Bob the Builder

We first encountered Bob the Builder when my daughter returned from a trip to England with a CD copy of the theme song for my son. We went around singing it for days! When we heard that the program was going to be broadcast on Nickelodeon we were delighted. What a disappointment! Why was it necessary to dub the show into American? It takes away half of the charm. Nobody thought of dubbing Wallace and Gromit.

Our only hope is that eventually there will be a DVD with a choice of English or American soundtracks. Is anyone out there listening?

I just wish that this show was on when I was in pre-school. The characters are cute, and so are the plots, which teach important lessons to kids. I even enjoy watching this show with my 3 year old cousins. Although it may be a little corny, it is just too cute to be annoying.

The old one was good but the new one freakin sucks

My three year old son has loved Bob the Builder and friends for almost two years. He loves anything with tools, trucks and construction equipment, and this is right at his level. He has been Bob the Builder for Halloween for two years now. He uses the tools, his Bob the Builder fan club hat, and his Bob the Builder boots when he has to "fix" things around the house. He also enjoys the games on the website. Perfect for small ones to play with little assistance. As for the show, the tales and animation are simple enough for little ones, but not too annoying for the parents, too. Now that he is a bit older, we especially enjoy the Bob movies, Knights of Can-a-Lot and A Christmas to Remember. We look forward to more from this crew.

And how couldn't I? This show was like a miracle waiting impatiently to happen. Bob the Builder showed in a majestic way that shows for children don't need to be corny, preachy or shallow for children to appreciate them. All characters are extremely charismatic; I seriously find it impossible to dislike any of them. The stop-motion animation is spectacularly beautiful. But most of all, I think it's the writing that truly makes the show. I don't remember seeing any story that went into a tired, obvious cliché just for the sake of being "educational". The focus is always on the diverse construction jobs - a most interesting and rich subject for children - and on topics like teamwork, cooperation and friendship. The stories are very well thought out. I have to say that several moments of the series are just plain funny, and I actually laughed out loud sometimes.

The characters aren't banal at all. With time, you can pick up some delicate intricacies and twists in their personalities that makes everything very believable. Bob himself, for example, is an extremely competent worker and a friendly guy, but he has his own moments of silliness: he built a cornet for himself once, and got so excited that he played his loud, out-of-tune ramblings all night long (either that or he was acquiring the taste for avantgarde). Other time, he found an old tambourine while cleaning a house's attic, and while playing with it, causes a tiny catastrophe; and while seeking for buried treasure with his metal detector, he broke a water pipe on farmer Pickles's field. Those small things make the series much more believable and palpable than other children's series, and in the end, you surrender and start to believe that marionettes can live a happy, joyous life in perfect harmonies with talking machines. Not everyone can create a series like that, you know.

I honestly recommend this series for everyone. And if you (or your kid) already are a fan, please, don't miss the Album. If you live in the US and are used to the Nickelodeon dubbing, you'll have to conform with the British voices (which I personally prefer). Either way, it's excellent, exciting music.