Review: Get batty with Disney's 'Vampirina'
Posted Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 12:00 PM Central
by John Couture
If it wasn't enough for Disney to have the eternal hook to our kids' hearts thanks to their theme parks and numerous classic animated films, they have rapidly developed animated TV properties that resonate with kids of all ages. Whether it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins or Elena of Avalor, Disney has shown a great ability to adapt new and existing properties into entertaining fare for the little ones.
Enter Vampirina.
Based on the books "Vampirina Ballerina" by Anne Marie Pace, the Vampirina show debuted on Disney Junior this past October 1 and it was an instant hit in my household. Before I knew what had happened, we had a trove of Vampirina episodes saved to our DVR.
Needless to say, that when the chance to review this DVD, nay the opportunity to become my daughter's hero for a day, came up, I was pretty excited and well-prepared. There is something about these animated Disney TV series that makes tolerable for repeat viewing. If you have kids, you know how important this quality is to a happy life.
Disney did roll the dice a bit with Vampirina. While Disney is pretty good at rolling out the DVD while a new series is hot, I do believe that the 16 days between debut and DVD release is a new record. I get it, they want to leverage the upcoming Halloween season to sell as many DVDs as possible. My daughter certainly isn't complaining and I get to free up a bit of my DVR's storage space.
The general premise is simple, yet familiar, territory for Disney. It's the classic fish-out-of-water tale with a bit of a ghoulish twist. While the original books included the interesting (and rhyming) ballerina aspect, it seems that Disney has dropped that part completely so as not to restrict themselves.
The end result is a product that paradoxically feels new and familiar at the same time. Gone is the rhyming gimmick from the books, but the simpler title is a fair tradeoff. The DVD contains the first four double episodes which have all aired on Disney Junior, but already the potential for world-building is there to give Vampirina a life long past the end of October.
The one potential negative that I found with the Vampirina DVD offering is that it is a bare-bones (no pun intended) offering. In the past, Disney has prided themselves on including bonus features on the DVDs of their animated TV product. Additionally, many of them actually include a trinket or toy of some sort that relates to the series.
This offense is forgivable given that Disney was most likely rushing the product to market to capitalize on the spooky holiday season. However, they have created online "Bat Chats" that go into a bit more depth of each episode and I'm surprised they didn't at least include a few of them on the DVD.
At the end of the day, the simple verdict on this DVD is whether it brings a smile to my daughter's face. When I brought this DVD home, not only did she smile, but my daughter gave me a big hug and then proceeded to watch the DVD about three dozen times.
Did I mention that the ability to hold up and not irritate with repeat viewings being crucial? Vampirina is now available on DVD and makes a great holiday addition to any household with young children. The neat thing is that after watching the DVD, you can immediately search out new episodes on Disney Jr.
