Zoofari

Sir Arthur Blowhard and his assistant, Smythe, attired in safari garb, lead a tour through the Los Angeles Zoo. The basic structure of the program is to have a bit of corny repartee, a little voice-over about an animal, and a long chunk of unnarrated shots with post production razzle-dazzle. Factual material about the animals sounds like it's being read from an encyclopedia, and there is a virtually non-stop soundtrack of up-tempo elevator music. As long as the audience is limited to preschool-aged children who want to look at animals, this program should be fine, but any adults in the room may wander off searching for medication. The photography is acceptable in terms of exposure and composition, but the tilts and pans are jerky, which is especially annoying when tracking an animal in a close-up shot. Electronically altered zooms, of which there are many, don't help either. Ah well, the box is nice and cheery, it's cheap, and a 6 year old co-reviewer wanted to watch it again, and again, and again... An optional purchase. (E. Swanson)