A couple of weeks ago I blogged about Superbook showing on ABC. I hope you were able to watch the shows!! If not, you may be interested to know that the entire series is not available on DVD. Over the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to review the DVD's in our home.
Superbook is a 16 DVD series of episodes created by CBN to tell the stories of the Bible to children. They feature Chris Quantum, his friend and neighbor Joy Popper, and his robot Gizmo. Well, Gizmo actually belongs to Chris's dad (an inventor), but he ends up with Chris on all the journeys.
In the first episode they have this little mechanical thing that all of a sudden comes alive and Chris, Joy and Gizmo are sucked in. Before they know it, they are transported back in time where they run into a man and woman who are-ahem-under dressed (they don't show anything, but Gizmo has issue with it and has to 'fix' the problem). They have no idea at first that they are actually talking to Adam and Eve! As the episodes progress, they begin to get used to the idea that they are going back in time, and have an idea of what will be next as they go in Biblical order.
When they are in each story, they watch a very accurate Biblical account unfold. They also interact with the characters, trying to help in anyway that they can. For example, they try to warn Daniel to stop praying, and he explains why he can't. On one episode, He is Risen, Chris' mom ends up along for the ride, and she comforts Mary as she is losing her son. It really brings the stories to life for Chris, Joy, Gizmo, and the children watching.
There are 16 episodes, of which we were sent 14 to review. The episodes available are:
In the Beginning
The Test
Jacob and Esau
Joseph
Let My People Go!
The Ten Commandments
A Giant Adventure
Jonah
Roar!
The First Christmas
Miracles of Jesus
The Last Supper
He Is Risen
The Road to Damascus
and the two we did not review:
Fiery Furnace
and Revelation
The Episodes are just under 30 minutes in length and feature awesome animated graphics, catchy songs, and-most importantly-the Word of God in a way that children can understand.
You can watch the trailer here:
So what did we think?
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!! Seriously! My dad is a pastor, which means that I have seen just about every kids Bible story movie out there. Believe me when I say, this one is pretty much, if not THE, best one. The graphics are UNBELIEVABLE. They really draw an audience in and hold their attention for the whole time. The story lines are ACCURATE. They don't dumb down the story or turn it into something it's not just to 'retell' the story for a young child.
For example, in the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den (Roar!), Darius says he is going to throw the other guys into the lion's den at the end of the, it isn't left out. They do, however, move on at that point and not show them being thrown in ;). There are a few scenes that the writers warn may be a bit graphic for young, sensitive children, so you may want to preview them before letting kids watch. However, my quite sensitive 3 year old had no problems with any of the scenes, so I think overall they are pretty safe.
The stories also include the spiritual warfare that is going on in the stories. They don't go overboard, so it's not a constant thing. But, for example, when Satan goes into Judas as he betrays Jesus, the movie shows Satan overshadowing Judas. You also see an angel comforting Jesus as he prays in the garden before his death. At first, I was taken aback by this choice, but after a bit I was very glad it was there. I love that when my children read the stories, they will notice the spiritual warfare written in the Bible because they were introduced to it at a young age.
A little more on the spiritual warfare, I almost forgot that in the first episode, In The Beginning, they actually show the story of Lucifer and his followers fighting with angels in Heaven, and then being cast down to earth. This sets the stage for the story of Adam and Eve, but is certainly a story that is often left out of kid's shows. But the story is true and portrayed in a way that kids can understand and also helps the story to make sense. Normally, we just show Adam and Eve and then this guy Satan-who is bad-comes out of nowhere. Showing the fall of Lucifer helps piece this story together.
As soon as the Superbook DVD's arrived at our door, there were lots of requests to watch them. We were packing for a trip, so I was happy to have a distraction for them. So, I let them watch the first one. About 40 minutes later, they were back begging for the next. It went on like that for 2 hours, before I finally had to tell them they had watched enough TV for the day. From then on, anytime they had a TV time, their first request was Superbook. They have seen all the episodes, so they don't every single time, but they still do often. Today, when we finished our Bible lesson about Joseph, they were quick to beg me to watch the Superbook Joseph.
Now, you may remember the OLD Superbook episodes. Yep, I am showing my age when I tell you this is the remake of Superbook! As I tell you all about the new ones, you may be thinking about a Japanese anime that you turned on Saturday morning. Well, for those of you who know what I am talking about, there is an added bonus to these DVD's. As a bonus feature, they have included the corresponding old episode with each new episode. So cool!!
The last thing that my children have absolutely LOVED is the new theme song for Superbook. I catch my girls, especially, singing it ALL.THE.TIME!!
I highly recommend this series and am going to have to purchase the two DVD's that we don't already have yet! I believe they are planning more in the future, as well, so I will be watching for those!
How to Buy?
There are two ways to buy the Superbook DVD's. First of all, through the Superbook DVD club. If you sign up for the club, you will receive 3 copies of the Fiery Furnace DVD for $25.00 (one for you and 2 as gifts), then every 4 to 6 weeks, you will receive a new Superbook DVD, and your account will be charged $25.00.
Or, you can purchase each DVD individually for $25.00.
You can read all about the purchasing options and order your DVD's on the CBN website.
Connect:
You can check out the Superbook website-that has info about the show, games to play, trailers to watch, and Bible Study guides (free) for each of the DVD's.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuperbookTV
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperbookTV
I'm so glad you stopped by! Hope you enjoyed the review!
God Bless,
Lisa
Disclosure: We received our Superbook DVD pack as part of a promotional program from CBN and Mom Select, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
