Janosch: Bear Tales, Vol 2

Based upon the Janosch books, these "bear tales" get off to an excellent start with a clever tale of two friends, a tiger and a bear, who-because they miss each other during the day--inadvertently invent both the postal service and the telephone. This opener is by far the best of the ensuing tales which range from so-so to downright bizarre. What is one to make of a story in which a drunk rooster and hen use knitting needles to pin a cabbie's coat to his seat, and then rush off laughing without paying for the taxi ride? In another story, which begins inventively, a father pig paints an orphan piggy with black stripes to resemble a tiger (his sons want a tiger for a brother, not another pig). After a bit, the tiger-piggy is revered by the entire pig town. One day, while trailing a water truck, tiger-piggy's stripes are washed off, and the piglets figure out they've been fooled. They go to their father and complain loudly-end of story. What happened to the suddenly despised tiger-piggy? Did they forgive him? cook him? abandon him? Children's video need not always follow a moral or ethical path; these tales, however, deal with serious subjects (stealing, sibling rivalry) in a--for children - unsatisfactory manner. Not recommended. (Available from most distributors.)