Enchanting Magic (The Tweenies: The Enchanted Toy Shop (VHS))

Member Name: belfin

Product:	The Tweenies: The Enchanted Toy Shop (VHS)
Date:	22/04/06 (561 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Christmas fun for everyone

Disadvantages: Forced to watch it all year round

***Background***

The Tweenies are a group of friendly pre-schoolers who attend nursery and the show is mainly based on their time spent inside although you do sometimes get outdoor scenes when they visit various places. Max and Judy are the people who look after them whilst at nursery along with their dogs, Doodles and Izzles. Izzles is a more recent arrival though and doesn’t feature on this video that dates back to 2001. The 4 friends are Bella, Milo, Fizz and Jake and they all have very different personalities. This sometimes causes arguments, just like real children, but they always learn to work things out with a bit of give and take.

The Tweenies are a regular feature on Cbeebies and this video is made up of 5 episodes that were originally shown over a week before Christmas. It has lots of Christmas fun in it and songs at the start of every episode. One good thing is that you don’t have to put up with opening and closing credits for each episode so the story carries on really well.

***The Story***

It’s the last week before Christmas and the Tweenies are very excited about everything. Bella brings in a special toy that has been given to her by her grandmother, to show everyone, although the boys aren’t very impressed to start with as it looks just like an old toy shop. Bella explains, however, that it is in fact The Enchanted Toyshop and that you can visit inside it. Jake is confused as it is so small but Bella explains it’s all to do with magic.

“Close your eyes and in your mind
You’ll see the toy you’d like to find
So dream your dreams without a care
And your thoughts will take you there.”

***Penelope Pink***

Fizz is the first to the Tweenies to go inside and she is a little bit disappointed to find a dusty old, empty shop with no one around. It’s not long though before a friendly shopkeeper appears – who looks remarkably like Max. He tells her that the magical thing about this shop is that they may not have every toy but they will have the toy that her heart desires most.

Penelope Pink is a pop princess and a big favourite with Fizz who longs for one. She is taken down to Penelope’s size and finds out that the star has a bit of an attitude problem and doesn’t want to be kept in some little girl’s bedroom when she could be performing to the world. She damages herself and gets thrown away but Fizz comes to her rescue and ends up singing a song called “Knowing now how I know you.” You can recognise this immediately to be a reformed version of the old Abba classic “Knowing Me Knowing You.”

***Highly Strung***

Jake loves lots of toys but in his heart he finds that the toy he wants the most is a string puppet called Jangles. Another shopkeeper helps him looking very much like Judy. Unfortunately Jangles lacks courage to perform and is worried he won’t be able to perform properly when his puppeteer pulls the strings. Jake explains that he lacks “porridge” too as he is the youngest and smallest of the Tweenies but has an idea to help Jangles get through.

Together he shows him how to move without his strings so that he’ll know what to do when they are attached again. It’s not long before Jangles realises that he’s not so nervous and highly-strung after all.

***The Little Blue Plane***

Milo is a very confident and outgoing boy and thinks that small toy planes and suchlike are boring these days. His choice of toy is an action figure called Commander Cosmos. He gets sent to the shelf with Commander Cosmos’s spaceship on but he finds it is empty. He soon finds out that some children have left his lying somewhere and he can’t get back by himself. For this task he needs the help of Joffi, the little blue plane.

Commander Cosmos is a bit boring when Milo finally meets him and he realises that the super hero is not all he is cracked up to be. It’s not long before the two of them are flying through the air and see that Penelope Pink is also in danger. Milo soon realises that it’s up to Joffi and himself to save her and he decides that the little plane is much more fun to have around.

***The Mousehole Theatre***

Finally, it’s Bella’s turn and she wants lots of things for Christmas so she’s not sure about only choosing one toy. It’s not long though until she finds herself in an old, battered up theatre and it’s up to her to help repair it and put on a show. This isn’t really a problem with her being the bossy one.

She wishes she had other performers to help her and soon makes friends with lots of little mice who don’t know how to act or sing or dance. Bella helps organise them and it’s not long before she is telling them all what to do. Finally they are ready to perform as the Spice Mice with Bella taking on the lead role of Tinkerbella the fairy queen. Mouse Lake, The Rocking Mice and The Clowns all have their turn in the Mousehole Theatre.

***Christmas Morning***

We start with Newstime where all the Tweenies tell Max and Judy all about the Enchanted Toyshop and their adventures. Then they all say goodbye as the nursery prepares to close for Christmas. It’s not long before it’s Christmas Eve and Santa is wrapping the presents in the toyshop for all the children round the world and Starlight is sung for this episode which is very appropriate as all the stars are twinkling in the sky as they deliver the parcels.

In the morning the Tweenies all waken up and find presents in their stockings. They are all very surprised and delighted to get exactly what they wanted.

***My Thoughts***

I know this is a bit out of season for reviewing this but having watched it today for the 3rd time in as many days I felt I was very experienced at doing so. Also, it gives you plenty of time to look out for it if you want to get it as a gift for someone next Christmas.

My son loves this video and it has been very well worn over the past couple of years. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s near to Christmas or not with him, as he seems to like the magic and mystery of it all whatever time of year. Certainly Easter does seem like an odd time to watch it but there you go. He sings along to the songs at the start of every episode with great gusto. Five Little Snowmen is always a favourite and Doodles makes the perfect addition to the four friends. Also included is the more traditional, We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

He had seen this on television so when we saw this being sold off in one of the Blockbuster bins for 50p we couldn’t resist and it has been such a worthwhile buy as it has been watched on and off for the past 2 years. Just goes to show that videos can last quite well too.

Tweenies are great fun for the under 5s and have consistently been one of my son’s favourites as other characters come and go. The stories in this video all have a little bit of a moral too so your child with learn something useful as they watch. Really though, it’s just a lovely, magical story to watch over Christmas and adults with get a laugh from the clown who has a little bit like of a Woody Allen style about him. They will also see the funny side of the Spice Mice where younger children won’t have a clue about the reference to the famous girl band of old.

***Useless Information***

In doing some research for this review I found out that the voice of Jake and Doodles, is done by Justin Fletcher, who Cbeebies watchers will recognise from Tikkabilla and Something Special. It’s nice to be able to put a face to the voice.


***Price and Availability***

It’s quite difficult to get a copy of this video nowadays but it is still available for only £4.99 from an online company called Sendit.com. You can also get it 2nd hand from Amazon’s marketplace and Ebay.

Summary: Great value for your little Tweenie