Be warned, the age range is strictly 1-4.
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If you have a toddler or preschooler and have access to either Noggin or Nick, Jr., you might already have met the acquaintance of little red-haired Maggie and her imaginary friends. Like Christopher Robin, this precocious cartoon five year old has favorite stuffed animals that she likes so much she takes them along with her into an imaginary land. Instead of the Hundred Acre Wood, though, it's Nowhere Land--a place she's created using her trusty crayons (which accounts for the stylized landscape, with palm tree segments alternating bright colors instead of solid brown, for example).
With background music that highlights piano and xylophone in a style reminiscent of but not nearly as jazzy as "Peanuts," Maggie and her two friends embark on wee adventures that are geared for toddlers and preschoolers. It's pitched so low that even kindergartners might think this is "baby stuff," but for the 1-4 age group it's excellent programming. And Shout! Factory has just released two more "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast" DVDs.
Ferocious Beast, a not-so-scary character drawn in the manner of Richard Scarry creatures, is polka-dotted three-horned critter who's so round that he looks a bit like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. His voice sounds a bit like Spongebob's best friend, Patrick, and he seems to have the same vacant mind. Hamilton Hocks, meanwhile, is the Piglet to Maggie's Pooh--a pig who's a little more timid and worried about things than the others, and seemingly more fragile, both physically and emotionally. The confident one of the trio is Maggie, whose curly red hair peeks out from under a pith helmet that she wears.
The pacing is as leisurely and the plot as simple as the "Peanuts" and "Winnie the Pooh" adventures, all the better to make it easy for little ones to follow. Three episodes are included in every half-hour telecast, and there are twelve here (counting bonus features) for a total of a little more than 90 minutes.
Overall, "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast" is a sweet little show that's quiet and gentle in its tone. In every episode, there are tiny problems for Maggie and her friends to overcome. There's also plenty of imagination, play, and problem-solving that children in the target age group will be able to identify with, whether it's peek-a-boo, hide-and-go-seek, hurt feelings, royalty role-playing, loneliness, jealousy, or fears to face. I'm not too keen on animated, walking and talking jelly beans, which appear in more than one episode, but the lessons taught here are ones everyone should have learned by kindergarten: like playing nice, sharing, getting along, being a good sport, and keeping a sunny disposition.
Both "Rain Showers & Spring Flowers" and "Recipes for Trouble" have typical episodes that don't just stay within those themes. There's as much trouble in the first disc as there is outdoor play in the second.
Rain Showers & Spring Flowers contains the following four featured episodes, plus eight bonus episodes:
"What's in a Bag?"-When Maggie and her friends go on a picnic, things take a crazy turn when her special dessert-a bag of jellybeans-turns out to be alive! These pugnacious little things argue over who's color is best, until Maggie gets the idea to cool them all off in a pool (which removes their color). See? Now you're all the same, she says, pleased with her solution. But the jelly beans liked being different colors rather than the same, and Hamilton says he can restore their color if they promise to stop fighting. This is the spirit of the rest of the episodes as well.
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[release]23042[/release]