America the Beautiful

In this second entry in the Mini Maestro series (see The Clocks Symphony [VL-9/01]), the animated German-accented conductor hosts a well meaning but rinky-dink tribute to America in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Aimed at pre-schoolers and kindergarteners, the program tries to introduce concepts such as "freedom of speech," "land of opportunity" and "home of the brave" using low-tech animated graphics that quite frankly sometimes don't make sense (an instrumental "Yankee Doodle Dandy" plays, for instance, while viewers are treated to primitive cartoon images of the Golden Gate Bridge, a baseball field, a burping alligator and the White House). The invitation to "sing-along" on patriotic songs, such as "The Star Spangled Banner" or "America the Beautiful,” will be frustrating to young viewers unfamiliar with the words (which are not presented onscreen). Intercut with the animations are live-action segments in which young school children who are asked questions such as “who protects us?” and “what is freedom?” respond with somewhat repetitive answers (“my parents, the police,” “freedom means we have good education and doctors and we can vote”) that could have been edited by half. While the video box states that a portion of the proceeds from sales will go to charities supporting disaster relief, libraries may still want to wait for a more polished effort. Very optional. Aud: K, E, P. (N. Plympton)