Rolie Polie Olie - The Great Defender of Fun [VHS]
The first full-length outing of Playhouse Disney's preschool series is a cartoon-style space adventure pitting Olie and Zowie against the villain Gloomius Maximus, who threatens to cast a dark force of gloom on Zowie's birthday. Using his vacuum tentacles (appropriately named "un-fun-erators"), this pirate of pleasure wants to extract all the fun out of Polieville. "Smiles look better upside down; I feel better when you feel worse," he gloats. When Gloomius casts his Glum Beam on the Polie house, everyone becomes bluesy and snoozy. Will a barrage of giggles thwart Gloomius's plan? Can Space Boy save Zowie's day? This engaging 74-minute movie is sprinkled with so much sweetness (and mirthful music), young viewers will quickly join Olie's efforts as Great Defenders of Fun. Inventive storytelling and supportive dialogue among this family of geometric-shaped, hairless creatures give reason to believe this will be a favorite of Olie fans. Ages 3 to 7.--Lynn Gibson