The 2020 holiday season has officially come and gone once again, and with the season in the rear window once again, the focus for lots of retailers and others is already turning to Valentine’s Day. A glance around any store reveals that. It is only fitting that with the attention already turning to Valentine’s Day that PBS Distribution released a Valentine’s Day-themed collection of Pinkalicious & Peterrific episodes this year on DVD. Titled A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day, the single disc collection features five episodes whose stories present lessons that will resonate with audiences of all ages. While the lessons featured in the stories are of positive note, the stories themselves detract slightly from the DVD’s presentation. This will be discussed a little later. When the episodes and their connected lessons are considered together, they make the collection’s average price point its own important element. It will also be discussed later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the DVD’s presentation. All things considered, they make the DVD a positive presentation, even with the negative of its episodes in mind.
PBS Distribution’s Pinkalicious & Peterrific DVD A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day is a gift that the whole family will appreciate. That is proven in part through the lessons presented in its featured stories. The DVD opens with the familiar lesson that the best gifts are the ones that are made versus those that are bought in the episode “Pink Love.” The episode, which is the disc’s only Valentine’s Day-themed episode, also teaches an important lesson about problem solving when the Valentine’s Day cards that Pinkalicious made are ruined. She stresses at first about how to make new cards for her classmates, but eventually comes up with an answer to the problem. Whether on Valentine’s Day or any other holiday (such as Mother’s Day, which is also addressed in one of the collection’s episodes) making a gift from the heart will always be better than just buying something. What’s more, the matter of problem solving is important to every young person’s development, so having that lesson incorporated into the episode in such subtle fashion helps the DVD’s presentation in its own way.
Speaking of personal development, that matter is addressed again in the central lesson featured in “That Unicorn Feeling.” The specific lesson tied to the matter is in this case, that of the importance of using one’s imagination. When Pinkalicious, Peterrific and one of their friends are paying a game together involving their imaginations, another friend comes along who can’t see the unicorn that the others see. Over time, that friend learns how to use her imagination and eventually sees the unicorn, too. Learning how to use one’s imagination is important not only in a child’s formative years, but throughout life. After all, imagination is what leads to the creation of some of the greatest stage plays, movies, and television shows of all time. To that end, learning early on, that importance of developing imagination is a welcome lesson for every young viewer.
Another important lesson that is presented in A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day is that of pet adoption. Peterrific points out at one point, that he and his sister’s mom told the pair at one point, people are not supposed to keep wild things. In this case, the reference being made is to the fact that it is not wise for people to adopt any wild animal. That includes even stray animals. That is because there is no telling what medical or other conditions stray animals might have and the liability connected with owning them. Again, the subtle way in which this lesson is delivered is deserving of applause. It is completely unrelated to the other lessons featured in the DVD, showing even more, the diversity in the DVD’s featured lessons. Together with the emotional lesson about children being a mother’s greatest gift in “Mother’s Day Surprise” and whatever lesson is delivered in “Whale of a Song” (that episode’s lesson is not made so clear, unless it is just about appreciating nature), the whole of the DVD’s featured lessons forms a solid foundation for the DVD’s presentation. If for no reason other than the lessons, the DVD proves worth watching at least occasionally.
While the lessons featured in A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day do much for the DVD’s presentation, the stories to which the lessons are connected detract from that presentation to some point. As has already been noted, the only Valentine’s Day-themed episode featured in this DVD is it lead episode, “Pink Love.” The other featured stories are anything but Valentine’s Day-themed. To that end, the stories that are featured in this collection leave the DVD’s title to be somewhat incorrect. It’s basically false advertising to a point. Now even with that in mind, it is not enough to completely disqualify the DVD. The lessons tied to the stories make up for that negative at least to a point. Hopefully this is something that those behind the DVD will take into account when and if another Pinkalicious & Peterrific DVD is released.
Keeping in mind the value of the lessons featured in A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day, they in themselves make the collection’s average price point its own positive. The average price point for A Pinkalicious Valentine’s Day is $5.96. That point is obtained by averaging listings at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, and PBS’ online store. It was not listed at Target and Books-A-Million at the time of this review’s posting. The least expensive of the noted listings is $3.99. It shows up twice, at Amazon and Best Buy. The most expensive listing — $7.84 – is at Walmart while PBS’ online store and Barnes & Noble Booksellers each list the DVD at $6.99. Considering again, that the majority of the DVD’s value rests in its lessons, that aspect makes the less than $10 average price point acceptable. That is not to say that the stories in which the lessons are presented are bad by any means. They are okay and are themselves worth watching occasionally. But that only one of the stories follows the theme of the DVD’s title, it does detract the overall appeal. To that end, the listings, which will not break any family’s bank, is worth paying even with the one noted negative. It works with the content to make the DVD at least somewhat more appealing presentation for the whole family.
PBS Distribution’s Pinkalicious & Peterrific DVD A Pinktastic Valentine’s Day is a presentation that is at least somewhat appealing. The lessons that are tied into the disc’s five featured stories play largely into that appeal. They are life lessons that are accessible for boys and girls alike and viewers of all ages. The stories themselves are slightly problematic in that only one of the stories follows the theme presented in the DVD’s title. That creates a sense of false advertising for audiences. Keeping all of this in mind, the average price point of less than $10 is a point that audiences will agree is worth paying for the content even with its one negative. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the DVD. All things considered, the DVD proves itself worth watching at least occasionally. It is available now. More information on the DVD is available along with games, activities, printables and more at:
Website: http://pbskids.org/pinkalicious
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PinkaliciousAndPeterrificPBS
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