DVD Review: Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue

Writers: Various
Cast: Jake T. Austin, Serena Kerrigan, Rosie Perez,
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount and Nickelodeon
Release Date: March 18, 2008

Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue offers episodes from Go Diego Go! that I do not think aired during the original show run. I’m not sure if these are never before seen episodes or not. Whatever they are, Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue is my favorite of the Go Diego Go DVDs we’ve received. Ashtyn and I piled in front of the TV with the kids, three year old Lil B and 13 year old OG Kid. OG likes watching TV if it makes his cousin laugh. While he wasn’t into it the way Lil B was, he had fun repeating after Diego just because Lil B had so much fun when they did it together. He is an excellent cousin.

Release Information:
Nickelodeon has made numerous Go Diego Go! DVDs. Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue is the latest one we (at LI Kids) have had the chance to review. Paramount and Nickelodeon have teamed up again to release a very special DVD with episodes that don’t appear to have aired during the regular seasons. This three episode set is typical Go Diego Go! fare.

Diego was first seen when he appeared as the cousin of Dora, on Dora the Explorer. Diego was so popular that the Go Diego Go! series became a spinoff of Dora. Go Diego Go! was on Nick Jr.’s CBS, Saturday morning slot. It premiered on September 6, 2005. It ran until September 6, 2006 before being commissioned for 20 more episodes in December of 2006. These episodes aired on Nickelodeon.

Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue is set to be released on March 18, 2008. The distributor is, of course, Paramount and Nickelodeon. This DVD features three Diego episodes, one of which is a double episode and is the main feature, which involves the rescue of the moon, hence the name Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue.

The Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue Plot
The main feature of Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue is a double length episode entitled “Tuga Helps the Moon”. This story was really fun to watch. In a rare moment, Diego and Alicia are joined by their parents on the beach. In the episode, they are also joined by Tuga the Leatherback Sea Turtle. Diego tells a story, which makes up the bulk of the episode. Prior to storytelling time, Alicia and Diego talk about Leatherback Sea Turtles. Of course, more is learned about them in Diego’s story.

The story Diego tells is about the Moon. After a comet hits the moon (La Luna), it falls out of the sky and breaks into pieces. These pieces are scattered across the ocean and on an island. With Tuga the Sea Turtles’ help and Alicia’s underwater submarine, Diego sets out on an adventure to save the moon. Without the moon, baby Leatherback Sea Turtles have no idea how to find the water after they hatch on the beach from their buried eggs.

Throughout the story, in typical Diego fashion, the audience, which is primarily geared towards 2-6 year olds, is supposed to repeat things, chant things, tell Diego what kinds of items he needs, and use deductive reasoning to help Diego accomplish his rescue missions. According to Nickelodeon, the episodes available on the Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue DVD, including “Tuga Helps the Moon” help to teach children counting, movement, visual skills, Spanish language skills, sing-along songs, puzzles, riddles, and all about Leatherback Sea Turtles, rheas, tree frogs and a variety of other animals.

The other episodes included on the Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue DVD are “Rainforest Rhapsody” and “Rhea is an Animal Rescuer”. In “Rainforest Rhapsody” there is about to be an animal concert. It’s up to Diego to help the Red-Eyed Tree Frogs find the other animals that sing since the Puma scared them away when it auditioned. In “Rhea is an Animal Rescuer”, Rhea the rhea is unable to fly. Diego must help Rhea learn to live with what abilities he has as a bird that cannot fly. What Rhea finds is that he has plenty of gifts and talents even if he cannot fly.

While Lil B loved Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue the way any preschool aged child should, the OG kid found it incredibly “awesome”, in his words, that one of his favorite stars from the show Wizards of Waverly Place happens to be the voice of Diego. That was part of why he was able to enjoy the show despite being too old for it. I must admit that some of the repeating and silly songs are just that, silly. I also know if he were a little bit older, he’d be embarrassed to be watching anything with his little cousin. Still, this family found Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue enjoyable so chances are, if you or your kids like Diego, you will like this DVD, too.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue looked great. The visual quality is your standard full frame, 1.33:1 cartoon transfer. I wasn’t expecting anything different for this DVD from past releases. There really isn’t a lot of point for an anamorphic update to an animated TV show. This DVD looks as good, if not better, as what you will see when you watch episodes of Go Diego Go! on Nick Jr. All in all, there were very few, if any visible flaws on this DVD.

The Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack gets the job done for Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue. Sure, we could spend all day arguing about how a 5.1 track could have enhanced the sounds, but seriously! C’mon folks! This is for a preschool audience. They aren’t going to know the difference. As long as they can hear everything clearly and no volume toggling is necessary mid-show, they’ll enjoy the show.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue actually contains some bonus features. Nickelodeon so rarely includes bonuses. On this DVD there is a song selection feature and there is an animal photo gallery. Previews for other Nick Jr. shows including Dora the Explorer, The Wonderpets and The Backyardigans are also presented on this disc.

The Song Selection features:

* Go, Diego, Go! Theme Song
* Shine Song
* Click Song
* Al Rescate Song
* Rescue Pack Song
* Ms Abajo Song
* Underwater City Song
* Excava Song
* Shine Reprise Song
* Leatherback Sea Turtle End Song
* Go, Diego Go! End Song

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue was a fun family DVD to watch. With one double-length episode about saving the moon and two additional episodes of everybody’s favorite cartoon, male, child explorer there is at least 95 minutes worth of Diego fun to keep your little explorer entertained. Go Diego Go! – Moonlight Rescue is highly recommended for fans of the show and people with preschoolers.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Go Diego Go, Moonlight Rescue, Nick Jr, Kids Show, Cartoon, DVD Review, Paramount, Nickelodeon

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.

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