Hit Entertainment's new releases (plus 6 giveaways)!

My toddler and preschooler loves Thomas the Tank engine. He is quite a hit with most children between the ages of 2 and 8. My kids really enjoyed the new Thomas release: Railway Friends which hit the shelves on February 10th. We enjoyed watching Railway Friends, which is filled with messages of friendship, and helping each other. Thomas & Friends always have great stories that display good morals and lessons that are great for kids to learn. We enjoy talking about how Thomas and the other trains handled different situations and problems. It is fun to peek into my child's thoughts with our discussions.
There are six episodes on this DVD:
Best Friends-Thomas is given a job that Percy REALLY wanted, without Percy even being considered. Thomas feels guilty and doesn’t know how to tell his friend and so he avoids him and Percy is hurt more by the avoidance. Thomas comes up with a way to help his friend feel better, and everyone is happy.
The Party Surprise- Colin, a loading crane, is sad because he can’t go to the party that the engines go to every year. His friend Freddie, an engine, decides to bring the party to Colin but totally messes up in the process by not telling his boss that he’s changing everyone’s plans. In the end he manages to make things right and Colin enjoys his first party.
Gordon Takes a Shortcut- Gordon and Stanley race to pick up important passengers. Gordon wants to get there first, and takes a shortcut that makes him more and more lost along the way. He refuses each offer for help. Then he accidentally creates a situation that is dangerous for his friend Stanley and rushes to make things right by asking for help each step along the way.
Thomas Puts the Brakes On- Thomas is entrusted with a load of valuable cargo, but his brakes are squeaking! Thomas refuses a generous offer from a his friend Stanley to help him pull his cargo safely. Along the way he keeps losing parts of his cargo as he is unable to slow down. With the help of three friends, Thomas helps recover the lost cargo and Stanley makes sure that it gets to the right destination.
Saved You!- Thomas tries to help his friends when they don’t really need help at all and in the process causes a lot of problems. Thomas believes that he has the time to help at first, but once he causes the problems he no longer has time to help fix them. After making too many of these mistakes he realizes what he has to do, and he goes back to fix all of his mistakes. When he is done he sees a friend that truly needs help and takes the time to ask before jumping in to help, and is finally able to save the day for real.
Excellent Emily- After a terrible storm, Emily is one of the few engines that hasn’t broken down. Sir Topham Hatt praises her and calls her “Excellent Emily”. Her ego is so inflated that she ignores the advice of her friend Murdoch and runs into problem after problem along the way. Finally Murdoch saves her, and she takes his advice. Along the way she takes the advice of others that know more than her, and arrives just in time. This time when Sir Topham Hatt praises her she reacts very differently and shares the praise humbly.
Railway Friends is an all-new version of what we know as Thomas! The people and trains are now animated~ with moving mouths when they speak. It definitely improves the older version (in my opinion). The scenery is always fun to see and the shots are realistic looking. My husband loves to model trains, and so he enjoys the Thomas shows, too.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Roary The Racing Car: My children love Roary, and always look forward to his episodes after the HIT shows. Laying Down the Track Game: This little puzzle game presents you with different scenarios where you have to choose from four different track pieces in order to direct Thomas across the terrain and into a tunnel. There are quite a few variations of the game. The game can be played with a mouse on the PC, or with the TV remote. Name the Train Game: This game shows different trains, fading up gradually from black and encouraging you to guess each train’s name. This name is read out loud and displayed on the screen. It is not an interactive game which makes it easier for younger children to play. Because the name is shown in text as well as the audio, it’s great for children with hearing impairments. Trailers: The trailers that play at the beginning of this DVD are also available under the Special Features menu.
Shaun in Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa! was a fun DVD for us to review, and we were very excited to see the release of Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath! From The Academy Award®-Winning Creators Of Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun The Sheep™ Returns For More Wacky Animal Antics.
Shaun the Sheep keeps us laughing! He has such funny antics and ideas! I actually think this movie was even funnier than the first DVD!
Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath came out on DVD February 10, and it is from Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment.
With Shaun, Bitzer the sheepdog and the Naughty Pigs next door, there’s no telling what bizarre escapades will happen next. Sometimes it’s shear madness, but it’s always fleecy fun. Join the flock for a wooly good time! The Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath DVD features eight hilarious episodes starring Shaun and all his barnyard buddies:
Shape Up With Shaun– Shaun puts Shirley the Sheep, on an exercise regime.
Bathtime– Shaun and the flock go on a mission to try and get hot water for their sheep dip.
Fetching– Bitzer, distracted by a fetching female dog, misses the flock’s rampage through the farmhouse, so it’s up to Shaun to intervene.
Take Away– The sheep go on a mission to the local pizzeria disguised as a humanbeing.
Still Life– The Farmer takes up oil painting but during a break, the flock investigates.
Scrumping– The flock begs for apples from the Naughty Pigs’ yard, but after severalfailed attempts, a war breaks out.
Stick With Me– Bitzer glues the Farmer’s broken glasses back together, but when the flock gets its hooves on the tube of glue, things get very sticky!
The Kite– A kite blows into the field and gets stuck in a tree, so it’s up to Shaun and the flock to get it down.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES• “Sing-a-long with Shaun”
Since spring is right around the corner, and we are longing for the seasons to change...it was fun watching the fun episodes on the new Hit Entertainment release: Here Comes Spring! which features Thomas & Friends, Barney and Friends, Bob the Builder, and Fireman Sam, Fifi and the Flowertots and Kipper. My kids love this DVD so much, I am afraid they will wear it out!
The Here Comes Spring! DVD is available on Amazon released on February 10, 2009. Here Comes Spring features a colorful collection of six cheery, spring-themed episodes starring favorite preschool characters! Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends and Fifi have come to celebrate during this special time of year. Jump into the fun and enjoy the outdoors with Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam, or create magnificent gardens with Barney and Fifi. Get ready to cheer because Spring is here!
Thomas & Friends- In "Thomas Sets Sail," Thomas is asked to collect the mayor's new sailboat and deliver it to the harbor. But strong winds send the affable engine on a wild and disastrous ride around the island.
Barney and Friends- In "The Big Garden," Barney teaches his friends how to grow fruits and vegetables in a garden.
Fifi and the Flowertots- In "Flowertot Rainbow," Fifi's plan to wow Violet with a colorful display that goes awry when she forgets to water her flowers. What is she going to give Violet now?
Bob the Builder- In "Roley's Flat Garden," Mr. Bentley is designing a new botanical garden. Join Bob and Roley as they work together to get the job done!
Fireman Sam- In "Fit for Nothing," The firefighters are training hard to appear in the Wales Fittest Firefighters calendar. It's a competition to see just who is the fittest!
Kipper- In "The Butterfly," Kipper finds a butterfly who loves the color purple. He traps it in a jam jar but realizes that it shouldn't be kept captive and eventually sets it free.
Would you like to enter for a chance to win a fun DVD for your kids? I have 3 of each of Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-ath and Thomas & Friends: Railway Friends to giveaway~ So there will be 6 winners in all!
This contest is open to all readers living in the Continental United States. To get your first entry, tell me what your favorite part of spring is! Also, in your comment, let me know which movie you would like to win! Then, you may come back each day and enter (again) after you do the first rule, just tweet about this giveaway and leave the url in your comment AND/OR Click here to see how you can earn even more extra credits to win!! Click here to see guidelines and the official rules. Contest will end on March 5th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST. GOOD LUCK!