Baby Miracle - Noah's Ark

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful video for babies!
Review: I actually decided to buy this from Amazon.com after seeing it in a retailer next to the Baby Einstein videos. I had never heard of it but was intrigued by the Bible stories and music. My one year old cannot get enough of the amazing footage of animals. I love that this video has all different kinds of songs that I grew up with - from kids songs to church songs. I am also excited about what this company is doing and I see they have another DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A truly Christian oriented video
Review: I bought this video with no knowledge of the brand, but I was really attracted to the fact that it is Christian-oriented. While I do have some other baby videos (Baby Einstein included of course!) I found this one unique.

What's great is that my 2 year-old and my 3 year-old love the video and that makes me happy because it not only teaches them about a wide range of animals but also introduces them to some of the songs I learned when I was little.

It's true that the Christian "choir" is not entirely perfect, but it sounds like a bunch of average kids in class singing which I don't mind because it sounds real. And my toddlers love it because I think it sounds like them!!!

I agree that in some place there is some repetition of footage, but my kids don't seem to mind and actually when I watch it with them I just point out the animals when they come back again.

What I like is that unlike the Baby MacDonald and Baby Noah videos (both of which I own), this video actually tells the story of Noah. It's such a great Christian children's story and I think this video is a great way to bring it to life. I definitely recommend this video and I appreciate its realness.

Rating:
Summary: awesome video for babies
Review: I gave the Noah's Ark video as a gift to my friend's 8 month old and she loved it. My friend said that her daughter loved the different animal segments, and that she was happy to share the story of the Covenant with her. Her child particularly loved the segment with the dove and the rainbow. This is the first I have seen a video for babies with Bible stories and I just love it.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and Educational
Review: I was very pleased with the Baby Miracle videos. I found them very educational. Noah's Ark is definitely a favorite with my child. I love being able to introduce them to the Bible through famous stories. This video teaches all about animals and my baby loves it. Very entertaining! Thumbs up to Baby Miracle. I look forward to seeing more videos from them.

Rating:
Summary: baby loves it!
Review: My baby has watched Baby Einstein for the past 4 months but I decided to try Baby Miracle since it had some Christian music and used stories from the Bible -- I thought it would be interesting to try. My baby just loved it! I am not sure if she liked the story-method they used or just the vivid imagery. I highly recommend this to parents. Even though I am not all that religious, I am happy that my child can watch a Christian-themed video and become more comfortable with her heritage.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Baby Einstein Knock-Off
Review: My family has been fans of the Baby Einstein videos since my 3-year-old twins were newborns. We have almost all of that company's videos and my kids love them. So when I saw the Baby Miracle videos in the store yesterday, it caught my attention. I immediately recognized that they were videos made to look similar to the Baby Einstein videos, but with a Bible-based theme. I loved the idea of using the Baby Einstein-format of children's videos to tell the story of Creation and Noah's Ark.

After watching the Noah's Ark video this morning I am very disappointed. Yes, this tries to follow the same format as the Baby Einstein videos, incorporating nice-looking stock footage of animals, animation, close-ups on toys, puppets, and children playing. This production, however, is not nearly the same quality as the Baby Einstein series. The pacing is rough. Some segments go on WAY too long and other clips are cut right on the action. For instance, they show us some toy dogs. Just as one dog is doing a flip, they cut to a different shot. I know enough about quality video production to recognize sloppiness when I see it.

Another major problem I had with this video is the repetitive recycling of images. The "bear" and "horse" segments are particularly bad. To stretch out those segments some video clips are used 3 or 4 times! One clip of some horses running towards a barn (a clip that is also used in the newest Baby Einstein video - Baby MacDonald) is used twice and then used twice again with the image flipped. Every shot in the 1-2 minute bear segment is used at least twice and a number are used three times. There are other clips that look like someone took their video camera down to the local zoo and started shooting. They just don't have the same picture quality as the other film clips. There's even a close-up on a giraffe's head that is completely in shadow. If we weren't in the giraffe segment, I would have had NO idea what this black object was on the screen.

The music isn't up to the standards set by the Baby Einstein series either. Yes, there is some Mozart and other classical music. But there is also a number of instrumental versions of Christian praise & worship choruses or Christian children's songs. That's fine used 2 or 3 times. When the same short chorus is repeated 7 or 8 times in a row, it gets a little trying. And I hate to say it, but the children's choir at the end singing "Arky, Arky" is very difficult on the ears. Some of the children are yelling out of tune.

As someone who studied video production in college, it was very tempting for me to see the Baby Einstein videos and say "Why didn't I think of that!" or "I could do that and make a mint too!". This Baby Miracle video has shown me that the folks who put together the Baby Einstein videos worked very hard to produce high-quality edutainment for my children and not just anybody could do this. The Baby Miracle folks, unfortunately, have tried and failed miserably. It won't be long before this DVD finds my trash can.

If you've never seen any of the Baby Einstein videos, you might think this Noah's Ark video is nice for your children. If you're already a fan of the Baby Einstein series, don't bother with Baby Miracle.

Rating:
Summary: Nephew Loved Video
Review: My nephew of 18 months could not keep his eyes off the video. He has seen other children's videos but this one really caught his attention. I bought him Noah's Ark to help introduce him to some bible stories. I thought the video provided a strong message, had terrific music and a great variety of animals. There is a dove seen in the video that Jon is mesmerized by. I have recommended this video to all my friends and am looking forward to Baby Miracle's other videos.

Rating:
Summary: Bad rip off of Baby Einstein with good intentions.
Review: Pros: It starts with 'Baby Miracle Learning Company presents...' with vibraphone background music, which is very similar to Baby Einstein. It then shows a moving picture story of Noah (not animation) narrated by a child. Then it goes through clips of wild animals, farm animals, birds & butterflies, bees, bugs, and a dove with puppets & children appearing between the clips. The children come from many different racial backgrounds. The child narrator says the name of each animal at the beginning and at the end of each segment. The background music consists of classical, children's & gospel music. Great song at the end (Arky Arky).

Cons: I wonder who chose & grouped the animals. I don't expect it to be done by a zoologist, but the grouping is really weird even to those who don't know much about animals. For example, gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and other monkeys are all labeled as "monkeys." All different kinds of birds & bugs are also presented only under general names, "Birds" and "Bug." When they go through wild cats, they name each animal specifically - lions, tigers, cougars, bobcats, cheetahs, and ocelots (Ocelots? Who talks about ocelots??). I wish they did that for the other animal groups as well.

The quality of music is low, too. It's mostly piano music and synthesizer orchestra music. It's clear that the children are not professionals. They sound like bunch of neighborhood kids singing the song on top of their lungs.

Overall: My boys (18 mo & 3 yr) like to watch it, but this is the only video they don't mind me turning off in the middle.

Rating:
Summary: interesting new product
Review: The Baby Miracle line is pretty unique in that I have not seen any baby videos that tell Bible stories like these do. Noah's Ark is good and has beautiful footage of animals but I would say Story of Creation is just a bit more lively for my baby. It tells universal Bible stories so it's very appealing to a range of parents from very religious to less observant. It's a great way to introduce your child to popular children's songs as well as classical music. My baby really enjoys it!