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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Save-Ums!, The-To the Rescue (2003)

Save-Ums!, The-To the Rescue (2003)

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Released 2-Mar-2006

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens None
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2003
Running Time 230:00
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Don Asher
Dan Clark
Richard Elliott
Betty Quan
Simon Racioppa
Cameron Ansell
Aaryn Doyle
Mitchell Eisner
Jordan Francis
Tajja Isen
Connor Price
Mark Rendall
Case Handle
RPI $19.95 Music Patrick Griffin
Blyskosz Andrew
Paul Hunter


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Title of Show : The Save-ums!

    Title of Disc : To The Rescue

    Year of Production : 2003

    Country of origin : Canada

    What's included? : 20 episodes, which is enormous for a kids disc.

    Episode Length : 11:30 each

    Details of episodes : 

      1. Untangle That Octopus!
      2. Runaway Toy Car!
      3. Dino Sandwich!
      4. Where are Winston's Glasses!?
      5. The Mystery of Winston's Garden!
      6. Operation Banana Split!
      7. Scary Things Don't Blink!
      8. Tina in the Sky!
      9. Save That Little Tree!
      10. A Rock in Winston's Garden!
      11. Operation Dino Diaper!
      12. Rescue Wonder Winston!
      13. Fix That Broken Drum!
      14. Brush That Dino's Tooth!
      15. Andre's Super Water Bubble!
      16. Catch That Falling Crab!
      17. Making Little Peque Safe!
      18. Andre's Hole in One!
      19. Oscar Has a Flat!
      20. Picnic Panic in Wave World!

    Style of Production : Computer animation

    Premise of show : Small is Powerful! A group of young heroes (average age 4) called the Save-Ums run a rescue service something along the lines of a pre-school Thunderbirds. They have a variety of flying, underwater and land based vehicles at their disposal when they are called out to rescue someone. The things which people need rescuing from are usually pretty non-threatening like tangled shoe-laces although some episodes are a bit more exciting like the one about saving a tree from a lava flow. There are six members of the Save-Ums, Noodle, Jazzi, Custard, Ka-chung, Foo and B B Jammies who are various odd looking creatures.

    Age Group : 2-6

    Related to any other children's shows? : Similar in concept to The Thunderbirds except designed for a younger audience.

    Adult's view : Not bad. I found the characters slightly over the top and a little annoying. It's probably a function of the very high enthusiasm levels which are normal for North American children's shows. This disc goes for over three and a half hours so it's probably too long to allow your kids to watch all of it.

    Child's view : My boys like it but tire of it quickly and tend not to want it if offered. So, good but not great.

    Other Releases of this show available? : This is the first release of this series in Region 4.

    Overall : Not bad, but there are better. The disc contains 20 episodes so is excellent value compared to other children's discs.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is probably the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was very clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was wonderful, rich and solid throughout.

    There was some minor aliasing and macro-blocking to be seen but the kids won't notice it.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. They are clear and easy to read.

     

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music by Will Anderson is very perky and gets annoying after a while.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    None, but considering that the disc contains 3 and a half hours of episodes you really can't complain.

Menu

    The menu was still and simple allowing for episode selection and subtitles.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    A similarly titled disc in the UK only contains 100 minutes rather than the 230 minutes on this disc. It does not seem to be available in Region 1. Region 4 is the best.

Summary

    A good but not great children's show involving small action heroes.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

    No extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, April 21, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Yamaha YST SW90 subwoofer

Other Reviews NONE