The Adventures of Raggedy Ann & Andy: The Mabbit Adventure…and Other Exciting Tales

The subjects of animated adventures since the 1940s, Raggedy Ann actually celebrated her 90th birthday and Raggedy Andy his 85th this past summer. This disc collects a trio of their more recent outings—the title episode, “The Perriwonk Adventure,” and “The Pirate Adventure”—to mixed results. The stories feature grand adventures in make-believe lands, but the life lessons presented here aren't as strong as in past incarnations, especially the feature films and TV specials of the '60s and '70s. In other words, this is bland, safe storytelling that fails to create much of a spark, but also never resorts to the over-cuteness of the Smurfs or the schmaltz of the (shudder) Care Bears. DVD extras include historical background on Raggedy Ann and Andy. [Note: also available, The Adventures of Raggedy Ann & Andy: The Pixling Adventure…and Other Exciting Tales.] Optional. Aud: K, P. (G. Dowell)