If you haven’t noticed super heroes are kind of a big deal. Those Marvel movies are hot tickets, and Superman and Batman have had success as well. Comic books seem to be enjoying a resurgence in popularity as well. Heck, Disney even bought Marvel and created a cross-over with “Phineas And Ferb” (which was really clever and fun). It’s not only recently that super heroes have had appeal. For kids especially there has always been an attraction. With the recent increased awareness it was only a matter of time before Disney Junior got into the action.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Super Adventure is the latest DVD featuring episodes of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” the preschool flagship program on Disney Junior. The traits are problem solving and social skills and there are some counting and other mild educational features, but by in large this show is much more entertainment than educational, and that’s alright. I don’t have anything against entertainment. This time around the DVD features the double-length episode “Mickey’s Super Adventure”. This is the central focus of course, and yes, it has the gang donning their super hero alter-egos.
Three additional episodes round out the DVD – “Aye, Aye, Captain Mickey”, “Mickey’s Mouskersize” and “Mickey’s Little Parade”. The thing is, there are a number of shorts that feature Mickey’s Mouskersize, but those are separate intersertials that are apparently based or inspired by this episode. These episodes are from random spots within the series’ run, and I could complain about how Disney is doing a disservice by not offering volume sets instead of this random episode release schedule, but it’s not like they pay attention to what would be best for consumers.
But is this a worthy purchase? The short answer is yes, and that is without reservations. In the titular episode the gang going up against Pete with the help of Professor Von Drake. If those name aren’t familiar to you then I feel bad for you. But it turns out Pete isn’t the main villain here. Megamort is behind the dastardly deeds that Pete is up to, and the emphasis is on teamwork and friendship – two things my house needs more of (what with 3, 6, 8 and 10 year olds).
The DVD itself runs just under 2 hours, which is a decent length, and includes 5 “trading cards” but I don’t see how they can actually be traded. And no, this isn’t going to spark the imagination of older kids the same way regular super heroes would, but it isn’t meant to. This is for the pre-school set and it does a great job of setting good examples and entertaining in an age appropriate manner.