Mouse House

Shown on the BBC in the U.K. as Hotch Potch House, this compilation of 11 shorts and 4 songs featuring a young quintet of puppet-animated mice aims to teach basic values and manners to pre-schoolers. In an illustrative episode, Kevin accidentally hits each of the other mice in the backyard with his football and resolutely refuses to apologize until he, himself, is inadvertently beaned by another mouse and demands an "I'm sorry." Each of the other shorts methodically outlines lessons on sharing, playing nice, working as a team, caring for critters, and so on. Harmless, though fairly uninspired, Mouse House's biggest drawback is that approximately one-quarter of the video's running time is given over to showing the exact same intro to each segment…15 times! Very young children (who aren't--as a rule--real connoisseurs of quality) will no doubt enjoy this workmanlike spoonful of sugar-coated story-lessons, but it's average children's fare, at best. Optional. (R. Pitman)