The series teaches various things from human anatomy to space science. For instance, they explain gravitational pull and how it differs from in space versus on Earth. I learned that the quantity of atoms doesn't change but gravitational pull makes you weigh less on the moon and the closer the object, the greater the gravitational pull. Jupiter has more mass than Earth which means it has more gravity and, according to the show, it would be less fun there due to the fact that you couldn't float around. The show uses comedy as well to get its point across.
Every episode has an adventure or a problem to solve. Writers Steven Banks, Steven Darancette and Brian Stampnitsky excelled at creating such a cute show that inspires its audience. In fact, it encourages kids to be scientists. Angie, played by Phillipa Alexander who has a lot of experience doing voice-overs for animated films and, it's great to see her here. I like how they have included text when songs come up. It's a small detail that helps you grasp the significance of the words in the songs.
My favorite scene is in the first episode. When learning about space, the characters portray what is being taught by some green aliens and one of them gets attached to the moon due to the fact the gravitational pull has increased as a result of the mass of the moon. This part was just very funny. I recommend this animated film for ages 2 to 6 and give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is available on DVD now so, go check it out.
Reviewed by Giselle T., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 16
Thomas Edison's Secret Lab: Rock It to the Moon is a fun, educational series that made me laugh while I was learning. This show teaches new cool stuff about gravity, nanobots and the birth of the remote control.
Angie, Kent, JD and Nicky are back with Thomas Edison and Von Bolt the robot to solve all kinds of problems by going back in time to learn from pioneers in science throughout history.
In the first episode, Dancing Machine, Von Bolt is invited to try out for a dance competition. The gang and Thomas Edison realize that he's not such a good dancer and decide to build a remote-controlled suit so Von Bolt can make it to the show. They use the virtual reality room to travel back to Spain in 1903 and discover how to use radio and remote control from Leonardo Torres y Quevedo, an engineer and mathematician who created one of the first designs for a remote-controlled device.
My favorite episode is Murphy's Law of Gravity. The kids are trying to impress web celebrity Mark Zoomerboom with their song about science. Instead he discovers a satellite is falling out of the sky and he panics. The kids must find a way to keep him calm to get their song to go viral. This episode was laugh-out-loud funny and there's a cool gag with penguins to watch out for.
My favorite character in the series is Thomas Edison (Livingston Taylor) because whenever the kids are under pressure or doubting themselves, he comforts them and gives them good advice. I really hoped there would be an episode in this volume that showed how the kids found the lab but that is a loose end for me in the story line and I hope they work it in on a later volume.
Some of the other episodes I liked are Rock It to the Moon because they talk about gravity. Another episode I enjoyed is Nanobots Byte because I didn't know what nanobots were. They are really, really tiny robots - and the episode helped me understand how they work.
I like the music videos in this volume even more than the first DVD, Secret Lab Meeting. Some of them are really catchy and some of them are just kind of weird. I recommend Thomas Edison Secret Lab: Rock It to the Moon to ages 5 to 12. Kids will fall in love with this show pretty easily and I think there are some pretty advanced subjects that older kids might want to learn about.
I give Rock It to the Moon 3 out of 5 stars. I recommend you science fans watch this show that presents high-level science with high amounts of fun. Thomas Edison's Secret Lab: Rock It to the Moon is in stores April 26th so, go check it out.
Reviewed by Benjamin P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12.
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