Hello Kitty & Friends 1 – Fairy Tale Fantasy

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Programs: C+

 

 

You have likely seen the over-simple phenomenon known as “Hello Kitty” all over books, T-shirts, purses, stationery and has been a huge hit with little media attention.  That may have actually helped keep the character and affiliated characters popular and appealing with those who want to over possess the simple feline.  Now she comes to DVD with a set of four cartoons in Hello Kitty & Friends 1 – Fairy Tale Fantasy, but it is not as exciting as all the hype surrounding the purrr-fect new franchise.  The four like-themed installments are:

 

Hello Kitty in Cinderella

Hello Kitty in Snow White

Pekkle in The Adventures of Sinbad

Keroppi in Robin Hood

 

Surprisingly, the character seems to have been around since 1976!  These cartoons are meant for half-hour commercial broadcast slots and were produced as early as 1989 and as late as 1994.  That would explain why they are monophonic and the animation is so simple.  Fans would call these vintage classics, I guess, but they are at least child-friendly enough.  They are also very basic and show their age, from the full screen image to the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on all four, so current fans not in the know may be taken aback by this.

 

I was also surprised with so much merchandise and other potential for expanding the character, there were no extras of any kind.  This should have been a golden opportunity to for fans to learn more about the character and the world she inhabits, but you get what you get here and it is enough to please fans and children for now.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo