Amazon.com reviews for
"Bob the Builder" (1999)

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Bob the Builder - Bob's White Christmas (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Bob the Builder's infectiously optimistic battle cry ("Can we fix it? Yes, we can!") rings truer than ever in a very busy Yuletide in the delightful Bob's White Christmas. Already committed to play Santa Claus at a children's party, Bob finds that Christmas Eve gets a lot more complicated when freezing temperatures and a blanket of snow arrive. Suddenly, Bob and his crew--Wendy, Scoop, Dizzy, and the others--get an SOS from a snowbound Farmer Pickles, help Spud the scarecrow identify a mysterious "snow monster," and save some stranded critters. There's still time, fortunately, for snowball fights and gift exchanges, but the best part of this holiday is the camaraderie between a great bunch of friends. Keen characterizations and a happy, fluid animation style make Bob the Builder (seen on Nick Jr.) one of the best children's TV programs around. If anything, this Christmas special has even more of the show's vitality and good cheer. --Tom Keogh

Bob the Builder - Pets in a Pickle (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Can Bob the Builder tear his attention from his talking machines long enough to hammer out four animal misadventures and still keep kids ages 2 to 5 tuned in? Yes, he can! Pets in a Pickle is proof. Pilchard, mewing mainstay around Bob's office, picks up major billing in this 45-minute feature, pawing her way into two titles. In "Pilchard in a Pickle," Wendy worries when the blue-furred tabby turns up missing at breakfast. Come quitting time, she still hasn't surfaced. Tears get to trickling, but it's wasted water, as it turns out. Pilchard, of course, is the perfect size for getting scooped up and shuttled to the worksite. In "Farmer Pickle's Pigpen," Pilchard passes the friskiness baton to Scrufty the dog, a bit player in a mass miscommunication involving a lost cell phone and an abandoned batch of guinea pigs. Before you can bulldoze a Claymation building, Pilchard's back in action in "Pilchard Goes Fishing." Goldfish Fin, flung into a bucket while Wendy scrubs his tank, wants to get his gills back in gear, but Wendy's sidetracked when Muck the Truck bashes into the carport. Leave it to tabby to direct her attention back to the displaced fish. In the final episode, "Roley's Tortoise," it's a near catastrophe when steamroller Roley recognizes a slow-moving creature in his path; once he's out of harm's way, Tommy, rascally pet to townswoman Mrs. Potts, really comes out of his shell by hopping aboard Farmer Pickle's lettuce-loaded trailer for a gorge-fest. In the end, all wrongs are repaired, the requisite Bob the Builder result. Helping hands and handy hands are what cement this ever-so-friendly series. That this feature is spiked with four bonus mini-episodes makes an already likable Bob marathon ever more so. --Tammy La Gorce

Bob the Builder - To the Rescue! (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: There's no need to check your fears at the door when you enter the friendly workshop of Bob the Builder. Instead, this is the very place to confront and, eventually, flatten them, especially if you happen to be a little kid who's terrified of heights or the dark. To the Rescue! presents four adventures of the British series (seen in the states on Nick Jr.) interspersed with four miniepisodes, all featuring the most cooperative crew of construction machines you've ever come across. There's Lofty, a bashful blue crane who's crippled by fear when duty calls from far up; Muck, a lobster-red bulldozer whose engine sputters to a stall when he's supposed to pitch in in the pitch dark; Scoop, a yellow worker-bee backhoe; Rolly the steamroller; cement mixer Dizzy; Pilchard, the construction crew's pet kitty; smart-alecky scarecrow Spud; and boss man Bob and office worker Wendy, the series' sole people and mom and pop figures. Each highly predictable segment starts off with the gang gearing up to tackle the torn-up terrain at a new worksite. Soon enough, some tension-filled predicament that at first seems insurmountable--like when Bob is stranded after Lofty accidentally knocks down his ladder in "Clocktower Bob"--is steered toward a happy ending through chirpy votes of confidence and soothing words. Bob is apt to share his biggest fans with another yardful of yakking vehicles--Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. Both will rev the engines of motor-crazy preschoolers coming to grips with the tricky-at-this-age concepts of cooperation and problem solving. --Tammy LaGorce

Bob the Builder - Can We Fix It? (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: This dandy English import for kids is a winner. Bob the Builder is a spunky series for 3- to 6-year-olds combining two irresistible forces: fun characters and big mechanical things. Bob and his arsenal of friendly machines (Scoop the dump truck, Lofty the crane) have a can-do attitude in this brightly colored animated show; there's even a catchy theme song parents will hum along to with the kids. Nickelodeon brought Bob over the pond in 2001, and it became its biggest debut show ever. This 45-minute collection contains four adventures from the series. In "Bob's Barnraising" Bob and crew must race against the weather to help Farmer Pickle. In "Muccky Muck" Bob and the gang are up to their ears in gooey mud. Bob learns instructions are a good thing in "Wendy Plays Golf," and in "Magnetic Lofty" he finds good use for his talents. The educational merit is not always apparent in this series. But values of team building, keeping strong friendships, self-esteem, and enjoying your work come out effortlessly along the way. --Doug Thomas

Bob the Builder - The Big Game (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Bob's friend and co-worker, Wendy, is the star of the show in this installment of Nick Jr's popular animated program for preschoolers. The 45-minute feature includes four stories plus an additional four mini-adventures. The plucky blonde supervises the resurfacing of a road when Bob falls ill in "Wendy's Busy Day," saves the day when he bungles a painting job in "Wallpaper Wendy," oversees the construction of a soccer field in "Wendy's Big Game," and fixes a tennis court after Spud the scarecrow falls into wet cement in "Wendy's Tennis Match." In each story, Wendy and Bob are joined by their building machines--Dizzy the cement mixer, Lofty the crane, Muck the bulldozer, etc.--who contribute something unique to each project. Even when things go wrong, the colorful, industrious characters treat each other with respect, work together to resolve conflicts, and take time out to have a little fun after each job. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Bob the Builder - Busy Bob & Silly Spud (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Bob the Builder and his construction crew are diligent, effective workers, but Spud's numerous practical jokes bring progress to a screeching halt in this 45-minute compilation of episodes and mini-episodes. Spud's tricks take a cruel and dangerous turn in "Scoop Has Some Fun," while a sneaky prank teaches Spud an important lesson about responsibility and the consequences of one's actions in "Travis Paints the Town." "Wendy's Bright Plan" stresses cooperation, Spud daydreams the day away in "Spud in the Clouds," and Spud's counting abilities come into question in "Spud Goes Apple Picking." Travis gets some unwelcome help from Spud in "Travis and Scoop's Race Day," Spud learns the importance of heeding cautionary signs in "Sporty Spud," and Spud exacerbates Scoop's hay fever in "Sneezing Scoop." Leave it to Bob the Builder to teach children ages 3 to 7 about the fine arts of empathy and responsible practical joking. --Tami Horiuchi