Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Three New DVDs from Emmy-Award Winning PBS Kids Series, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks from Cinedigm (Review)

Disclosure:  I was sent samples from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  All views shared are mine and mine alone.

Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks

Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks

This Emmy® Award winning series is part of a global brand with broadcast partners in over 60 countries, including PBS Kids in the US from 2003 to 2008.

About the Show:

"In present day, Piggley lives with his three grandchildren and their mother. Whenever the children have a problem, Piggley tells them one of his many, many childhood stories as a moral lesson, with flashbacks to 1950s Ireland with Piggley, his friends and family and the lessons he learned. The stories feature core preschool themes including storytelling, relationships and importance of family.

Jakers! is a multi Emmy and BAFTA award winning CGI animated series produced by Mike Young Productions and distributed by Sky Vision."

Cinedigm recently released three new DVDs from this award winning series, including the following:


Synopsis:

"Learn all the legends of Raloo Farm with Piggley and friends!

Molly’s Dolly: A series of odd circumstances convinces Piggle that Molly’s new doll is actually a real leprechaun in disguise!

The Legend of Raloo: Mr. Hornsby’s tale of ancient Irish battles inspires the kids to act out their own crusade.
Lucky U: Using creativity and cleverness, Piggley and friends learn the true story behind the horseshoe Mr. Hornsby has hung on the schoolhouse door.

Searching for Shamrock: Piggley borrows a special wooden shamrock from Mr. Hornsby, but ends up losing it! Will he be able to retrace his steps to find it?"
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Synopsis:

"Get into the storytelling spirit with Piggley and friends!

No Girls Allowed: Piggley and Ferny join a “boys only” storytelling club.

A Little Bit of Something Extra! Extra!: The kids set out to write newspaper stories but make up exciting adventure stories instead.

Wish Upon a Story Part 1: Grandpa is a great storyteller, but on his birthday the kids decide to create a few stories of their own to tell him!

Wish Upon a Story Part 2: Piggley and friends learn the story of the original Raloo Rocket."


Synopsis:

"Sing and dance your way around the barn with Piggley and friends!

Song of the Banshee: Piggley and friends are frightened by a strange noise on the Farm until they discover it’s only Wiley the Sheep trying to lead his flock in song!

Rock Around the Cluck: Young Piggley discovers the joy of the new sounds of rock ‘n’ roll and is suddenly eager to go to school for his guitar lessons.

Return of Raloo Rockers: The Raloo Rockers must practice hard in order to be ready to audition for Uncle Buck’s Variety Express.

A Touch of Spain: The town throws Don Toro a special birthday fiesta complete with Spanish music, dancing, food and fireworks!"
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My Thoughts:

Did you happen to catch this television series when it aired on PBS kids between 2003-2008.  I vaguely remember my nieces and nephew talk about this show, but because I didn't have children until 2008, I wasn't watching PBS Kids like we do now. :-)  But, if Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks was still on PBS Kids today, we would definitely be tuning it, as its a great show for little ones.

Thanks to Cinedigm, fans of Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks and new followers can pick up the above three new DVDs to enjoy.  The show has a great story line that takes place both in the present and past and follow Piggley Winks, a pig from Ireland.  The present stories has Piggley Winks telling stories of his childhood  to his three grandchildren in flashback form during the mid 1950's in rural Ireland.  When the flashbacks do take place and we find ourselves watching Piggley Wink and his friends, Piggley is 8 years old.  We follow Piggley, his sister Molly and his friends as they do day-to-day activities, including going to school.  Everything Piggley does is an adventure.  Oh, and before I forget, if you are fans of Mel Brooks, you will be happy to hear him lend his voice to Wiley, a sheep who as subplot in each episode.  When I first heard Wiley speak, I had to scratch my head to try and remember who was voicing the character, as it was so familiar.

Like all PBS Kids shows, this television series did a wonderful job of not only entertaining kids with a fun story line, but also included things like feelings and life lessons, with a moral lesson that you can talk to your child about after each episode.  The episodes are about 25 minutes in length, which is perfect for little ones to stay engaged, without getting bored. Each of the three DVD's which recently released come with four full-length episodes on each DVD.


My girls quickly took to this animated series, as they both love barnyard animals and thought that Piggley Winks was cute. :-)  After watching each of the DVDs with the girls, I can see why this show was such a hit when it aired, and why it won an Emmy and other prestigious awards.   If you have children between the ages of 4 and 7 years, this is a television series now on DVD worth checking out.  Savannah and Bella are only 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, but have been enjoying and understanding the morals of each episode.  And, when my niece and nephew saw the girls watching it, they couldn't help but sit down and watch alongside them, and help talk to the girls about what the episodes were about and how they handle these types of situations in their lives. :-)  I love when kid-friendly shows offer the opportunity to talk about what they saw afterwards, and be able to apply it to their life.  We will definitely be watching these three DVDs again and keeping an eye out for future releases from the Emmy award winning PBS Kids series, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks.  

If you are lucky enough to have the Qubo Channel, check your local listing and see if this show airs.  A friend of mine who has the channel says she had seen it on this channel at 7AM and 2PM.


Disclosure:  I was sent samples from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  All views shared are mine and mine alone.

2 comments :

  1. sounds like a great show for kids!

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  2. This looks so cute I know a little one who would really enjoy this one and it's so affordable thanks for sharing.
    heather [email protected]

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