Made in 2001, this is a children’s science program made fun. Based on the best selling book of the same name by David Macaulay, we get to explore the world of scientific principles in a fun and colourful manner.

Each episode runs for a simple 13 minutes and features the applications of science to projects the characters are working on. The characters, I should stress, all live on an unnamed island somewhere that is also inhabited by woolly mammoths (this could be any suburb surrounding my house, actually). This is no doubt to keep it all the more interesting for kids. If it were just this bunch of poorly voiced, poorly scripted characters using basic tools and implements I’m sure the thrill would evaporate at about Mach 2.

As an educational tool, this is no doubt successful, but it really only works on a level for the kids. While I found this basic explanation of science interesting, the delivery is a bit too youth-oriented and off-putting for one of my years. That’s not to say this couldn’t be watched and enjoyed by parents or guardians, it could be, but thankfully these episodes are doled out in 13 minute chunks and don’t get too long-winded. Any longer and I think their appeal would again disappear into the distance at a distinct rate of knots.

The video quality of this rather clean transfer comes to us in the TV friendly 4:3 ratio, so naturally there’s no enhancement. The colours are fairly moderate in tone, keeping the exuberant and vivid colour palette for less serious programs. Many earth colours are used and are well displayed in the all watercolour backgrounds, with the bulk of the rather average quality animation being digitally painted. There are some very well hidden 3D renderings as well, usually created for the machines the islanders are making and these have been skinned in the same style as the animation. There are no real film artefacts to speak of and the scene links are quite creative, resembling a diagrammatic book at times with exaggerated schematics and size ratios to help propel the information.

Audio quality is fine for the purposes required here, though this is where things start to sound a bit wonky. While the transfer is fine, the character voices are a bit annoying and amateurish in delivery, with no real acting abilities displayed. The script itself is a little dodgy and there are some interminable pauses between dialogue or conversation. The music too is repetitive and they’ve used perhaps six different riffs that start to grate after a time. These pieces are simple affairs with one instrument being utilised for the whole bit. Mostly wind instruments are used and this mostly includes the clarinet and saxophone.

There aren’t any extras included here with just four episodes on this DVD 5. The episodes run thus:

• Rolling Stones 13:03
• A See Saw World 13:04
• Take a Mammoth to Water 13:04
• Fun At The Fair 13:04

This is a good vehicle for introducing science to the youngsters and should appeal equally to boys and girls. The disc itself doesn’t offer much by way of value with only four episodes included, but fans of the series or book should enjoy themselves here. Just be wary of the incredibly annoying theme song that plays before each episode.