Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest – Stealth Learning at its Best,
Unknown to the world, Thomas Edison built a secret lab where he invented a virtual version of himself and a steampunk robot named Von Bolt. Years later, Angie, a twelve-year-old science prodigy, discovers the lab. While visiting one of Kent’s relatives, the kids come up with a great idea for attracting more tourists to his restaurant – the only catch is that it also attracts a very big shark with very big teeth! What will the Secret Lab Kids do? Guided by fun-loving Edison, Angie and friends will show just how fun science can be. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Jolleen M. comments, “I love all of the puns and the jokes. I thought that they were very funny. I also thought that it was awesome that everything tied in with learning, so that you could enjoy watching the movie while learning new things about science.” Carla P. adds, “The show has cool features that I’ve rarely seen on a TV show. At the end of every episode, they have a music video recapping what they learned in that episode.” KIDS FIRST! Adult Juror, Rachael V. wraps it up with, “This collection is called “It’s Always Sharkest” because it features an episode regarding a shark’s sense of smell. Thinking about subjects such as DNA and radioactive decay doesn’t seem to be very appealing to younger kids, but these episodes change that. It gives a very hands on, kid friendly approach to not just learning about these subjects, but enjoying the adventure along the way.” See their full reviews below.
Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest
By Jolleen M., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
This film is very educational and humorous. I love all of the puns and the jokes. I thought that they were
very funny. I also thought that it was awesome that everything ties in with learning, so that you can enjoy watching the movie while learning new things about science.
Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab is about Angie and her friends who discover Thomas Edison’s secret lab. They go on multiple science adventures to learn how to solve their problems in everyday life. They go back in time, shrink to be super small, go snorkeling and even go inside animals’ bodies to learn as much as they can about their situation to help solve their problem at home.
Phillipa Alexander (Angie), has a voice of a child, which is probably why they chose her for the role of Angie. Phillipa Alexander’s voice can sound nerdy and smart or be used to sound enraged and mad. Shash Hira (Kent) can make his voice sound small and awkward. He portrays Kent as an intimidated character.
The animation in this movie is not that good. When they talk, their mouths mostly just move up and down. The arm movements they do are also really repetitive. Overall, the movements for the characters and scenery are not very life like. But, I don’t think a young child will mind. This movie is made for younger audiences, but the science they teaching is suitable for older kids.
My favorite part of the movie is when Angie and her friends shrink and go through the process of 
pollination. It looks really cool to see how pollination works, when you are super small actually see the inside of the flower and bee hive.
The message of this film is to accept yourself for who you are, and to realize that science isn’t lame and can actually be useful. When Angie was building a robot for a competition, the opponents were calling her a geek and science nerd. But Angie isn’t discouraged and actually likes that she knows a lot of things. She doesn’t let them distract her and ends up winning the bot fight.
You can learn a lot from this show. I give this DVD 5 out of 5 stars and I recommend it for ages 8 to 12. The animation and plot seem suitable, but the science and vocabulary is more suited for older children. It’s on DVD so, go check it out – especially if you love science!
Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest
By Carla P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
I like Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest because it is an educational show, has very unique features and really good animation.
This show is about a group of kids and a few robots that do scientific research. They do it in a secret lab that Thomas Edison left behind with a digital version of himself. They do research about a shark’s sense of smell. When the group gets into situations where they mess up on a project or experiment, they always find a way to fix it. And, they have adventures with famous scientists such as Charles Darwin.
The show has cool features that I’ve rarely seen on a TV show. At the end of every episode, they have a music video recapping what they learned in that episode. I’ve only seen this once before on Bill Nye’s old TV series. The only thing different between Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest and Bill Nye’s music video is that Bill Nye did a parody of popular songs while the songs on this show are all original songs.
T
he animation reminds me somewhat of the TV show The Fairly Odd Parents. Both have similar animation styles. They both look sort of like paper cutouts. Furthermore, I like how the robot’s actions are animated. In the first episode, one of the robots is almost eaten by a shark so he spins out of control to try to get away from the shark’s mouth. I thought that was hilarious, seeing him spin out of control.
The message of the show is to find ways to fix problems and it encourages kids to appreciate and learn more science. In the first episode, the group tries to make a slide but fails because there was too much friction. The whole series is based around science and boosts kids’ interest in science. The program shows how science can be fun. I rate this show 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to ages 6 to 9. It is available now on DVD so, go check it out.
Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab: It’s Always Sharkest
Reviewed by Rachael V., KIDS FIRST! Juror.
I’ve been lucky enough to review two of the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab DVDs and I just love them. As a
kid I always loved science class, but I know that not everyone did. There were lessons that appealed to me less than others and I was lucky enough to have shows such as Bill Nye the Science Guy and The Magic School Bus to inspire me. This collection is called “It’s Always Sharkest” because it features an episode regarding a shark’s sense of smell. Thinking about subjects such as DNA and radioactive decay doesn’t seem to be very appealing to younger kids, but these episodes change that. It gives a very hands on, kid frie
ndly approach to not just learning about these subjects, but enjoying the adventure along the way. One of my favorite things about this program is meeting the creators take on other scientists like Darwin and Watson. The animation is phenomenal and the lessons learned are even better. I recommend this to kids ages 5 to 12, but make no mistake, I greatly enjoyed learning new things and relearning things I had long forgotten. If I could rate this higher than 5 stars I would, but since I can’t, I give it 5 out of 5 stars!
