The New Adventures of Spot the Dog (2000 Video) User Reviews

pleasant, nonthreatening entertainment for toddlers

[happy_ali · 7/10 · 14 March 2008]

This video features the sweet, simple world of Spot the puppy, who lives in harmony with his family as a helpful, cooperative child. He is polite, and when his mistakes are pointed out, he is quick to respond appropriately. If you have been exposed to a lot of children's television, you're used to children that are whiny, selfish, and ill-tempered. Spot is a great exception.

My children enjoy the songs, which are, fittingly, very simple. They're almost more like background music than the feature of each show. If this was the UK version, titled Spot's Musical Adventures, I'd have been disappointed in the music, as none of it is particularly catchy or memorable.

The segments with real children that are placed between the cartoons are a nice diversion. The interruption to the animation keeps my kids from getting too glassy-eyed, and I like the diversity of children and activities displayed. I also like that the children are instructed in tasks of exploration and discovery, which they are then shown to be enjoying.

My favorite element of this series of shows is the fact that Spot has actual parents. In so many children's shows, children function in a strange, nearly parent-less world. Spot's parents are often present, and even his grandparents make appearances. The adults are engaged with Spot, supportive and loving, but also insisting on good behavior.

Overall, this video is highly appropriate for preschool-age children, who will find inspiration for many creative activities and nothing to be afraid of.

Like seeing an old friend

[angelesguadalupe · 8/10 · 4 October 2022]

I always remembered the Spot videos and books, since they were part of my childhood. I had a copy of this movie (special?) as a child, and used to enjoy watching it. So when I couldn't sleep one night, I actually looked this up and rewatched it. For a children's special, it's pretty straightforward, with Spot and his friends having fun little adventures and just hanging out. Spot isn't the perfect protagonist, he does make some mistakes but with some help from his parents, he does go back, fix things, and learn from them. The songs are pretty basic but effective for the age group- Haley Joel Osment (!) is an OK singer but his voice works for the character- and sounds especially adorable while singing "Under My Umbrella," a cute little ditty I'm happy to say has stuck with me. Even though they're ear worms, luckily the songs aren't grating. The live action segments show a diverse group of children playing dress-up, solving puzzles, and just having a good time. There aren't any adults present, which could be encouraging little ones to make diverse friends and appreciate them, as well as to try their hands at some independence. (An earlier review has said that this is "social engineering" or something about "political correctness," but it's not that deep. It's just children playing.)

While some might say it's boring, overall, this special is a pleasant experience for children and their parents. It might not be overly energetic (and unintentionally overwhelming) like most kids shows, but it finds a good balance between being active enough for little ones but not being too much of a slog for them either. If I become a parent I will make sure I have this in my video library along with Mr. Rogers and other childhood classics- I also recommend Spot for preschool teachers or early childhood educators (I'm not sure how it will fare with kindergarteners).

Social engineering with liberal politically correct subtext

[FlickJunkie-2 · 3/10 · 7 February 2001]

This full-length release is Disney's attempt at `updating and improving' Spot. Its real intent is to exploit Spot's popularity to insert a liberal socialization agenda. There is a conscious attempt by the producers to make Spot more like Sesame Street in that it explicitly and implicitly teaches children politically correct lessons. The video is made up of 13 short stories featuring Spot and his friends. After each story, there is a segment where children play various instructive games prompted by a narrator. They are very careful to make sure that at least half the children are minorities.

There is a shift in emphasis towards learning through social interaction instead of from parents, which was the predominant theme in the older Spot videos. The parental roles have changed from teacher and disciplinarian to that of supporter and enabler. Parents are seen as an audience for Spot's various games where they look on and clap enthusiastically. They never disapprove of Spot's childish behavior as they did in previous videos. Most of the lessons Spot learns are now from his friends as he conforms to their behavior.

Among the `improvements' in this new version of Spot are new music and the introduction of a song in each short story. The music is annoying and the songs are worse. The songs are mostly sung by the child they use for Spot's voice who cannot carry a tune. The songs are poorly written and arranged, and the overall effect is extremely grating. Finally, at 75 minutes, this video is long for toddlers and interminable for adults.

On the plus side, there are a number of instructive lessons on various topics that help young children to learn practical lessons. The general tone is mirthful, so it is fun for kids to watch.

I rated this video a 3/10. My principal objection is the politically correct subtext. The parental role has been trivialized in favor of social conformity and group behavior. I feel that the older Spot videos were more constructive, emphasizing proper family values and dynamics, showing the parents as supportive but setting clear boundaries. The message here is that the parents' role is to make the child happy, and that most of life's important lessons come from peers. This reduces the parents to just another one of the child's pals, like Columbine killer Dylan Klebold and his dad, who described Dylan as his `best friend'. My recommendation is to purchase Spot videos produced in the early 90's before Disney started its attempts at using Spot for social engineering