DVD Review: Merry Christmas, Olivia

Olivia: Merry Christmas, Olivia

Available: October 5, 2010 from Nickelodeon Paramount Home Entertainment.

SRP: $16.99

DVD running time: 95 minutes

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Based on Ian Falconer’s award-winning titles, Olivia follows a 6¾-year-old dynamo who believes she can do anything and sees every day as an opportunity to try new things.  Her vivid imagination takes her on grand adventures, both real and fantasy, which sometimes result in endearing misadventures.  Olivia’s confidence and positive nature inspires kids everywhere to think boldly and follow their dreams. This movie marks the first ever Olivia holiday release!

DVD SYNOPSIS

This DVD features several holiday and winter-themed episodes:

Olivia Claus

It’s almost Christmas, and Olivia and Ian can’t wait for Santa to come.  But there’s one thing that Santa can’t bring—Olivia’s lost toy, her beloved monkey Mathilda.  Olivia imagines herself to be a Santa Claus who returns lost toys.  On Christmas morning Olivia finds new gifts under the tree and Mathilda right under her nose.

Olivia and The Family Photo

Mother is determined to taket he perfect family Christmas photo—in the middle of the summer.  With the help of a snow machine, Olivia takes it upon herself to bring a little Christmas spirit to the photograph, and to Francine’s backyard beach party next door.

Olivia’s Ice Spectacular

Olivia can’t wait to see skating star Sonja Spencer perform in “Cinderella on Ice”.  She’s sure she’ll be the lucky audience member chosen to skate with Sonja, and begins practicing on the skating rink she makes in her own backyard.  When the show is canceled, Olivia decides the show must go on and she and her friends stage their own ice spectacular.

Olivia’s Snow Day

It’s a snowy day and school’s closed.  Olivia takes to the snow covered streets with Julian as her cameraman, to report on all the snow day happenings.  The biggest story of the day turns out to be an alleged sighting of the legendary abominable snowman.  Can it be true?  Olivia tracks down the real story.

Olivia Makes a Wedding Gift

Olivia’s favorite art teacher, Miss Davis, is getting married, and Olivia wants to find her the perfect wedding present.  But despite all of her fundraising efforts, she only has enough for a very small gift.  With help from her classmates, Olivia creates a very special card for Miss Davis to go along with the gift.

Olivia Makes Magic

After seeing Grandma perform an impromptu magic show, Olivia begins practicing her own magic tricks.  She doesn’t have much success, until she manages to make herself “disappear” for Ian and Julian.  They can’t figure out how she’s done it, but Ian doesn’t care.  He just wants his big sister back!

Olivia and the Babies

After noticing all the great compliments Mother receives on account of adorable baby William, Olivia finds herself some babies of her own: her cat Edwin and her dog Perry.  Being a mom is tougher than it seems, but when Mother asks Olivia to watch William for a minute, her new skills come in handy.

Olivia’s Good Luck

Olivia is determined to sell more Young Pioneers cookies than anybody else in her troupe—especially Francine.  It turns out to be harder than she thought it would be, but with a little perseverance and ingenuity, Olivia manages to do her personal best.

Also includes the bonus episode: Olivia’s Pirate Treasure.

Our thoughts: Kieran loves Olivia.  She was jumping around and squealing with delight that she now has her own Olivia DVD–before we even started it! Her favorite episode was “Olivia and The Family Photo”. She laughed out loud when the photographer told the family to say “France’s Underpants” to get everyone smiling. It’s been a bit of a catch phrase around here the past couple of days! I love that Olivia uses her imagination when she is problem solving. In Olivia Claus, Olivia couldn’t find her favorite toy, but she didn’t get upset–she worked through her problem towards a solution. This is a very valuable lesson for my sensitive tot, as it shows her the whole world doesn’t come crashing down if she can’t find her favorite toy (yes, this has happened more than once!). In Olivia and the Babies, Olivia’s jealousy of her baby brother parallels our current situation of Kieran and her baby brother, Brendan.  But Kieran does love being a “little mommy”, and like Olivia, really loves her brother, despite the jealousy that sometimes surfaces. I love that this episode, ultimately, reinforces that concept.

– That’s IT Mommy friends, Heather and Kieran