Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic DVD!
Review: Our 18-month old LOVES this DVD -- she knew all the Nutshell Kids songs because I grew up with them and sang them to her even before she was born. She was thrilled to see the songs she knows so well come to life in animation, and begs to watch them again and again. I like that the animations aren't slick and flashy, so they're gentle on her young eyes, and with closed-captions on, the video experience can be reasonably close to our reading experience (I don't want her to learn to prefer TV over our reading sessions!)
I thought she'd be scared by the monsters and the ominous music in Where the Wild Things Are, but, again, with the gentle animations (with pictures taken directly from the book), she wasn't frightened at all, and immediately started growling and stomping along with them!
Night Kitchen is a little trippy for my taste, but my daughter enjoys this one as well -- she now runs around the house shouting, "I'm Mickey!" Clearly, she is enjoying this DVD a great deal, and looks forward to watching it. We've combined it with the books to reinforce what she's watching, and together they've really added to her vocabulary. It also doesn't hurt that the DVD grabs her attention and gives us a welcome and guilt-free break!
Rating:
Summary: A must-own if you have children!
Review: Please disregard the negative review given by a previous owner here. This is a thoroughly-enjoyable DVD for children & adults alike. I've had no technical problems with the disc, and it is a wonderful musical/animation experience for young children.Maurice Sendak certainly has a unique writing style, and while I've seen people criticize his work for showing a bratty side of children, I can't say I agree. I like the fact that Sendak shows the children in his stories as little people with ranging emotions, not as little puppy dogs waiting for a treat or a pat on the head. The characters in his stories show anger, brattiness, sadness, and disobedience as well as happiness and playfulness, like all real children do. It's a refreshing change from the rampant political-correctness that pervades society today. On to the contents. The first chapter of the disc is, of course, " Where the Wild Things Are ", an all-time classic children's story, and the favorite of many children that grew up in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. I love Sendak's style of animation, which isn't full and overblown. Max is a tempermental little fellow that most children will be able to identify with. The Wild Things are both fascinating and repellant ( like many older relatives, which Sendak expounds further on in the extras feature ), and we all had a far-away place tucked into the back of our minds as children, where we could escape to when the parents came down on us. It's a wonderful tale, but the highlight is the muscial score & narration by Peter Schickele (who also is given the same duties for 'Night Kitchen'). The music sounds like it was made where the wild things are, and Schickele narrates with infectious enthusiasm, bringing life to the words, sounding as if he's telling his favorite story as well. Chapter Two features 4 musical vignettes taken from the chidren's film 'Really Rosie'. The music was composed and performed by Carole King, and is fantasic. "Alligators All Around" is the best of the bunch, a joyous romp through the alphabet. 'Pierre', 'One Was Johnny', and 'Chicken Soup with Rice' are also fun little tunes the kiddies will enjoy. The last chapter is 'In the Night Kitchen', an offbeat little story that strays from the norm. The tales centers around Mickey, who we eventually find out is responsible for delivering the milk which makes the morning cake.....it's a fun story, and you'll find your kids imitating the sounds of Mickey the Pilot's plane before you know it! Once again, Schickele brings a fitting score and enthusiastic narration. If you have children, buy this disc. They'll love the animation, the music, and the wonderful narration. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: If you like the book, you'll love the movie...
Review: Some people, unfortunately, have a difficult time with Sendak's subject matter (as is reflected by the mixed reviews below). All I can say is that the movies are very nice adaptations of the books. True, the animation and voiceovers are somewhat unelegant, but my two children (Boy-4, and girl-2) loved the books and now watch the DVD with great pleasure.
If the kids don't have a problem, perhaps the grownups should learn to lighten up a bit.
Rating: 
Summary: Inferior Product
Review: This is a strange DVD, and hardly makes me inclined to buy any more of the Scholastic series. It feels a bit scraped from the bottom of an intellectual property barrel, due both to the technical ineptitude of the DVD itself and the uneven quality of the material it includes. The DVD's navigation works very poorly, for one: at times, especially after running the "Nutshell Library" songs, the DVD moves on to playing material from the "Extras", starting with an interview with Sendak himself. If this happens, it is impossible to use "top menu" navigation to return to the main choices. The only way to get back to the main choices is to eject the DVD or skip tracks back all the way to the FBI warning. A viewer also cannot select individual "Nutshell Library" songs as separate chapters: you have to select the whole track and fast-forward through it if you only want to see "Chicken Soup With Rice", for example. The Nutshell Library songs are taken from the "Really Rosie" TV special and sung by Carole King. As the full "Rosie" is not available on DVD, this is almost worth the price of admission. The songs are as captivating as they were when the special first aired. I can only assume that there is a problem with the rights to the show itself, as a DVD of the entire program would make vastly more sense as a commercial product than this patchwork quilt of leftovers. The version of the "Night Kitchen" on the DVD is, well, ok. The voicing and musical accompaniment makes a certain amount of sense, or at least doesn't contradict the mood of the original Sendak. On the other hand, the voicing and scoring of "Where the Wild Things Are" is flatly horrible: discordant, crude, over-the-top, charmless. Both pieces of work are quite old and minimally animated. The extras are nothing special: a decent interview with Sendak, a version of "Wild Things" in Spanish. The DVD is not a good value, but it is almost worth having to have the Nutshell songs.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked on Chicken Soup with Rice
Review: This is a stylistically cool video, with unusual themes, sophisticated music, artful images and yet it is STILL a magnet for kids. We loved the Nutshell Kids "extras," especially Chicken Soup with Rice. When our two-year old gets cranky, I start singing this song and it always ends with a smile. Watching it, I felt the stories themselves were too abstract for young children, but it seems that that is part of the charm - it holds their interest long after the familiar storylines of Bob the Builder become soporific. This video really is art for children.
Rating:
Summary: One of my 2 year old's favorites, and mine!
Review: This is by far one of the best childrens videos we have, right up there with Wallace and Gromit for holding kid interest while still being pleasant for grownups to hear/see over and over and... Another plus is that the animated versions of the stories don't at all spoil or change enjoyment of the books for me or for my little boy. I found the Wild Things short a little jarring at first, but that wore off, and it never bothered my son. All the other shorts we have all loved from the first viewing, and are always happy to see again. I find myself humming the Nutshell kids songs when the video isn't on! Another plus is that the stories and songs are witty, original and fantastical without being saccharine sweet. The portrayal of the characters is very upbeat, there is nothing violent, mean spirited or sexist, and no rapid editing. I'm sure any kid who would enjoy the books, would enjoy this video. A great addition to the video library of any parent who needs kid vids that they can enjoy too.
Rating:
Summary: Great but incomplete
Review: This is fabulous, especially Carole King's songs on The Nutshell Kids. But [my local video store] rents a version that combines the Sendak stories, Henke stories, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and others. Buying these piecemeal is awfully expensive, but I cannot seem to find the collected version for sale.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent TV watching choice
Review: We received this DVD as a gift for my 3 1/2 year old son. We have most of the books in the stories so my son loved to see the characters come to life. The music is wonderful and I don't mind hearing it loud in the background. It is thoughtful and intelligently done and I feel so much better about my son watching something like this than most of the junk that is made today. I intend to buy all of the other DVD's in this collection and we will have many good chioces when it is time to watch TV.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful buy or rental
Review: We rented this movie from our Blockbuster for our 2 1/2 yr old who loved the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book, and he LOVES this video! It's even enjoyable for me as a parent.
One suggestion however is depending on your child, you might not want this to be a bedtime video, our son woke up with nightmates of Monsters after watching this pre-bedtime, so now we just make it a daytime/playtime movie.
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