This month I’m going to break from the usual and review musical DVDs instead of CDs. Perhaps it’s because I’m hungry right now that I chose these DVDs, which include songs like “Punching Cheese” and “Peanut Butter,” and one of which stars a monkey named Mango.
My favorite is Gustafer Yellowgold’s Have You Never Been Yellow? In a previous CD, Gustafer was introduced as an odd little creature from the sun who has come to live in Minnesota with his flightless pterodactyl named Forrest Applecrumble.
Morgan Taylor, Gustafer’s creator, is a self-proclaimed fan of The Beatles and Kiss and describes his music as coming from ’70s pop. Listening to the lyrics, you might feel as if Taylor has, indeed, taken some leftover hallucinogenic drugs, but that’s just his sparkly imagination showing through the music.
From the introspective “Bluebird Tree,” about finding a special place to dream, to the upbeat “The Cactus Calls,” about camping in the living room and running from the dragon sheriff, the music Taylor has created for Gustafer will beguile adult and child alike.
The companion DVD contains videos corresponding to the songs, illustrating Gustafer’s many adventures. It’s entertaining to see Gustafer’s world, which you and I would never imagine. With zealous reviews from a lengthy list of publications including The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, Gustafer might become as iconic a character as a fellow extraterrestrial better known as E.T.
Mr. Stinky Feet’s Road Trip is a videotaped concert performed before an audience of enthusiastic toddlers. Jim Cosgrove is a former reporter and teacher who is not afraid to tap into his inner “Fancy Pants.” Watching him demonstrate the “gobbler” for audience participation in “Gobble ’Cross the U.S.A.,” it’s hard not to like him.
The song “Stinky Feet” is all about not making fun of stinky feet but instead celebrating them. The energy of “Little Red Wagon” translates well visually, with the kids in the audience, awkward though they may be, performing the percussion with maracas and tambourines.
It’s not a big-budget production like The Wiggles or Barney, but your kids might appreciate the campy feel.
The last DVD, Mango’s Big Dog Parade, is rather unspectacular. My kids did enjoy the show, but it was the bonus dog video that we loved. “Behave, Bernard” is an 11-minute movie about a huge dog named Bernard who happily rummages through trash, eats other people’s ice cream cones, and just cannot behave (reminds me a lot of my son). Yes, it’s from the 80s, and yes, it’s cheesy, and yes, it’s really fun to watch.

During the sampling of these CDs, Whitney Lou’s two year old son, Jax, suffered minor rug burn on his head when he attempted a dangerous dance move. They live in the near West End.

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