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With her love of all things fabulous, fancy and French, this little lady can change bland into chic. All it takes is a boundless imagination, help from friends and family, and a sunny approach to life that celebrates the differences that make everyone unique and Magnifique!
The first six episodes of Disney’s brand new animated “Fancy Nancy” show are now available on DVD. Made for Disney Junior, the show gears towards pre-school and kindergarten kids and this show specifically for the little girls who love the tres chic main character, Nancy. Unfortunately, the show fails to translate well on screen. The best part of the books is the introduction to new vocabulary and the fancy girl living in a plain world. Neither carries over with grace into the show.
I managed to sit through four of the episodes – each episode includes two mini-episodes, similar to most Disney Junior shows as little kids have short attention spans. Three episodes were more than enough to tell me the show was not up to par with “Doc McStuffins” or “Paw Patrol.” Any book lover will tell you the book version is better than the screen adaptation and this kids’ book is no different. The next episode was no improvement. Every episode seemed to be one disaster after another, which was not the way the book read. No learning, beyond a few forced vocabulary words. A few of the episodes could have taught an important lesson.
In each of the mini-episodes, Nancy is trying to improve her world. From making a plain play house fancy to making a school worthy of her name, she is making her mark on the world. My first real issue was how bland the first episode was and then the teapot issue irritated me. Here’s why: first, the parents couldn’t carry a mattress upstairs. Why would they bother trying to carry in furniture while their preschooler has friends over? Also, why would they let their preschooler host a tea party with an heirloom teapot with no supervision?
Overall, the main reason for the lackluster appeal of the show is the character of the cartoon Nancy doesn’t include the same precociousness as in the books. Her character is forced and her little sister is different. No longer is her sister Jojo a cute but annoying sibling but a constant tag-along older than her age. All this said, my seven-year-old daughter glued her eyes to the screen in a hurry to start a new episode when one ended. Her standards are not as high as mine, I guess. Because the show was a success for someone closer to the target audience, I gave it an extra star. “Doc McStuffins” or “Elena of Avalor” are much more enjoyable.
Available on Disney DVD November 20th
