuses on a central theme and features Maisy's band of friends: Tallulah the effervescent chick, Eddie the elephant, Cyril the Squirrel, and the stomach-obsessed crocodile Charley. The animation reproduces the bright, block colours of the books, but adds a new dimension of playful characterisation and sound effects. The characters' voices are very much in the Teletubbies and Pingu mode, offering few discernible words but perfectly evoking the individual characters and appealing to very young children. Neil Morrissey's voice-over offers a gentle, questioning cue for Maisy and her friends' activities, and further brings out the stories' educational emphasis. The Maisy videos combine simple presentation with charming characterisation to great effect and each tale is constructed with an underlying intelligence and humour that repays repeat viewings. For those in occasional need of a Teletubby-free zone, these are the perfect videos for pre-school children. --
Steve Napleton Running time: 52 minutes approximately.
Synopsis
Featuring the episodes; 'Snow', 'Cards', 'Christmas Tree', 'Gingerbread', 'Bird', 'Bike', 'Swing', 'Ball' and 'Guitar'.