Search - Baby Einstein - Discovering Shapes on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 2/3/2023...

A must for young babies!

A Better Shapes Video!

Mom of Two Boys | Georgia | 07/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have both of the Baby Einstein shapes videos (Baby Newton - All About Shapes and Discovering Shapes - Circles, Squares, and More!). Both of my sons LOVE the new video (Discovering Shapes - Circles, Squares, and More!). Baby Newton has never kept their attention but they are eating up the new one. The Baby Einstein group did a much better job with the new one. I highly recommend Discovering Shapes - Circles, Squares, and More!!!!"

Baby Newton minus the clown!

Mommyto2 | Virginia | 07/27/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This was Baby Newton minus the clown. I felt cheated, the format was so similar even my son picked up on it. No new material. He got bored after just a few minutes. I love the movies, my cildren learn a lot from them, but I think the producers got lazy on this one. (I have a two year old and six month old) We love doing the discovery cards together and learning new words, as well as watching the extra puppet shows- again nothing new for him to learn- and there were only three extra puppet shows...



I haven't been inpressed with the comapny since Baby on the Go, and for the record- I have seen, and own EVERY einstein dvd!"

A great way to bond with your child

Julie Neal | Sanibel Island, Fla. | 07/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Teaching simple messages at a gentle pace -- with vivid color, crisp sound and perfect focus and lighting -- the Baby Einstein DVDs just keep getting better. Assuming you're watching them with your child, and that you don't overdose him or her on video, they offer a fun and rewarding way to spend time together. This one, I think, is the best yet.



The 30-minute main feature consists of five brief lessons about five basic shapes -- circles, ovals, squares, rectangles and triangles. Each shape is explored using animation, photographs, video and puppets, which are all mixed together in a sweet, simple style that is never rushed but always interesting.



Here, for example, is what happens during the sequence on squares:



After a blue line draws itself into a square, the line transforms into a photo of a soda cracker, which itself is remade into part of a grid. Then a piece of bread becomes a yellow-lined square, which changes into a live-action waffle that's being chewed on by an infant. Next, a gentle video montage shows square glass windows, a little boy playing with a square toy, an overhead shot of two older kids playing checkers, toy blocks, a checkered flag blowing in the breeze, a mom tracing the edges of a box with her young daughter, kids peering out of the windows of a school bus, some square carpet remnants, a young girl playing with boxes, movers carrying cardboard boxes, Rhino the puppet drawing a square on a whiteboard, and finally a young girl jumping out of a box. The square segment concludes with Rhino doing some short, silly skits. Throughout it all, the audio is simply light music, accented by voices saying "Square!" every now and then.



(By the way, that's the first time I've ever written "live-action waffle.")



The disc also has some good bonus features.



I especially liked the "Discovery Cards" feature, a collection of still-frame sequences that review the shapes in the main video and introduce stars, hearts, diamonds and crescents. Each shape is shown just by itself, then with its name underneath, then with a voice pronunciation of the name, and then as part of a photo which shows how the shape exists in real life.



Similar to the skits Jim Henson did with his Muppets back in the 1960s, three 45-second puppet shows present sock-puppet animals squeaking their way through brief encounters with an "Enormous Egg," "Nesting Box" or "House of Cards."



Also included is a 90-second long "Locate the Shape" game, which presents still photos and asks viewers to find the shapes located within them, such as the rectangles that exist on the front of a house; a 3:30 "Story Time," which encourages viewers to find the shapes within the illustrations of the book Baby Einstein: See and Spy Shapes (Baby Einstein Books), a handy "Toy Chest" that identifies the colorful and creative toys used in the DVD; and a 3:30 Baby Einstein informercial.



The only downside: a commercial for "Einstein Pals," a toddler series that premieres on DVD next year. The one-minute spot is teased before the main feature, then, if you wait long enough, plays automatically afterward."