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STUDIO: Brandissimo
MSRP: $14.95
RATED: NR
RUNNING TIME: 66 min.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- MTT Salutes Junkboy
- Storyboards: Race Relations
- Toddworld episode: Super Sophie
The Pitch
Its educational monster truck cartoons
The Humans
Cameron Ansell, Scott McCord, Rosa Laborde
The Nutshell
L.T. and Meteor are young monster trucks who learn valuable lessons about life.
The Lowdown
As someone who lives in the Midwest, I know how popular many redneck sports are to people in this area of the country. Whether it is Nascar or to an even lesser extent, Monster Truck Derbies, nothing makes a redneck happier than fast cars and big trucks.
As a result, it would be easy to assume that nothing would make a redneck’s kid happier than a cartoon about fast cars and big trucks. It was partially proven with Pixar’s latest feature Cars. With over $400 million worldwide, it is obvious the attraction to cars driving in circles attracts more than just guys who live in a trailer park.
So while their parents can rejoice to the pleasure of watching their hero Larry the Cable Guy conquer Mexico, their kids can sit at home and learn the lessons of life with the animated cartoon, Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks.
Maybe that is a harsh sentiment. I guess that comparing Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks to Larry the Cable Guy might cast a dark shadow over a relatively decent cartoon for young kids. While I would never wish upon my worst enemy to sit through a movie involving Larry or his redneck ilk, I would not be against sitting my kid down in front of a TV to learn important life lessons from Meteor and his friends.
Meteor is an expeditionary space rover monster truck who spends time playing with his friends. Those friends include L.T., the son of the legendary Bigfoot himself and his sister Zooey. Also at his side is Jose, a monster-truck-style fire engine, Pony, a pink female monster truck and Junkboy, a monster-truck-style garbage truck. Together, the trucks go to school together, race against each other and learn valuable life lessons throughout ten minute cartoons.
Six cartoons are presented on this DVD set and include teaching kids about taking responsibility when you do something wrong, being responsible when you are put in charge of doing something, not getting into something over your head that could get you hurt, as well as two episodes about conquering your fears. The lessons are not overblown and the story is simple, yet entertaining. The cartoon is a great supplement for your kids and teaches them great things while never lurking to the depths of some cartoons that also like to add in items that really are not suitable for youngsters. I would say this set is geared for younger elementary students and toddlers, but maybe might be a little too simple for anyone over, say the age of eight.
The DVD set is called the first volume, but does not start from the beginning of the Meteor cartoon. In the start, there was no Bigfoot involved. However, over time Bigfoot made his appearance and things grew into what we have on display for us here. I also do not believe that this set is in order, as in the fourth episode it seems Meteor meets Bigfoot, but on the second episode the two share a few moments in scenes together. I’m not sure how the DVD is supposed to be organized, but as it is for kids, I guess it really doesn’t matter.
Even if you are not familiar with the popularity of watching giant trucks jumping ramps and smashing onto the tops of cars, the way it is displayed here is entertaining for younger audiences and in no way dumb’s things down. It is a smart, intelligent show that teaches without pandering. It’s nothing special, but for an educational tool there are certainly worse.
The Package
All the episodes are presented in their original full screen ratio from its television exhibition.
Monster Trucking Today is hosted by a monster truck named Dynamic Dan. He is looking for the next monster truck superstar. He talks about Junkboy, describing his specs, his special features and his history. It also includes fake television commercials throughout the special. There are storyboards, where they present an entire episode called Race Relations. The episode shows Meteor’s first day at school where he meets all his new friends, all done with drawn storyboards instead of animation. It is kind of cool from a filmmaker perspective but seems to be a strange addition for a DVD geared for kids. Finally, there is a bonus episode Toddworld episode called Super Sophie. Toddworld is an animated children’s TV program about the adventures of a boy named Todd and his friends. It is a geared towards VERY young children.
6.9 out of 10