DVD Review: Dottie’s Magic Pockets

Writer: Tammy Stoner
Director: Andrea Maxwell
Cast: Jen Plante
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Pink Pea Productions
Release Date: September 17, 2007

As a parent in a somewhat non-traditional family I like to encourage my son to watch a wide variety of cartoons and television shows. Unfortunately, until recently all of the shows that typically depict GLBT individuals were geared towards adults. With so many children in GLBT households, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before children’s programming embraced the diversity of non-traditional families.

Children live in so many different living environments these days. Two moms, two dads, a mom and a dad, grandparents, one parent, aunts and uncles, and even older (adult) siblings can and do raise children. There is no set family structure and unfortunately, the television atmosphere hasn’t changed with the times, alienating a massive audience of children who don’t live in a mom-dad household. Still, while other living situations (one parent, grandparents) have been explored in part, the whole of children’s programming has avoided adding anything about GLBT families into their shows, with one exception, Postcards from Buster (though PBS, sadly, pulled the episode featuring a GLBT family – before it aired).

Well, now GLBT families have DVDs geared specifically towards them. Kids of GLBT parents can now relate to the stream of independent DVDs that are now being released with these children in mind, and it all started with Dottie’s Magic Pockets. This fun show, geared towards a 2-7 year old audience, though older kids and adults seem to love it as well, was developed by Pink Pea Productions. While my first impression of the show was a psychedelic trip through cartoons of the 1970s, set in a 21st century setting, I was pleasantly surprised to learn just how much I, as an adult, enjoyed watching this show. My teenage son also liked it though he’d never admit it to his friends!

Release Information:
COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) announced that the Dottie’s Magic Pockets DVD was released by Pink Pea Productions on September 17, 2007. We just recently learned about this DVD, so we’ve decided to review it since LI Kids is an equal opportunity blog, which supports families and kids in any household. While this DVD might not be for everyone, this DVD can appeal to a wide audience, including children in traditional households.

Dottie’s Magic Pockets is available exclusively at the Dottie’s Magic Pockets Website. It is available for $19.99 + s/h. The DVD features two, full length episodes (25 minutes) with a short, bonus feature.

The Dottie’s Magic Pockets Plot
Dottie’s Magic Pockets is an innovative new television show that is primarily geared towards teaching children between 2 and 7 years old about basic concepts. What is unique about Dottie’s Magic Pockets is that it also teaches children about compassion, love, and diversity. Dottie is both exuberant and calming as she hangs out with her fun, puppet-ish friends, Matilda the Mouse, James the Flower, Uncanny the Can and Randal the Beaver. Together, with her magic friends, Dottie teaches children in the same manner that many other children’s shows do, through interaction, music and participation.

Dottie’s Magic Pockets was created by Tammy Stoner after her son, Oliver, age 4, asked her why there weren’t any shows that featured two moms. Oliver was feeling left out, as many young children with GLBT parents have before him. Together, with a small group, Stoner founded Pink Pea Productions and Dottie’s Magic Pockets was their first collaborative effort. Finding the perfect person to play Dottie was imperative because Dottie has to be both charismatic and relatable.

In Jen Plante, an actress and comedian, the producers of Dottie’s Magic Pockets found the perfect blend of charisma, charm and the ability to relate to a wide audience. Young kids love Dottie because she’s magic. Parents and older children (even teens) love Dottie because she’s fun to watch. While many children’s shows make parents feel somewhat silly for watching them, Dottie’s Magic Pockets isn’t one of them. This is all that Plante brings to the role, and she’s pretty darn adorable to boot, so watching her is a pleasant experience for nearly any adult.

With Plante at the helm, the production team was able to develop the first Dottie’s Magic Pockets DVD, which is what I’m reviewing. The DVD features two episodes both 25 minutes in length. The episodes are entitled “Doing the Flower” and “Beat Beet”. Along the same vein as other children’s shows, Dottie’s Magic Pockets features small snippets with kids dancing, additional stories told, and the occasional adult who explains their profession. Overall, I wouldn’t consider Dottie’s Magic Pockets a GLBT show. It’s a children’s learning show, first and foremost, that just happens to be uniquely geared, so GLBT families can relate to the story.

The story goes that Dottie and her wife, May, have a young son, Oliver. Oliver is heading to school (I’m assuming his first year) and Dottie is sad. With Oliver gone at school and May at work, Dottie is left all alone. Before Oliver leaves, he gives Dottie a zip-up hoodie with magic pockets. In the pockets are magic sparkles (think magic dust) that turn the house into an area of adventure. Everything comes to life including the wall, aptly named Wally. This is explained in the opening credits.

In Dottie’s Magic Pockets there are plenty of song and dance numbers. Children are taught about the weather as Dottie helps them point out what the weather looks like outside by her description each day. She also teaches children dance moves, why being your unique self is important, how to cheer people up when they are sad, word structure (words that sound the same, but have different meanings) and socialization skills.

In “Doing the Flower”, Dottie teaches her puppet friends about how special they are. Randal wants to be a flower like James. James wants to be a construction worker and Matilda wants to be Dottie. Through Dottie’s gentle prodding and with the help of Dottie’s friend Joe (a real construction worker) and her visitors Celia and Kajsa (who visit with their baby, Seth), everyone learns that being who you are has its benefits. Everyone is unique in their own way and that makes each person special. At the end, the “Doing the Flower” dance has Dottie dancing (and a group of kids) as she invites viewers to stand up and ‘Do the Flower, the Beaver, the Can and the Mouse’. There is a spot about a caterpillar named Princess that is especially entertaining, in this episode.

The second episode, “Beat Beet” has Dottie explaining words that sound the same, but have different meanings like son and sun, eat jam and in a jam, something smells fishy and something is fishy and even beat and beet. Along the way, Matilda gets the hiccups and everyone has a solution to stop her from hiccupping. My son especially loved the bops that flew out of her mouth with each hiccup. To quote him, “that was rich!”

Dottie is able to take away the hiccups with a magic hiccup hat, but another problem crops up when Joe the construction worker visits. His boyfriend is out of town and he’s sad because he misses him. Dottie knows they must cheer Joe up, so they cheer him up with an awesome song and dance number. Joe is actually a pretty good rapper, and this song was my favorite that Dottie did in all of the episodes I watched.

While, yes, Dottie is a lesbian, she has lesbian friends and Joe is gay, that seems to have little to do with the purpose of Dottie’s Magic Pockets. Pink Pea Productions has done what other children’s shows could only dream of doing, by making a universally appealing character that just happens to be a lesbian. Mainstream audiences will do well to check out Dottie’s Magic Pockets and parents need to consider letting their children watch this, if they wish to have compassionate, caring and understanding children who turn into thoughtful, respectful adults.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
For an independent production Dottie’s Magic Pockets is excellent. I’m not sure of the exact specs for the visual quality. What I do know is that the picture quality is crisp, vibrant, and colors come through brightly. The visual contrast is nice and there are very few, if any, noticeable errors. The production crew is made up of professionals and this shows in the visual quality of the Dottie’s Magic Pockets DVD.

The audio for Dottie’s Magic Pockets is pretty good. At times, Dottie’s voice sounds tinny, but that’s the only real problem I’ve noticed. The DVD doesn’t seem to offer subtitles, but what sound is available is in English and it comes through well. No volume toggling is needed. A more dynamic soundtrack might become available as the DVDs continue to be made for the show.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There is one bonus feature included on the Dottie’s Magic Pockets DVD. I would have given it a higher score because I didn’t expect any bonuses features, but it is so short that it lost a few points. What is there is somewhat fun, if your child likes animals. The extra shows Dottie’s partner, May, who is a veterinarian, with various animals. Hopefully, future DVDs will have extra goodies. I’d love to see some Dottie’s Magic Pockets outtakes and blooper reels!

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Dottie’s Magic Pockets is more than just a show about a lesbian mom. It’s a show about learning, compassion and tolerance. With so many hate-filled, violence tainted television shows Dottie’s Magic Pockets is a breath of fresh air. GLBT families can enjoy this completely and non-GLBT families can enjoy and learn from this DVD if only they give the show the chance it deserves!

Overall Rating:

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