26 September 2008

Jane and the Dragon "A Dragon's Tale" DVD Review & Giveaway

If you have daughters and you're paying even the slightest bit of attention to the world around us you probably know that there is a critical shortage of strong-willed, independent-minded female figures in the pop culture world today. We live in a society dominated by Bratz dolls, Hannah Montana-like starlets and a multi-channel "news media" dedicated to each movement, boyfriend choice and hair style of every Hollywood vixen. In America in 2008 a girl is a sex object from the moment her breasts begin to sprout...if not earlier. We truly live in troubling times.

As a father of two young ladies I often find myself searching for some glimmer of positivity in the entertainment world today and usually I find very little of it. Fortunately, I've found Jane and the Dragon, an intelligent-female-adolescent-driven program that is well-written and well-constructed. Jane and the Dragon is a funny, substantive show that any dad can feel great about letting his daughter watch.

The story starts out like many fairy tales: medieval castle, royal family, dragon, all that business but takes a sharp detour with Jane, it's title character. She is a knight-in-training, not a lady-in-waiting, and takes on the challenges thrown her way with the real-life authenticity of a 12 year old girl. She is not even close to perfect or super-confident, often needing reassurance from her buddy Dragon or the cook, a quirky girl named Pepper. The emotional blemishes give her character depth and a pathos not found in many TV characters (animated or otherwise). They also allow the audience to feel empathy for and connect with Jane.

The lessons taught in Jane and the Dragon - teamwork, friendship, courage and humility among others - are super and, even though they're being presenting through 9th century situations, can be transferred easily to 21st century life. What is refreshing is that the writers
don't smash your kids over the head with the moral of each story. The tales develop naturally and each concludes in a manner that will please the audience while shining a little light on what it means to be humble, kind, brave, etc.

While the show's eight or ten recurring characters are wonderful it's the writing that's the real star of the series. Adults will love the West Wing-style of banter between Dragon, the knights and the castle's "maintenance" staff (consisting of Pepper, Smithy, the blacksmith, and Jester). The comments are almost always sparse, quick-hitting and fun and never sink to crude or dumbed-down toilet humor. Talk about refreshing! And your kids will delight in watching Dragon attempt another bad landing, breath fire while coughing and humorously threaten to turn Jane's adversaries into charcoal.

If you're looking for something unique and utterly brilliant for your little knights-in-training at home you will not find anything better in the DVD space than Jane and the Dragon: A Dragon's Tale.

Buy Jane and the Dragon: A Dragon's Tale containing 5 episodes plus some bonus material today.
Or can also pre-order the next DVD in the series, Jane and the Dragon: Dragon Rules.

WATCH A FULL UNCUT JANE AND THE DRAGON EPISODE ONLINE RIGHT NOW...FOR FREE!

***********************************
OutWithTheKids.com is quite pleased to be able to give away one copy of the Jane and the Dragon: A Dragon's Tale DVD. Simply leave a comment here before 11:59pm (ET) on Friday October 3rd, 2008 for your chance to win.

27 comments:

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah said...

The Goon Squad loves dragons!

Henry said...

This is the sort of thing I want floating around in my daughter's subconscious, not images of Bratz dolls!

Anonymous said...

That's great! My son really loves dragons and dinosaurs right now and I love prizes that get his imagination going. Thanks!
linjenals at yahoo dot com

Rebecca said...

My husband was born in the year of the dragon, so he is quite obsessed with them. This has wore off on our children, they love dragons!

legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com

Ann said...

I would love to win this for my kids. Thanks for the great giveaway!
ann dot guns at mac dot com

Anonymous said...

A small or young dragon is a dragonet.

Anything pertaining to a dragon is dracontine.

I think my little dragonet would like to watch a dracontine video:o)
fun.mom.cher *at*gmail *dot*com

mrs.mommyy said...

I agree with quitecontrary that we need this in the girls brains not bratz and barbie

Jessica @ Piece Of Me said...

I would love to win this for my nephew. Thanks
livlifelov at yahoo dot com

Alice H said...

Great review - this sounds like a great series. Thanks for the chance! afdr3d@umkc.edu

Abby said...

I would love to add this to my daughter's library.

ajcmeyer AT go DOT com

windycindy said...

I love the concept behind this DVDMy niece and nephew would enjoy watching this story. Please enter me in your drawing. Many thanks.....Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Jen and Ash said...

My son loves Jane and the dragon. I love that they are allow a girl character to train to be a knight!
Thanks
mountaingoats at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Michelle J
I saw the show with my daughter and she loves it; i hope i win.
watson(at)zerostreet(dot)net

cltgrace said...

We LOVE Jane & the Dragon! What a girl! Thanks for hosting!

Buki Family said...

ive seend this show a couple of times and it is really cute and has good morals

Anonymous said...

My daughters and I have watched this show a time or two on Sunday mornings/afternoons. I have always enjoyed it and would love to win this for my girls!!!

Anonymous said...

So great to see shows with positive influences... so much better than shows like bratz! jeepcutie82 at msn dot com

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

OMG---I have two granddaughters - 4 and 7 - they would love this. A strong role model--outstanding!
lindanuts@yahoo.com

PS said...

Thanks for the link to the free show, my kids and I started watching it and they are very excited to finish it! Thanks!

Jenny said...

This looks good. It reminds me of my VHS copy of The Paper Bag Princess, which I watched over and over.

the_other_alice_(at)yahoo.com

Ginny said...

OH wow, this looks amazing! I'd love to win this!

mom2boys said...

My kids would love this. They like dragons and other mystical creatures. Thanks for the chance!

janetfaye said...

Sounds interesting and different.


janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

Xenia said...

This sounds like such a nice change from all the not-so-great messages that kids get from movies and television. Thanks for the giveaway!

xpsundell(at)gmail(dot)com

Rockin' Mama said...

Sounds like an interesting kid's DVD : )

jasonncaryn at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, I love this show! You'd be surprised how many teenagers like this series! I saw one of them was 22, and they were making a video on Youtube!

Anonymous said...

Just so people know, the link to watch a free episode of Jane and the Dragon sends you to a site where you have to be living in Canada in order to watch the episode. Unfair!