Rating: Summary: Baby Neptune doesn't quite float Review: My 16-month-old has been addicted to Baby Einstein videos for months, but she doesn't seem to like this one much. It does not have as many toys and puppets skits as the previous releases. It is lacking in charm as well. I notice in the credits that the production people are all different and Julie Clark is barely mentioned. I think she should come back to the reins here. It does have some great photography and I think my daughter will like it more at at older age.
Rating: Summary: Mesmerizing Review: This is our favorite of the Baby Einstein's series. It has beautiful underwater scenes of octopus and jellyfish. The music is soothing. The puppets are fun. Our 8-month-old baby is mesmerized by this video. Her favorite parts seem to be the otters and turtles swimming in the rivers. In addition, this video gives you many opportunities to interact with your child.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful! Review: I bought Neptune for our church nursery based on the editorial reviews I saw. The children were locked to it from the moment the cute octopus starts the music. We had some other Baby Einsteins which most of the kids were just sick of. This one has more real world scenes to it and seems more colorful than others. The music and visuals get the kids dancing like their in the choir. It's so funny to see all these little 12 month+ kids stop everything they are doing and start to jiggle! So we give it 5 stars all the way. Neptune is delightful and a must have. Praise, gratitude and peace.
Rating: Summary: A great addition to my Babies world. Review: ... From my little 14 month old girls perspective, this is one of the best Baby Einsteins yet. She stays totally enthralled with it from top to bottom. There are no scary scenes but I guess everyone is entitle to vent. >We got Neptune as a gift last weekend and were thrilled at some of the fresh changes. Frankly we were getting sick of the same old stuff, and felt Julie was pretty much over it. After all, her kids must be like 22 by now. Neptune was clearly put together with thought and love for kids. I expected to see dancing Goofy's or something, but there is none of the common Disney stuff here. It's got great scenes underwater, close up views of creatures most people might never see, and the puppets are as darling as ever. We even laughed at some of their humor. (Shelby) my girl dances to this like none other. She points at the fish, and even says "Beach" now! Thanks!!! That's my kind of teaching. She's probably watched this one 4 times in the last day and still can't get enough. I'm sorry that some sour grapes on line don't like it because it's different, but as an average mom, I think its great and so does my girl.
Rating: Summary: Good...but not Julie's greatest accomplishment. Review: Okay...I must admit that my son is a Baby Einstein junkie! He was very fussy until he was three-months-old and Baby Bach was literally the only thing that saved my sanity on some days. Now that he is past the one-year milestone, he has the entire Baby Einstein library. He particularly loves the Baby Dolittle tapes and will watch them again and again. We were happy to see a new title to add to our collection and waited patiently for the release date. I must say, I am a bit disappointed overall. First, the video seems a lot shorter than the other ones. Maybe it's because I bought the DVD this time and am used to the "commercial" at the end of the tapes. My son insists on watching through to the "commercial" on the tapes, as even they hold his attention. Second, the fast editing is more MTV than Baby Einstein. Our children have dwindling attention spans as it is. Disney's hands are ALL OVER this video. If you watch the Disney Channel, it's the same feeling. More substance and less flash would do this video good. Also, Baby Neptune lacks the panache of, say, Vincent Van Goat (Baby Van Gogh) or Jane (World Animals). Last, it just didn't seem to hold my son's attention like other Baby Einstein titles. Starting with Baby Beethoven, the new voice at Disney seems to have disturbed the organic quality of the original tapes. To be honest, I miss Sierra and Aspen on this tape. It helped with the "from my house to yours" feel of previous titles. The puppets also seem to be lacking in this video. The interaction of the puppets with other puppets or the children is charming on previous videos. On a positive note, I recommend the DVD for the repeat play feature if for nothing else. I don't stick my child in front of these tapes for hours at a time, but we often have them on in the background when we are playing together. Still, when you need a video babysitter to get the dishes done, having this option is a lifesaver! I look forward to the Little Einstein series in the works for older children. I think these tapes will be a touchstone for my child's generation, much like "School House Rock" or "Free To Be You And Me" was for mine.
Rating: Summary: Lovely, lovely DVD........... Review: We own all the Baby Einstein tapes. After Baby Newton I vowed never to buy another, just because the changes that Disney made were so different from the originals that my daughter loves (she's 2 1/2 now.) But I broke down and bought this because she loves water so much. I'm glad I did. It's become my favorite and she enjoys it a lot! The music is just beautiful, the colors and puppets are amazing, and it just has a nice flow to it (no pun intended)! All in all, I'm glad we purchased it, and will now buy the music CD for the car.
Rating: Summary: Different than the others, but not bad... Review: We own quite a few of the Baby Einstein series, so when I saw this in the store last week, I scooped it up, thinking 'wow, we've not seen this one before!'. While the theme is clever and it's a neat concept, this one did not seem to have as much attention grabbing music and viewables as some of its predecessors. Since my daughter is now 9 months old and loves to play in the tub, I thought this would be a big hit. She does enjoy Baby Neptune and will continue to watch it, but it's not as 'wow' as I thought it might be. I do like the fact that there is an 'aquarium' selection on the DVD, which was kind of neat, but all in all, we'll take Baby Van Gogh or Baby Mozart, if given a choice.
Rating: Summary: don't waste your money Review: Don't know what happened...maybe it was Disney buying the company...but this video is about as educational as Mickey Mouse. The original simplicity and close up scenes of the past videos that moved slowly and were just right for babies is completely GONE! There are no opportunities to teach my baby anything and no good reason to watch this video at all! My ten month old, who loves all the other baby einstein titles, was completely bored by this one and wouldn't watch for longer than a minute. Too bad.
Rating: Summary: Terror in 10 seconds; has Baby Einstein jumped the shark? Review: We own every Baby Einstein DVD and we were excited about this new one, having recently visited the New England Aquarium. Last night the family gathered to watch "the new movie." (We severely restrict our son's access to TV; the Baby Einsteins are a much-anticipated treat for him.) My 19-month-old son sat on Mom's lap. We expected to see what is on every previous show this company puts out. Folks who are fans of the Baby Einstein series may already know the ritual opening. First comes Julie's voice over an all-white screen with words, and she welcomes us to the Baby Einstein series. The sounds of the "Baby Einstein orchestra" is warming up in the background, then a gentle skit or other intro preceding the title. We pressed the "play" button. First the screen fades black. Then a loud anthem sounds and a 3D digital castle appears, with firework sparks shooting from left to right and back again. It's a 3D Tinkerbell! More music, more sparks, more pyrotechnics, and BAM! BAM! BAM! it's over. This is Disney announcing with Great Authority that they produced this show, with lasers and computers and God knows what else. My son literally shrank back in his seat during this and started to whimper. Then the show actually started, and guess what the first image is? A bright orange puppet of a fish, ZAPPING from one side to the other with a special digital sound effect. SWISH!!! It's gone. (This is a theme. Remember the gentle toys moving from left to right to connect scenes? Amp it up, baby!) ZAAAAP!!!! Mom later told me that my son had actually dug his nails into her forearm, almost to the point of bleeding. The opening montage and, indeed, the whole show, seems paced for children much older than the range on the box, and it seemed much louder than the others. There is a prolonged zooming helicopter shot of a coral beach, for example. (Ouch, said Mom. Her arm again.) After the opening, I stopped watching for enjoyment and started to watch for signs of other differences from the earlier installments. Plus I kept an eye on my boy, and he rarely seemed to lean forward with interest and excitement. He spent a lot more time shrinking from the screen, turning away slowly, and pinching Mom. There are quite a few differences from the previous DVDs; I really can't tell whether the current producers "get it." One mainstay has been an adult hand "playing" with a common toy. For example, placing rings on a stacker, or dropping balls through a toy castle, or opening the doors on a busy box. It is slow-paced and there are amusing sound effects. One sequence from this DVD that stands out in my memory was a collection of magnetic sea animals. First there's one. Then POP there's two. POP. Three. POP. Four. And so on, till a heap of magnetized, connected toys have filled the screen. Why not show the hands putting this together? How does jazzing up this very simple staple make the show better? On only a single viewing, I was able to notice that several "live" shots were reused, especially the vertiginous helicopter flight. My final rating is what it is because there actually are worse ones in the series. But parents, be forewarned: with Baby Neptune, Baby Einstein has jumped the shark.
Rating: Summary: Baby Neptune Review: Don't waste your money on this one. Believe me, my baby and I LOVE all the videos we have seen in the Baby Einstein series, but this one has to be the most boring one! The footage is great and the puppets are cute, but it just isn't that exciting to watch. It might be good to watch it just before a nap because I certainly felt like taking one during it!
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