In the last couple issues it seemed like fire fighting videos for kids were all the rage, now the focus has shifted skyward. Come Fly With Us is a charming production, in which a trio of young kids named Kaela, Ryan, and Patrick visit the Museum of Flight in Washington state, and each take an imaginary journey in a Boeing Stearman, a Super Cub, and an F18 "Blue Angel," while upbeat original songs play on the soundtrack. Following the tour, the kids and their mother head for Sea-Tac airport, where they meet their airline pilot grandfather, and take a look around the cockpit in a Boeing 757, see how baggage gets from the check-in desk to the plane (but not how it gets from the plane to 2,700 miles away from your destination), and watch jumbo planes take-off and land. The tape closes with the group taking a real plane ride. It's a fun trip for kids 4-9.Just Planes for Kids is a projected series of videos, the first of which is called "Nathalie Prepares for Take-Off." a low-budget production, the video follows six-year-old Nathalie to the airport where she meets Captain Bob and gets a tour of the outside of a large plane as well as a detailed description of the instrument panel in the cockpit. Every so often, the program breaks for a quick info card on a 727, 737, or 747, followed by minutes of non-narrated footage of planes taking off and landing. There's no rhyme or reason to these segments, though they do extend an already slow program to a full 30 minutes. In addition to lethargic pacing, Captain Bob's technical descriptions of the control panel are way too detailed. References to "trimming" the airplane, "controlled descent," and "fuselage," not to mention the use of "knots" rather than miles during the lecture, is sure to confuse most kids Nathalie's age. Aimed at ages 3-7.The most bang for the buck can be found in Let Me Tell You All About Planes. In this hour-long production, a pair of kids named Sean and Mary visit the airport with their grandfather. As Grandpa narrates, we're treated to archival footage of the Wright brothers (whose epic first flight lasted 12 seconds and went a monumental 120 ft.), Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, Amelia Earhart, WWI dogfights, B-52's during WWII, jumbo jets and supersonic transports. In between chunks of aviation history, the kids get a look at the outside and inside of an airplane courtesy of Captain Dan, and follow the whole process of checking-in at the airport through taking off. Some of the stock footage looks dated (such as an old Thunderbirds clip), but other sequences are quite good, including a fabulous segment on colorful hot-air balloons. Occasionally, the background music is a little too loud for Grandpa's narration, and no doubt the educational component will glaze a few eyes, but overall, this is pretty good.While none of these is the ultimate plane video, we recommend Come Fly With Us. We also recommend Let Me Tell You All About Planes. Just Planes for Kids is not recommended. (R. Pitman)
Come Fly With Us
(1994) 30 min. $19.95. Adventure Video (dist. by Paragon Home Video). PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 6
Come Fly With Us
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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