Searching for Sing Alongs
Arianna loves music. She loves hearing it, dancing to it, singing it, playing it on her little keyboard... it makes her so happy.
And its effective.
Easiest way to get Ari to fall asleep in the car? Mamma Mia soundtrack. Surefire way to get her to stay still when changing her diaper? Old McDonald. And an effective way to get her to get her to eat her carrots? The Caillou theme song on repeat. And then of course, she has a few other favorites - Hot Dog, Hokey Pokey, Pop the Bubbles, and a bunch of other songs we sing to her.
About two weeks ago, after rewinding the Little Einsteins theme song for the fourth time, I decided to try out a music dvd. We had two to choose from - Barney's Musical Scrapbook or Baby Genius Favorite Nursery Rhymes
. Arianna adores the Baby Genius dvd. Unfortunately, I find it really annoying. The songs are good - the first few times at least. There is no talking - just all singing, which is perfect. The dvd bounces between animation and real life - which is nice. It's just really really low-budget. Which I probably should have expected from the $8.99 price tag... (We each hate the Barney Musical Scrapbook equally. I was expecting just songs, this was more like a really long episode of the show. Thank goodness I only spent $5 on it.)
After about a week of the daily doses of Baby Genius, I realized what I needed - a Disney Sing Along. I had had them as a kid - and loved them - so I set out on a mission to stock up. But there was a problem - I haven't seen them for sale in years.
My first step was obvious - send out a text. One text to my bff who works in retail, and the other to my bff with kids. Their replies were the same - nope, haven't seen them, don't think they make them anymore. Crap. Unacceptable crap.
I went to Target. No Disney Sing Alongs, not even any more Baby Genius Dvds. So I decided to try Barnes and Noble. Now for the record I don't like purchasing anything from the Barnes and Noble's media section because I believe they are horribly overpriced, but I decided to check it out anyway. In the kids section, I found a bunch of musical dvds. I wasn't thrilled, but I thought I'd try out a Sesame Street Elmo Sing Along. Before committing though, I asked the clerk for help.
"I really want a Disney Sing Along. But they don't make them anymore, do they?" I asked. And shockingly - she told me they do! They they had four in stock. I was ecstatic. Until I saw them.
One was a Disney Parks Sing Along with a bunch of songs I'd never heard before. So that was out. The other two were Disney Princess Sing Alongs - which I would have purchased had the songs been a little bit more upbeat and fun - but they seemed too depressing for $17. I decided to try the Disney Sing Along with Pooh Bear. I thought "A Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" and "Huffalump and Woozles" was sure to hold Arianna's attention.
Well... apparently the Pooh Sing Along was a bad choice. It was soooo boring, so slow, the colors so washed out... Definitely not good for an infant. Maybe an older child, or someone Pooh obsessed - because the idea of it was cute - but the songs were much too slow for us. Arianna even passed out five minutes in.
I was really disappointed. But hopeful. I turned to the internet intent on finding a Disney Sing Along as good as the ones I remembered from my childhood. After searching like a crazy person, I had all the necessary information.
Disney makes 17 Sing Alongs - 5 Parks and 12 movie-inspired. All were made between 2002 and 2006, and appear to be remakes of the VHS Sing Alongs from the 90s. I was going to purchase a few off of Amazon until I did a "Google Shopping - Search Nearby", and found out that Toys R Us sells them for $6.99! Of course, Toys R Us doesn't have any on their website, so I had to call the store directly. My local TRU didn't have any in stock, but my special TRU by my work had several! So I went right over.
I purchased......
The Bare Necessities and Circle of Life dvds - they were on sale - 2 for $12! (Which made me really annoyed I had paid $16 at Barnes & Noble - I told you they were overpriced!)
At this point, we have watched both dvds a few times, and we definitely have a favorite - The Bare Necessities! Aside from the title song, is "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle Book, "The Work Song" from Cinderella, and "Winne the Pooh". The rest of the dvd is made up of songs I didn't know - "The Ugly Bug Ball", "Figaro and Cleo", Old Yeller Theme, etc. But somehow the odd mix is really enjoyable and catchy.
The Lion King Circle of Life dvd on the other hand is not so enjoyable. Three of the songs are so slow and boring, we have to skip right over them. There's a few fun ones from the Lion King, and who doesn't love a quick "Prince Ali", but several of the songs are from Lion King 2 and Jungle Book 2. Really? And - this really annoyed me - one of the songs ("Everybody Wants to be a Cat") is on both dvds. The song is okay, but definitely not deserving to be on 2 different sing alongs.
From my childhood, I remember loving the Under the Sea Sing Along. Of course they haven't made that one on dvd. So I am going to do something I never thought I would - go through the six containers of VHS tapes in my parents basement and find it. (Good thing they never listened to me all those times I told them just to throw them out.)
But then what? Buy a VCR? Or can I use my VHS to DVD converter?
Dammit, Disney.
Item's mentioned:
And its effective.
Easiest way to get Ari to fall asleep in the car? Mamma Mia soundtrack. Surefire way to get her to stay still when changing her diaper? Old McDonald. And an effective way to get her to get her to eat her carrots? The Caillou theme song on repeat. And then of course, she has a few other favorites - Hot Dog, Hokey Pokey, Pop the Bubbles, and a bunch of other songs we sing to her.
About two weeks ago, after rewinding the Little Einsteins theme song for the fourth time, I decided to try out a music dvd. We had two to choose from - Barney's Musical Scrapbook or Baby Genius Favorite Nursery Rhymes
. Arianna adores the Baby Genius dvd. Unfortunately, I find it really annoying. The songs are good - the first few times at least. There is no talking - just all singing, which is perfect. The dvd bounces between animation and real life - which is nice. It's just really really low-budget. Which I probably should have expected from the $8.99 price tag... (We each hate the Barney Musical Scrapbook equally. I was expecting just songs, this was more like a really long episode of the show. Thank goodness I only spent $5 on it.)
After about a week of the daily doses of Baby Genius, I realized what I needed - a Disney Sing Along. I had had them as a kid - and loved them - so I set out on a mission to stock up. But there was a problem - I haven't seen them for sale in years.
My first step was obvious - send out a text. One text to my bff who works in retail, and the other to my bff with kids. Their replies were the same - nope, haven't seen them, don't think they make them anymore. Crap. Unacceptable crap.
I went to Target. No Disney Sing Alongs, not even any more Baby Genius Dvds. So I decided to try Barnes and Noble. Now for the record I don't like purchasing anything from the Barnes and Noble's media section because I believe they are horribly overpriced, but I decided to check it out anyway. In the kids section, I found a bunch of musical dvds. I wasn't thrilled, but I thought I'd try out a Sesame Street Elmo Sing Along. Before committing though, I asked the clerk for help.
"I really want a Disney Sing Along. But they don't make them anymore, do they?" I asked. And shockingly - she told me they do! They they had four in stock. I was ecstatic. Until I saw them.
One was a Disney Parks Sing Along with a bunch of songs I'd never heard before. So that was out. The other two were Disney Princess Sing Alongs - which I would have purchased had the songs been a little bit more upbeat and fun - but they seemed too depressing for $17. I decided to try the Disney Sing Along with Pooh Bear. I thought "A Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" and "Huffalump and Woozles" was sure to hold Arianna's attention.
Well... apparently the Pooh Sing Along was a bad choice. It was soooo boring, so slow, the colors so washed out... Definitely not good for an infant. Maybe an older child, or someone Pooh obsessed - because the idea of it was cute - but the songs were much too slow for us. Arianna even passed out five minutes in.
I was really disappointed. But hopeful. I turned to the internet intent on finding a Disney Sing Along as good as the ones I remembered from my childhood. After searching like a crazy person, I had all the necessary information.
Disney makes 17 Sing Alongs - 5 Parks and 12 movie-inspired. All were made between 2002 and 2006, and appear to be remakes of the VHS Sing Alongs from the 90s. I was going to purchase a few off of Amazon until I did a "Google Shopping - Search Nearby", and found out that Toys R Us sells them for $6.99! Of course, Toys R Us doesn't have any on their website, so I had to call the store directly. My local TRU didn't have any in stock, but my special TRU by my work had several! So I went right over.
I purchased......
At this point, we have watched both dvds a few times, and we definitely have a favorite - The Bare Necessities! Aside from the title song, is "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle Book, "The Work Song" from Cinderella, and "Winne the Pooh". The rest of the dvd is made up of songs I didn't know - "The Ugly Bug Ball", "Figaro and Cleo", Old Yeller Theme, etc. But somehow the odd mix is really enjoyable and catchy.
The Lion King Circle of Life dvd on the other hand is not so enjoyable. Three of the songs are so slow and boring, we have to skip right over them. There's a few fun ones from the Lion King, and who doesn't love a quick "Prince Ali", but several of the songs are from Lion King 2 and Jungle Book 2. Really? And - this really annoyed me - one of the songs ("Everybody Wants to be a Cat") is on both dvds. The song is okay, but definitely not deserving to be on 2 different sing alongs.
From my childhood, I remember loving the Under the Sea Sing Along. Of course they haven't made that one on dvd. So I am going to do something I never thought I would - go through the six containers of VHS tapes in my parents basement and find it. (Good thing they never listened to me all those times I told them just to throw them out.)
But then what? Buy a VCR? Or can I use my VHS to DVD converter?
Dammit, Disney.
Item's mentioned:
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