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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.
Fifi and the Flowertots-Chocolate Surprise (2005)

Fifi and the Flowertots-Chocolate Surprise (2005)

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Released 6-Sep-2006

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Menu Animation & Audio
Karaoke- 5 Sing-Along-Songs
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2005
Running Time 50:28
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Tim Harper
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Jane Horrocks
Case Handle
RPI $19.95 Music Alan Coates
Kim Goody
Bridget Appleby


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 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 : Fifi and the Flowertots

    Title of Disc : Chocolate Surprise

    Year of Production : 2005

    Country of origin : UK

    What's included? : 5 episodes

    Episode Length : 10 minutes each

    Details of episodes : 

      1. Chocolate Surprise - Fifi is making a chocolate cake for a party but needs more eggs. Stingo wants to get some of the cake.
      2. Pip Learns to Dance - They are planning a disco but Pip reveals he doesn't know how to dance. Stingo thinks he's a great dancer.
      3. Fifi's Big Crunch Day - They are having a day where they only eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Bit preachy...
      4. Soup of the Day - Fifi decides to make warm potato soup on a cold day. Everyone wants to get some.
      5. Big Band Night - Fifi is putting a band together for a concert but Stingo wants to stop the noise.

    Style of Production : Puppet animation

    Premise of show : Has been referred to as Bob the Builder for girls. It is set in Flowertot Garden where Fifi Forget-me-not (voiced by the ubiquitous Jane Horrocks) lives with her friends. She is a flowertot (a flower with legs and arms) as are her friends Violet, Primrose, Poppy & Aunt Tulip. Also living in the garden are Slugsy (a slug), Stingo (a wasp), Bumble (a bee), Mo the Mower, Grubby (a baby), Pip (a gooseberry) and Webby (a spider).

    Age Group : 2-6

    Related to any other children's shows? : A bit like Bob The Builder but not that much.

    Adult's view : Very cute show which doesn't fall into the American kids show trap of being too much sweetness and light where everyone is always nice to each other. They have their squabbles and disagreements but it never gets out of hand. Would certainly appeal to girls more than boys but pre-schoolers of either sex will enjoy it.

    Child's view : My young boys like this show, especially the more boyish characters like Bumble, Stingo and Slugsy.

    Other Releases of this show available? : There are three volumes of this show now available locally.

    Overall : Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is excellent.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 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 bitrate is uniformly high.

    The colour was wonderful, rich and solid throughout.

    No artefacts were noticeable.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. They are clear and easy to read but summarised from the spoken word.

     

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 256 Kb/s.

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

    The music is very catchy and lots of fun featuring a poppy theme tune.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

Menu

    The menu included an intro, music, action and the ability to select episodes and subtitles.

Growth Chart

    A paper growth chart is included featuring all the characters.

Sing-a-long Songs (4:01)

    The theme song and four other songs with sing-a-long lyric subtitles.

R4 vs R1

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

    This disc is available in the same format in Region 2 and has not been released in Region 1.

Summary

    The third disc of a fun show aimed at pre-school girls.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is very good.

    Two decent extras are included.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Monday, November 27, 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

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