Courtesy: PBS Distribution/PBS Kids/PBS
School is still out for the summer, and right now many school districts’ officials remain uncertain when and how the new school year will look. That is leaving many parents and students in limbo, too. For parents, they are left in the dark as to how they are going to have to handle schedules. For the students, their educational opportunities largely remain on hold until such time, especially since parents, in many cases, cannot be there to help their children learn. Thankfully PBS Distribution offered a new resource for parents and students alike last month with the release of the new Wild Kratts DVD box set, Around The World Adventures. The three-disc set is a presentation that the whole family will welcome. That is due in part to its episode listing, which will be discussed shortly. The set’s packaging also plays into its presentation, too. It will be discussed a little later. The set’s average price point rounds out its most important elements and will also be addressed later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of Wild Kratts: Adventures Around The World. All things considered, they make the set one of this year’s top new family DVD/BD box sets.
PBS Distribution’s new Wild Kratts box set Around The World Adventures is a presentation that the whole family will appreciate regardless of whether school is in session. It is a resource that will educate and entertain audiences of all ages. That is due in large part to its featured episodes. The set is composed of 21 episodes spread across three discs. That totals a run time of approximately 10 hours. Parents especially will appreciate (for cost reasons, which will be discussed later), that the majority of the episodes featured in this set are previously unreleased. In comparison to PBS Distribution’s only other Wild Kratts box set Wildest Animal Adventures, only two episodes from that set – ‘A Huge Orange Problem’ and ‘Mimic’ – are carried over from to this presentation. What’s more, in looking at the roughly 21 (yes, 21) total single disc Wild Kratts collections that are available, only six episodes from those collections – ‘The Food Chain Game,’ ‘Cheetah Racer,’ ‘Rainforest Stew,’ ‘Shadow: The Black Jaguar,’ ‘Mimic’ and ‘A Huge Orange Problem’ – are carried over to this collection. In other words, the majority of the episodes featured in this collection are previously unreleased, including the Wild Kratts “movies” ‘Amazin’ Amazon Adventure’ and ‘Back In Creature Time.’ Adding to the importance of the set’s episode list is that by comparison, Wildest Animal Adventures culls the episodes from four of the series’ standalone compilations, Creature Adventures, Jungle Animals, Lost At Sea and Predator Power. The total episode count there is 20. So in other words, odds are this collection likely would cull episodes from as many DVDs as no standalone DVDs featuring the majority of the noted episodes have been released. This leads into another of the set’s most important elements, its packaging.
Adventures Around The World takes up half the space of the Wildest Animal Adventures set on racks because of the packaging. The packaging in question places two of the new set’s three discs on either side of an insert inside the box. The set’s third disc sits on its own spot on the inside back of the set’s case. By comparison, the Wildest Animal Adventures places each of its four discs in its own standalone slipcase inside a larger box. This means more material is used for packaging with the “older” set, and in turn more space taken up on racks. So the saved space that results from the “newer” packaging model is to that extent, its own positive. Half the space of another set might not seem like much, but like pennies, it adds up.
On another note, the discussed saved space that results from the packaging and the previously unaired episodes featured in this set mean that families will not have to worry about buying potential future standalone DVDs, which will save space in its own right. It will also save families money.
Speaking of money saved, the average price point for this three disc set is another positive worth noting. The average price point for Around The World Adventures is $15.99. That’s for three discs of episodes that again, have largely been previously unreleased. It’s well under the $20 mark, and considering the amount of entertainment and education offered through that span, that is not a budget breaker. The price in question was obtained by averaging prices at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Barne & Noble Booksellers, and PBS’ online store. It was not listed through Target and Books-A-Million at the time of this posting. PBS’ price of $19.99 and Barnes & Noble Booksellers’ price of $17.99 both exceeded that average while the other three listings each were noted at $13.99, well under the average.
By comparison, Wildest Animal Adventures is almost impossible to find through any major retailers. It is not even listed through PBS’ store or that of the official Wild Kratts website. An extensive search for the set did locate it at Walmart at a price of $25.85, but it was listed as being out of stock. Amazon also listed the set. Its least expensive price listing was $69.99 while it reached as high as $249.98. In other words, odds are that set is now out of print. This means that audiences who don’t already own said set will have to spend $10-$15 on each of the four DVDs culled for said collection if they do not own those DVDs either. Meanwhile the set’s initial average price listing was about the same as that for Around The World Adventures. So audiences would have spent about the same price for each box set. Keeping this in mind, the relatively affordable price point for PBS Distribution’s latest Wild Kratts DVD box set proves just as positive to Around The World Adventures’ presentation as its content and packaging. All things considered, they make this latest Wild Kratts box set one of this year’s top new family DVD/BD box sets.
Around The World Adventures is another welcome addition to PBS Distribution’s ongoing series of Wild Kratts presentations. That is due in no small part to its episode listing, which offers audiences a grouping of episodes largely unavailable on the series’ previous DVD episodes. Only six of the set’s episodes are available on the series’ other DVDs. That leans 15 episodes unavailable on said DVDs. The set’s packaging takes up half the space of its predecessor, the previously released box set Wildest Animal Adventures. The set’s average price point of less than $20 dollars is affordable especially considering the amount of content featured across its three discs. Each noted item is important in its own way to the whole of Adventures Around The World. All things considered, they make the set one of this year’s top new family DVD/BC box sets.
More information on Around The World Adventures is available online along with all of the latest Wild Kratts news and games online at:
Website: http://pbskids.org/wildkratts
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wildkrattsofficial
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