Maisy - Colours And Counting

Maisy - Colours And Counting

 

Maisy, the epony-mouse from Lucy Cousins' hugely popular books, has been brought to the small screen in a series of beautifully produced animated tales now collected together on video. Each episode focuses on a central theme such as "Bedtime" or "Birthday", and features Maisy's band of friends: Tallulah the effervescent chick, Eddie the elephant, Cyril the Squirrel, and the stomach-obsessed crocodile Charley. The animation reproduces the bright, block colours of the books, but adds a new dimension of playful characterisation and sound effects. The characters' voices are very much in the Teletubbies and Pingu mode, offering few discernible words but perfectly evoking the individual characters and appealing to very young children. Neil Morrissey's voice-over offers a gentle, questioning cue for Maisy and her friends' activities, and further brings out the stories' educational emphasis. The Maisy videos combine simple presentation with charming characterisation to great effect and each tale is constructed with an underlying intelligence and humour that repays repeat viewings. For those in occasional need of a Teletubby-free zone, these are the perfect videos for pre-school children.

 

In Colours & Counting Maisy picks up all her friends in her bus (although Eddie is a tight squeeze!), plays hide and seek with Charly, and organizes an egg hunt for everyone. In "Clouds" she goes ballooning, while at the circus Cyril spin plates, Tallulah walks the tightrope, Eddie trampolines and Maisy does a turn on the trapeze. The emphasis on numbers and colours is imaginatively applied throughout, particularly when Eddie helps Maisy paint her shed in technicolour! --Steve Napleton

Synopsis
Features 'Bus', 'Hide And Seek', 'Spots', 'Eggs', 'Clouds', 'Harvest', 'Circus', 'Shed', 'Stick' and 'Train'.