CLASSICAL BABY (I'M GROWN UP NOW): THE POETRY SHOW - DVD review

The latest in the "Classical Baby" line, "The Poetry Show," is released on DVD to coincide with National Poetry Month in April. This program, running a child friendly 23 minutes, takes classic poems by the likes of Gertrude Stein, William Shakespeare and Robert Frost, among others and sets them to different styles of animation while celebrities recite the words. Susan Sarandon, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andy Garcia, Gwyneth Paltrow, Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein and more are present along with thirteen pieces of child-appropriate literature.

With each segment running no more than two minutes, there is never a chance for the kids or adults to get bored. For the children, a wonderful mix of animation styles, from seemingly "cut out" characters, a la "South Park" to a rougher style simulating the look of a Norman Rockwell painting. Most of the pieces are bright, appealing to the rapidly shifting attention span of the target audience. Where they might have trouble following along is the actual dialogue. While each poem is easy to understand and deals with simple concepts, the very nature of poetry may be too obtuse for children under five years old.

Without an accompanying book or even subtitles on the disc, I have an issue with labeling this "Classical Baby." Not to put too fine a point on it, "The Poetry Show" may be a technical part of the series, yet it isn't designed for a "baby." This is more of a disc for kids who have started school, in the five- to seven-year-old range. To reinforce that idea are short interview clips with children where they explain what poetry is to them. Among the highlights comes after Hughes' "April Rain Song." A child opines: "The way it comes out of your head is the way it is." His assessment of the art form elicits more than a chuckle.

See, these children aren't by and large concerned with meter or stanzas or even rhyming. They just want to have fun. Of course, some of them understand concepts like rhythm and beat, or the musical nature of poetry, yet they don't feel constrained by the so-called "rules." They believe each poem should be about the writer, how you feel. It's a refreshing take on literature which can be stuffy when adhering to too many rules.

Previous entries in the series have been criticized by child psychology groups as little more than allowing television to babysit the kids or as being harmful to child development. "The Poetry Show" isn't designed to babysit, as far as I'm concerned. It's purpose is to be educational in a round-about way: by using animation, each poem is brought to life, allowing it to jump off the page and captivate the audience. This is no different than "Barney" or "Sesame Street," both of which are marketed to children younger than the "Classical Baby" audience. (Let's face it: babies very rarely stay still for any length of time unless they're sleeping. Who thinks this program-or any program-is going to make them sit and do nothing for any length of time?)

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood proclaimed back in 2005 that, because of the risks associated with television, they recommend children under the age of two don't watch television. Yes, no television at all for the tiny tots. The crux of their argument, at least from three years ago (based on the press release on their website) is that children learn better when interacting with other people away from the television. I won't argue with the assessment; though with no further explanation of the risks of watching TV at a young age, the final decision, as always, should be with the parents.

As you have probably guessed by now, the content in this episode is far from the poetry of Shel Silverstein. Whereas his "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and other work is more humorous in nature, Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" is contemplative, while Woody Guthrie's "Grassy Grass Grass" remains deceptively simple, repeating the same word or action three times in a row with different endings. The final selection is perhaps the best known, being Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?"

As read by Paltrow, it comes off as being melancholy, maybe even a bit of a dower to end on. From a production standpoint, book ending the program with A-list stars (Sarandon and Paltrow) makes perfect sense. However, from an emotional standpoint, it's the equivalent of Barney refraining from jumping, dancing and singing to end his show. But it's a very minor issue, maybe even one most people will overlook.

VIDEO:
The packaging claims the program is presented in a full screen aspect ratio. Upon putting the disc in the player, though, we are greeted with a widescreen program. The end result appears free of most defects, aside from an odd distortion around some objects in motion only in certain segments. By and large, there isn't anything to complain about here. The varied colors, especially in the final chapter, burst on the screen. And the dark colors come across equally impressively.

AUDIO:
The only option here is a regular English 2.0 track, about on par with what we could reasonably expect coming into the disc. Clear and free of any problems, even in the quiet segments, there's nothing to sit up and take notice of…but nothing to draw attention to itself either. One of the particular highlights in Segment 10, "April Rain Song." It centers, unsurprisingly, on rain, which sounds as crisp as it would right outside the window. The only downside to the audio specs is the lack of subtitles.

EXTRAS:
Nothing, though it should be pointed out each poem gets its own chapter (for a total of 14 chapters), allowing quick access to your favorite.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
Inoffensive, engaging and filled with intriguing animation, this installment in the "Classical Baby" series is perfect for family viewing. How many discs out there can boast an appeal to every age group without any qualifications?