Boulder Buddies

Recently contacted by the Boulder Buddies founder, David Breecher, I agreed to review this interesting little indie animated video. Part of their motto is that they "bring the 'G' back to G-rated entertainment." That, coupled with the interesting story about how Boulder Buddies came about (check out their website at www.boulderbuddies.com), I felt confident watching the Ledman household premier with my energetic three-year old. For many kid videos, my daughter is the litmus test for a successful film or series. Her ever-processing brain distinguishes between the good stuff and garbage.

The first fifteen minutes of Boulder Buddies was a little disconcerting. I felt like I was being mentally spammed by the characters. Every other word was "Boulder Buddies" or "I love Boulder Buddies." I think one day I might count the number of times the name is used in the first fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, my daughter seemed entertained. To prove how sharp she is, she kept looking over at me to get my reaction. She just wasn't sure what she thought yet. I knew that any reaction from me would influence her viewpoint for the rest of the viewing, so I gave her a blank stare. I knew eventually I'd get her real reaction.

Suspecting that the overuse of branding was probably an ill-advised recommendation from some marketing rep. somewhere, I decided to give Dave Breecher a chance to prove his idea's credibility. And I'm glad I did. In the end, the film does do much more than simply promote itself. Here are the things I found valuable:

1. It taught several basic concepts appropriate for toddlers - ABC's, 123's, colors, shapes, etc.

2. It used flash-card style review of words that begin with the letters of the alphabet. The pictures they used were drawn by kids, which of course enchanted my daughter. I've had a hard time teaching her to connect letters and words, so this was a great teaching tool. She repeated the words after the announcer and I had her point to the letter on the screen. Great stuff!!

3. The timing between segments was just perfect to hold a toddler's attention. Just as my girlie was about to get bored, they'd switch segments. A new song, a new lesson, or a new storyline would capture her attention again.

4. The characters are in fact G-rated. They are a little goofy sometimes, but I'm not in the camp that believes toddlers need to watch action heroes shoot each other down. They can watch that later in life.

(Caveat: I'm more fond of generic educational material than character-building material at this age. Although Pooh Bear overcomes fear in Pooh's Grand Adventure, my daughter was never afraid of the woods until we saw that film. Now, she even spooks ME as she tells about the glowing eyes she sees peeking out of the dark forest - complete with raspy voice, mind you. Kids don't seem to need a premature introduction to fear, backtalking, mean play, selfishness, etc. Of course, that said, one of my daughter's favorite characters is the horribly whiney Caillou. But, I digress...)

5. Though the producers are apparently Christian, there's no Christian talk or moralistic teaching. That's not to say that it won't be present in future videos, but they seem to make a point of keeping the film marketable to a wider market. The only mention of Christ is in the credits, written text only. They simply give credit to Christ for making it all possible. Simple. Broad, but specific. Great example of living what you believe without being pushy. Way to go Dave.

6. My daughter did in fact learn some stuff. Although the first viewing had her singing the Boulder Buddies theme song, after the second viewing , she began calling it " The ABC movie."

Like I said, my three-year old is the ultimate authority. Based on her daily (sometimes twice daily) requests to watch the film, Boulder Buddies must be a success. If you as an adult can accept the branding as a first-time film glitch, and the quirky-looking characters, it's a good series. My daughter wants to watch it every day, and that says something. The only other series that have generated that reaction are Veggie Tales and Little People. Nice going Dave. I'd like to be on the list to get the next installment.