Celebrating our strengths

Under the Stars and Stripes:

A Children’s Celebration

of America in Song and Dance

Sony Wonder

VHS: $9.98; DVD: $12.98

60 minutes; for the family

Sure, there’s some flag-waving, but “this appealing and glossy production is a timely reminder of the freedoms the flag represents and the Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee.

The words may be rehearsed, but idealism shines in the faces of American kids of diverse backgrounds who recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and who talk on camera about where their families and ancestors came from, why they came and why they stayed.

The music includes classic American folk songs and two wistful anthems, “For the Children” and “Under the Stars and Stripes,” written by 14-year-old Caitlin Alegre.

And although diversity is seen as something to respect and to enjoy through kids’ demonstrations of traditional cultural events, the heart of the production is its emphasis on the commonality of people and the strength to be found in unity, friendship and peace.

*

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Classical Kids/The Children’s Group

DVD: $19.99

52 minutes; for the family

(800) 757-8372

www.childrensgroup.com

Canada’s stellar “Classical Kids” CD series -- stories based on the lives and works of great composers -- sparked the Emmy-winning TV and video version of one of the best albums, “Beethoven Lives Upstairs.”

Now a DVD release, this rich family film centers on a young boy in 19th century Vienna, still mourning his late father, who is rattled by his mother’s eccentric new boarder, Ludwig van Beethoven, tragically deaf, filling the house with his roaring irascibility and his glorious music.

DVD enhancements include a music gallery, behind-the-scenes interviews and interactive DVD/ROM arcade-style musical games and activities.

*

Farkleberry Farm: Wet and Wooly

Good Friends Entertainment/

Bazillion Pictures

DVD: $17.95; VHS: $12.95

40 minutes; ages 2 to 8

(866) 321-3276

www.farkleberryfarm.com

The charm of the characters and the well-written, well-voiced gentle messages of friendship compensate for the plastic look of the computer animation in this DVD release, a sweet tale for preschoolers about a lost lamb and a lonely reservoir dam (his name is Wally), a sleepy bulldozer, a patriarchal horse and a motherly pig and her offspring.

*

Star Spangled Baby

Jukebox Adventures/

MoPo Home Entertainment

VHS: $14.98; DVD: $16.98

30 minutes; ages 8 months

to 3 years

www.jukeboxadventures.com

Only a stars-and-stripes motif separates “Star Spangled Baby” from the plethora of other baby-centric videos and DVDs on the market that all follow the same formula: colorful, short segments featuring basic shapes, puppets, computer animation, images of toys and real children playing and singing. Musical accompaniment includes patriotic songs and traditional folk songs.

*

BabyEyes

Vision Development Inc.

VHS: $14.95

30 minutes; ages 0 to 3

www.babyeyes.TV

Touted as stimulating infants’ visual development, the gentle “BabyEyes” video, accompanied by classical music, consists of quietly animated images: balloons, raindrops, tumbling 3-D objects in primary colors, kaleidoscopic designs, line drawings that morph into faces and a stately progression of cars and ships.

The artwork is nicely done by Russ Ben-Ezzer, who also performs the music. For the infant-less, the video’s near-hypnotic serenity might be just the thing after a long day at the office, particularly with a therapeutic glass of wine at hand.

*

Bear in the Big Blue House Live!

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment/Jim Henson

Home Entertainment

DVD: $14.95; VHS: $12.95

63 minutes

When 7-foot-tall Bear, star of Disney Channel’s gentle-spirited preschooler series “Bear in the Big Blue House,” went on tour, the resulting “Bear in the Big Blue House Live!” stage show turned out to be a song-and-dance delight as Bear and his Muppet pals Ojo, Pip and Pop, Treelo and some bubbly young human hoofers planned a surprise party for Tutter the mouse.

This tuneful musical, with the show’s trademark themes of self-esteem, caring and sharing, is a charmer. The main DVD feature is a five-song singalong.

-- Lynne Heffley