The Tweenies: The Enchanted Toy Shop (VHS)

The Tweenies: The Enchanted Toy Shop (VHS) ... the BBC's "fab-a-rooney" foursome in their 95-minute fun-packed Christmas video Tweenies--Enchanted Toyshop.The toyshop is a magical dolls house which links the five episodes. The Tweenies individually enter the shop via their imagination. They shrink and then see the toy of their dreams come alive. Fizz befriends and sings with Penny the Pop Princess, Jake helps Jangles the Clown have faith in himself, Milo meets a true hero in The Little Blue Plane and Bella's aspirations are realised when she directs and stars alongside thespian mice in a theatre. The final episode goes inside the shop once more as Father Christmas wraps these very special presents on Christmas Eve.The video is visually stimulating throughout, with clever interaction between the Tweenies and the computer-generated shop and toys: Milo, looping the loop in his plane is not to be missed. Several themes run through the video, including the ideas that the imagination is a door to a fantastic new world, that appearances are deceptive and that one special toy at Christmas is all a child really needs. The pace is lively with the first four episodes kicking off with action songs including "Five Little Snowmen" (Doodles the dog is the fifth snowman) and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". The pace purposely slows in the last episode with a charming performance of "Starlight".Children will find the video amusing, particularly Jake's spoonerisms, and parents will appreciate humorous references to the adult world including a Woody Allen clown and an excellent pastiche of Abba. This is a sophisticated and colourful video that will captivate the under fives and entertain everyone throughout the Christmas period.--Tracey Hogan