The Littles: The Complete Unedited Series

Unless you've seen this animated series, you're probably not aware of the fact that our world is teeming with tiny, mouse-like creatures living in the walls of buildings and various other cracks and crevices where they mostly escape the notice of humans. But not 13-year-old Henry Bigg, who befriends a family of these critters, the Littles, accompanying them on adventures all over the world (based on the series of books by the late John Peterson). Although I'm admittedly more critical minded than the preschool viewers for whom this mid-1980s TV series was intended, the fact is that there's not much present-day entertainment value to be found in The Littles: the animation is mediocre, the stories saccharine, and the vocals sufficiently annoying to send adults in search of earplugs. Remarkably, this series played for three years, racking up a total of 29 episodes, all of which are collected in this five-disc box set. The extensive DVD extras include the hour-long bonus film “Liberty and the Littles,” an interview with writer Marc Scott Zicree, storyboards, and a trivia game. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)