Another review: Nest Videos

Eliana wrote that some of the animated characters in the Nest series are "old fashioned" or stereotyping in their depiction of good and bad characters (bad characters with big noses and whiny voices, for example).

I suggest that if you decide to use a video from this series, preview it and call attention to such stereotypes, and why in this day and age we try NOT to do that!. Teaching children to critique the stuff generated by Hollywood is going to be more effective in the long run than isolating them from it. The older videos we have from this series begin with a disclaimer, explaining that the conflicts depicted in the series are not meant to be anti-Jewish. I'm not sure if the newer ones do -- I'll have to check.

Review of: Hanna Barbera "The Greatest Adventure" series

Overall rating: Thumbs down

Hanna Barbera's Greatest Adventure Bible videos were the first "great" animated series of Bible stories. Back when we had few if any choices, most churches used them. But today, we have many better choices, and this series seems very dated. Hanna Barbera was a major animated back in the day. They gave us Scooby Doo, for example.

The ethnic stereotyping of the Hanna Barbera "The Greatest Adventure" series is pretty bad. The caucasian-American kids are smart, but their foolish dark-skinned Middle-Eastern guide is always getting them into trouble. Same true for the "sinister" characters. The video story-telling also adds non-biblical storytelling around the adventures of the kids who have somehow been transported into the story. Not bad, but not always appreciated. The NEW SUPERBOOK videos use this same idea but do a much better job of using the story of the kids to add life application to the Bible story.

Peace,
Lisa

Review updated with additional details by Moderator