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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.
Bananas in Pyjamas-Rock-A-Bye Bananas (1999)

Bananas in Pyjamas-Rock-A-Bye Bananas (1999)

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Released 7-May-2001

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Main Menu Audio
Featurette-Singing Time (23:09)
Web Links
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1999
Running Time 50:00 (Case: 75)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By David Evans
Ian Munro
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Ken Radley
Nicholas Opolski
Mary-Ann Henshaw
Jeremy Scrivener
Taylor Owynns
Shane McNamara
Emma de Vries
David Collins
Karina Kelly
Case C-Button-Version 2
RPI $34.95 Music Chris Harriott


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame 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 None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

    I had great difficulty in reviewing Bananas In Pyjamas-Rock-A-Bye Bananas. It is so aimed at a target audience of under five that it is not funny, and therefore there is really no way that we could possibly review this with the mindset of that target audience.

    The main programme is actually comprised of ten short episodes which go by the titles of:

  1. Rock-A-Bye Bananas
  2. Magic Tolstoy
  3. Tortoise Wedding
  4. Bananas Breakfast
  5. Sneezing Time
  6. Stepping On Cracks
  7. Stuck Inside
  8. Bedtime Bunyip
  9. Speedy Bananas
  10. Lulu's Yo Yo

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Okay it was made for television, and children's television at that, so the expectations here are not high. So really what we have gotten is not that bad. The transfer is presented in a Full Frame format and is of course not 16x9 enhanced.

    Whilst the target audience will not bother what the heck this looks like technically, the report still has to be made - and a decent enough report it is too. It is not the sharpest transfer you will ever see, but it is generally reasonably sharp. It would appear that edge enhancement has been used to improve the definition a little, but this really is only an issue in Sneezing Time, where I found the enhancement annoying. Detail is not exactly wonderful, but then again the relatively simple sets used do not require much in the way of inspection anyway. It is functional enough and certainly there is enough detail to convey what is trying to be conveyed. Clarity is acceptable and there is no really serious issue with grain here at all. You can forget about worrying about the shadow detail, and low-level noise does not appear to be a problem in the transfer.

    Whilst I would have expected a much brighter and more vibrant transfer than we have, in hindsight I guess that was an expectation that did not need to be met. The relatively limited colours on offer do not ask much of the transfer and what is given is enough to present the transfer well enough for the kids. It is pretty bright and cheery looking and that is all it needs to be. The colours are pretty solidly rendered and oversaturation and colour bleed are not a factor in the transfer.

    There did not appear to be any significant MPEG artefacts in the transfer. There are consistent problems with shimmer in the transfer, with plenty of straight lines showing a distinct lack of solidity. That was the extent of the film-to-video artefacts in the transfer, but it is severe enough to affect the overall look. There did not appear to be any serious film artefacts in the transfer.

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

Audio

    There is just the one soundtrack on the DVD, being an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

    The dialogue comes up quite well in the transfer and is fairly clear and easy to understand. Traditional ideas about audio sync can be tossed out here as there is no real reference point with which to measure sync.

    The contributed music comes from Chris Harriott generally, and obviously reaches no great heights - not that it was expected to.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is pretty much what was expected: serviceable without being especially memorable. There are no complaints about what we have here and it is free from any major problems. There is nothing in the way of bass or surround channel support.

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

Extras

    Not an awful lot on offer, but then again the target audience probably is not that concerned by the fact either.

Menu

    Nothing memorable, and not really aided by the audio enhancement.

Featurette - Singing Time (23:09)

    This is a collection of nursery rhymes and songs done by the crew, presented in the same format as the main feature. The kids will enjoy it...

Web Links

    Basically automated links to the ABC and Bananas In Pyjamas web sites.

R4 vs R1

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

    As far as we have been able to ascertain, this has not been released in Region 1.

Summary

    Bananas In Pyjamas - Rock-A-Bye Bananas is probably terrific stuff if you are under five. Whatever I might say about the DVD is irrelevant for the moment the kids see it for sale, you are guaranteed that they will demand it.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ian Morris (Biological imperfection run amok)
Wednesday, June 27, 2001
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-515, using S-Video output
DisplaySony Trinitron Wega (80cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationYamaha RXV-795
SpeakersEnergy Speakers: centre EXLC; left and right C-2; rears EXLR; and subwoofer ES-12XL

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