Timon And Pumbaa Safety Smart About Fire

[Liliane Hubright]

Togetherwith Timon (voiced by Bruce Lanoil) and Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), students will learn a variety of safety topics including fire safety, online safety and environmental safety that will help them to avoid being injured, live problem-free, and be safety smart. At the end of each episode, Timon and Pumbaa sing a musical number that reviews all that's been learned from the episode in question.

The Walt Disney Studios' home entertainment division has revealed itself to be rigid and systematic in recent years. The company has limited DVD releases to the latest theatrical films and ABC television series, evergreen animated properties with long-guaranteed audiences, and new/popular preschool and tween Disney Channel franchises. Beyond those classes, the occasional father-friendly sports drama will turn up on the much-touted Blu-ray format, while any live-action title that could ever be called old or obscure might be relegated to second-rate status as a Disney Movie Club exclusive. But, as any devoted Disney fan can tell you, there's a lot more to the studios' library than what's been offered lately. There's also more being offered than Disney fans may know about.The Disney company fan base may not be the chief target audience of Disney Educational Productions, a division which makes DVDs tailored for Kindergarten to Grade 12 classroom use, but it is one which should definitely be interested in learning of the rare, narrowly-distributed discs DEP has been putting out. Meanwhile, educators with an appreciation for Disney entertainment should relish this programming that imparts values and enlightens with the use of Disney characters and theme park attractions.Disney Educational Productions traces its origins back to the 1940s, when Walt Disney and his animators began producing educational shorts for various U.S. governmental departments during wartime efforts. This century, the division has amped up efforts to create hundreds of DVD titles that deliver both educational and entertainment value. Some DEP discs, dubbed Classroom Editions, take widely-available movies and supplement them with exclusive content that informs on such topics as math, science, social studies, and language. Among the titles given such treatment are Pixar's WALLE, The Chronicles of Narnia films, and a number of Wonderful World of Disney TV movies with literary and/or historical roots. High school-tailored Classroom Editions bring a similar approach to ABC News reports on various contemporary and historical social issues. Other DEP DVDs are completely original creations. The six subjects of this review, released from February to April 2009, fall into this class. They employ Disney characters, locations, and personalities to teach science, safety, and healthy habits.If you're not accustomed to ordering such media for school use, you'll notice a couple of things right off the bat. The DVDs are short. The feature program runtimes of 11-31 minutes ensure a complete viewing is easy to manage even in the shortest of class periods. They're also pricey, as far as DVDs go. Prices range from $39.95 to $49.95, but those rates include public performance rights. (In the fine print of standard DVD copyrights is a clause limiting to private home use, although there are two legitimate exemptions.)Read on for a closer look at three Science of Disney Imagineering programs, two Wild About Safety: Timon and Pumbaa shorts, and one Bill Nye the Science Guy title, all now available for purchase.

As is evident from the series' title, The Science of Imagineering DVDs (Grades 4-8) illuminate the scientific properties in use at the assortment of fun attractions in Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks. These programs subscribe to the philosophies of "Beakman's World" and Bill Nye, which is that science is best enjoyed and absorbed with regular doses of humor.The Disney park experience doesn't often translate well to video. Whether they're costly commemorative souvenirs or free trip planners, the company's official park DVDs end up feeling slick, promotional, and shallow. Even television content set in the parks -- be it a sitcom vacation episode, an ABC special presentation, or the aired-around-the-clock footage of Disney hotel channels -- comes across as trying to interest you in a trip.It is no small relief, then, that these Science of Imagineering DVDs don't play out the same way. The first one I watched, Fluids, struck me for truly keeping educational value as its foremost goal. Had I watched Design and Models first, I may have had a different initial impression. This installment focuses squarely on the latest and next park attractions and perhaps inevitably shows more of a marketing hand at work. The third volume I reviewed, Energy, fell somewhere in between, meeting the expectations the other two led me to form. It can't hurt that even when promotional restraint is exhibited, seeing fun rides in action makes a person ready to visit the parks. An unspoken goal may be that these DVDs in some way lay the groundwork and educational justification for taking a class trip to Disney World/Disneyland.The line's greatest strength is Asa Kalama, a research and development Imagineer who hosts these programs. Kalama is charismatic and witty, but he also shows a genuine interest in the subject matter, elevating him above the actors of vacation planning guides who exude phony enthusiasm.Kalama's hosting duties give him a mix of direct camera addresses and on-site interviews of fellow Imagineers. It's unclear how much of the latter chats are scripted and how involved the interview subjects were in the ride design process. These thoughts won't ever enter the minds of most middle school-aged viewers, however, as they should be far more interested in seeing the attractions and learning how they employ scientific principles with which they're hopefully familiar.Spicing up the series is the use of simple, humorous black and white stick figure animation, the subjects of which (monkeys, a cow, a caveman) get a spot on the DVDs' covers. How does the 15,000-ton Mark Twain Riverboat stay afloat the Rivers of America? How do hydraulic fluids power Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur ride? How can we see buoyancy in action at Epcot's Finding Nemo aquariums? What makes California Adventure's Grizzly River Run run? Fluids (26:52) answers these and other questions. Asa defines fluids and their properties. Also, in the most original sequence, he comes up with an idea for the Pneumatic Food-Matic 5000, a device inspired by the tubes that transport deposits at banks. He reasons that using differing pressures could quickly deliver park guests their meals anywhere they are.More theoretical than practical, Design and Models (30:34) feels like more of a behind-the-scenes of Disney World than a study of scientific principles. That makes it less useful for classrooms, but of greater interest to Disney park fans. The program turns our attention to the latest attractions. It deals with Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest at greatest length, addressing the models, computer planning, lighting and sound design that shaped the roller coaster. Next, we look at Toy Story Midway Mania, learning how the interactive 3-D experience was developed first with plywood and a paper towel tube and perfected through extensive use of "playtesting." Our closing moments provide a taste of CarsLand, an environment based on Pixar's much-merchandised 2006 hit that is anticipated to open in 2011 (alongside Cars 2) but presently being dreamt up with models and virtual reality. In the opening scenes, Asa explains the problem solving process (brainstorming, acknowledging constraints, and so on) with a hypothetical scenario involving tutu-wearing monkeys invading a living room.While Energy (24:12) opens at Expedition Everest, fears of retread ground and recycled material are quickly allayed. Asa explains the concept of energy, with a caveman reference and animation. Then, he takes us to see it in use at various attractions. The first stop is Fantasyland's Mad Tea Party, where the spinning tea cups illustrate the transference and conservation of energy. Then, we climb up and go down the giant water slide at Blizzard Beach's Summit Plummet, an exercise which clearly demonstrates the relationship of potential energy and kinetic energy and how it applies to slide design. A short visit to Test Track touches on electrical energy, one to the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage mentions the ride's environmental friendliness, and Epcot's solar panels are discussed. Then it's back to Everest, where potential and kinetic energy are again tackled, this time in terms of the ride's story and design.

We're all familiar with instances of celebrities and brands selling out. There's certainly potential here for the beloved, ordinarily carefree sidekicks from The Lion King to lose their charm while preaching their causes. Gladly, that's not the case in these new Safety Smart shorts sponsored by the Underwriters Laboratories.These two inspired cartoons, the second and third in the line, somehow feel right in using the sarcastic meerkat and hefty warthog to convey valuable ideas about staying safe and being good to the planet. Here, clipboard-wielding Pumbaa comes across as the safe one while impulsive Timon needs guidance. The entertainment value makes the didactic nature of the shorts easy to take and heed. Children are sure to pay attention to this goofy duo and remember the lessons they share. The animation by Duck Studios obviously isn't on par with the original film and it's clearly limited, but it's faithful to the universe (one director/producer Dave Bossert worked on as an effects animator) and appealing enough. The voice work is solid as well, with Ernie Sabella returning as the warm Pumbaa and Bruce Lanoil doing an adequate job of channeling Nathan Lane. Frankly, the productions are more satisfying than some of Disney's direct-to-video sequels, Lion King ones excluded. Each short closes with a song that reviews the lessons learned. Via an early line, each one also features a callback to the pair's memorable anthem "Hakuna Matata."In Timon and Pumbaa: Safety Smart Goes Green! (11:47), Pumbaa teaches Timon to properly dispose of his empty water bottle. When they discover their favorite vacation spot has dried up, they talk about other ways to conserve energy, like turning lights off, reducing, reusing, and recycling. This reminded me of the Circle of Life short film that's shown in Epcot, only without Simba and those bike-riding '90s girls.Timon and Pumbaa: Safety Smart in the Water! (11:38) follows the friends as they prepare for some outdoor swimming. In the process, Pumbaa tells Timon and us about the importance of sunscreen, life jackets, treading water, walking (not running) around pools, and not going to the bathroom in the water. Once again, humor effectively keeps this from being blandly instructional. Anyone who recognizes the clever homage to Disney's Little Mermaid will appreciate it.

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