Search - Real Wheels - Mega Truck Adventures on DVD

My 2 year likes this but ...

M. Baya | Ellsworth, ME United States | 10/30/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"He'd probably watch it if it were just the monster trucks without any narration. Having seen this DVD about a dozen times in the past 48 hours since it arrived I have come to some conclusions. Before I write my opinions as a 36 year old father, let me repeat again that my 2.5 year old enjoys this video (though just the monster truck one really, the other ones seem to lose his interest). I'm sure he'd give it 4 or 5 stars, but then again he'd do the same for a camcorder recording of some nearby construction jobs. Anyways...

I find these videos strangely inspiring, in that anyone with a nice camera and a person with no acting ability willing to ham it up as a host could make a children's video. Dave does a good job being a 'real life' Homer Simpson type character, making stupid very predictable mistakes and saying 'I shouldn't have done that!' which I'm guessing is a tag line for these videos. He acts as narrator and over-enthusiastic big kid host. Other comments have hinted this isn't Dave & Becky's first video, which is unfortunate cause I thought maybe this was a pilot and they had better repetoire and 'characters' in future episodes.

Here's the thing, over the years I have made some really dumb and silly unscripted camcorder videos with friends and I recognize ad lib dialogue and 'lets make a story from the footage we have' type productions and these reek of that. I can't imagine the production costs for these videos was more than a few thousand, possibly just a few hundred, dollars. It's also is clear they spent at most a day or two shooting each segment, if not just a few hours.

This is certainly better than some free videos I've found on the net when looking for construction, motorcyle and monster truck videos (for my 2 year old), and while others have complained about Dave & Becky fighting there's no real violence (just basically falling in the mud). It's also a good combo having construction equipment, monster trucks and tanks on one DVD, and I was glad the Tank section didn't get into too much war talk. However, while this video isn't horrible, it could have been alot better. After recently viewing some of the well produced PBS series 'Modern Marvels' and other documentaries about construction equipment and trucks, this falls far short of what it could have been. Even with a target audience of kids there is no reason to do something this 'cheap' in look and feel, and it's also just 'dumb' entertainment, no real effort in trying to educate in any manner (except for occasional 20 second bits where Dave rattles off data way too fast with no context). Occasionally an off camera narrator comes in and gives an overly enthusiastic and overly brief bit of information that puts things in more context. I just think they could have made a much better 'story' that would work better in the context of the show and if they spent a few more dollars and/or hours in producing this they could have made something that would catch adults interest and challenge kids to learn more about the subjects they are covering.

I'm sure Dave & Becky are rich by now considering the number of these DVD's they've probably sold compared to the low production costs, so who am I to judge on what makes a good video? I just thought I'd write my honest opinion while these videos were fresh in my mind.

So basically, it's dumb but fun for kids. It could/should have been better but since it's target audience doesn't have a clue of the difference between something that took effort and something half-baked, it's good enough I guess. I just was hoping for more."

Great for truck fanatics!

Midwest Reader | USA | 03/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My son is in love with monster trucks - this video has become his number one favorite video of all time. He would literally watch it 100 consecutive times if you allowed him to. This was money well spent."

Heaven for any child in love with construction vehicles

S. Coffman | Louisville, KY | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We purchased this for our son's 2nd birthday after he had seen it once on loan from a library. He absolutely loves the heavy construction equipment segment but isn't so interested in the other two segments. He literally barely blinks through the entire show. For us it is a blessing and a curse...it is our ace in the hole when we need to keep him occupied for a short time, but on the other hand he has a fit when he can't watch it over and over again! We love the fact that the video features real working equipment. It is quite educational!"

Great Video for kids

Jeremy Tucker | 07/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Our 3-1/2 year old will watch this 24/7 if you let him. Great fun for the kids (which is nice for mom & dad too)"