Yoffy lives on (Fingerbobs)

Name: kingseany

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Product:	Fingerbobs
Date:	23/06/04 (667 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 3 hours of TV!, Cheap, Bring back memories

Disadvantages: Yoffy is strange

Relive your wasted youth with the complete Fingerbobs! That's what the cover says on this DVD. I'm not sure my youth was entirely wasted, but I did wanted to relive some parts of it, and Fingerbobs was something I remember very fondly. We're talking the 70's, the early part of it. It must have been repeated many times though on TV, before they decided it was no longer suitable - as I always remember it being on.

You wouldn't have thought it, but there were only 13 episodes ever made, but I guess this is what makes it one of those special programs which didn't get spoilt by running out of ideas.

Yoffy, is a Canadian guy, a bit bald, but with a bushy beard, nice jumper and a neck scarf. He's got a smile, which I find a bit eerie, even now. He sings rather strangely too, perhaps even slightly scary at times. He's a genious with his hands though, making the characters Fingermouse (obviously a mouse), the seagull "Gulliver", the tortoise "Flash", and Scampi who I think is a shrimp of some sort. Gullivers head is made of a ping pong ball, the rest of them with various bits of paper or card. They are all quite cute.

Basically each episode follows the same kind of route. Yoffy wants fingermouse to go off and collect various items such as soft stuff, rough stuff, prickly stuff...you get the idea. This in itself is quite funny, fingermouse will ask a sheep for instance to brush up against a holly bush, so he can take some wool. The commentary is mildy amusing, in fact I'd say there are a lot of more adult humour in it that children will simply miss! There is an element of educational value in the stories, which follow the collecting of items, however it's not great, and many of the stories are just for fun. There are however some good ideas f
or you to try at home - drawing faces onto pebbles perhaps?

The DVD is split into Gullivers Stories (Bumpy, Stones & Feathers), Flash's Stories (Paint, Seeds & House), Scampi's Stories (Sounds, Wood & Shiny), and of course Fingermouses (Shadow, String, Shapes & Bricks). You can select individual stories, or play them all. The menu system is quite trippy in the colours it uses. When you select an episode to play, you'll get a short clip of it, bfore you press - play again.

As well as the 13 episodes, the DVD features some extras, although they aren't particularly exciting. Fingerbobs karaoke basically puts up the lyrics to some of the popular songs, so you can of course sing along - karaoke style. There are only 5 songs to choose from, my favourite being Gullivers....why worry, what's the hurry. The History of Fingerbobs is just several pages of text explaining how Fingerbobs came about. Fingerbobs Jazz Club is a short clip of the various characters playing instruments - it's a bit bizarre really. Create your own fingerbob shows you how to make your own - it's pretty simple with just some text and a shape you can trace on the TV.

The running time for this DVD is 183minutes! If your kids like it, just thing how much peace that will give you! If they don't like it, watch it yourself and just think how much peace you'll give the kids! At the moment, Amazon.co.uk is offering this for just £5.99, an absolute bargain!

Summary: