No 1 Season 1 – It's My Scoop
Running time: 70 minutes
In case you don't know, Geronimo Stilton is the new Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Kids seven onwards are reading the books in this series. And, now you can watch the DVD with them and try to figure out what it is about Geronimo that they love.
I watched it and still can't figure out what the attraction is. It's a nice enough character and supporting characters … but nothing so great about it that it should have lots of kids mesmerised.
The series is about journalist Geronimo who, with his nephew Benjamin, sister Thea and cousin Trap, solves puzzles and mysteries. Along the way there are lots of laughs and jokes as Geronimo is not as brave and strong as heroes normally are.
In this DVD, there are three episodes – Operation Shufongfong, It's My Scoop, and Stop Acting Around.
In Operation Shufongfong, Prince Nogouda is in Mouse City and Geronimo manages to get an exclusive interview with him. At the same time, Benjamin drags Geronimo to go see the rare Shufongfong lizards at the Mouse City Museum. While they are there, someone steals the lizards! Geronimo suspects Prince Nogouda's staff. It's up to the gang to find out the truth and find the lizards.
In It's My Scoop, Geronimo keeps getting scooped by his biggest competitor Sally of The Daily Rat and wonders who the spy in his office is. The Mayor announces that there will be a big secret celebrity at the city's next big celebration and Sally has made it her business to find out who it is. Geronimo, on the other hand, is contacted by the “secret celebrity” who wants his help to keep her identity secret from the paparazzi.
The last show – Stop Acting Around – is about the accidents that keep happening on a western movie set. Geronimo and family have been invited to the set and they suspect someone is trying to stop the movie from being made because of a nearby gold mine.
Geronimo Stilton is interesting in the way that perhaps Scooby Doo or Josie and the Pussycats were to us when we were kids. However, it can't compete with Tintin (also recently released in DVD format) but maybe because I'm viewing it from an adult's perspective.
I'm not sure your Geronimo Stilton book-reading kids should be allowed anywhere near this DVD series, but only because if your kid is reading … do you want them to get caught up in the DVDs and stop reading?
If your kids are already reading the books, I'd leave it at that.
If you want to get your kids into reading the Geronimo Stilton books, then no harm testing the waters by letting them watch one or two of these DVDs. But then, get them to read the rest of the books, rather than buy more DVDs. - Review by S.N.