Synopsis
Welcome to the Tarrytown aerodrome, where Jay Jay The Jet Plane and his friends hang outand learn life lessons. These lessons (the importance of friendship, of overcoming your fears, andso forth) are presented in a clear, gentle way. The animation in these 5 stories is a bit on theeconomical side.
Audio
The audio is 2.0, but you wouldn’t know it in the first story. Here the result is effectivelymono, even when it comes to the music. The subsequent episodes …how a marked improvement,with the music coming on strong. The surround FX remain minimal, though, handing almost allof the stereo effect over to the music. The dialogue is clear and distortion-free.
Video
Very strong colours stand out here, and young children should find this a very appealing discto look at — all kinds of bright, friendly primaries. The blacks and contrasts are equally strong.There is a slight degree of edge enhancement visible around the animated figures (and theinteraction between real humans and animated characters isn’t always seamless), but by and largethe disc looks strong.
Special Features
Parents, if your kids are Jay Jay fans, beware. One of the features allows you not only to playall 5 stories consecutively, but on INFINTE LOOP. I will leave you to work out the implicationsof this option. Other extras are 4 sing-along songs and 2 “Think About” moments. The latter is abit insulting to kids’ intelligence. “Have You Ever Thought About the Sun,” for instance, tellsyou that the sun rises in the morning. Really. Any tyke wanting to know such obscureinformation as, say, what direction the sun rises in, will have to look elsewhere. “Fun Facts,” visible on each menu screen, give a little background on the character or location shown on thatscreen. Then there are trailers for Stuart Little 2, Family Fun and Kermit’s Swamp Years. Themenu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
A gentle little series, whose big, friendly characters might well appeal to very young viewers.If they like it, your DVD player will play this thing forever.
Special Features List
- Sing-Along Songs
- Trailers
- “Think About” Moments
- Fun Facts
- Continuous Play
