Davey and Goliath: The New Skates and Other Stories contains the following episodes: "The New Skates," "Cousin Barney," "The Time Machine," and "The Mechanical Man." It's a nostalgic return for old fans and will open up a whole new generation to the moral magic of Davey and Goliath. --Rob Bracco

Description
Relive your childhood memories. Like Big Wheels, superballs and bell bottoms, "Davey and Goliath," the stop-motion, three-dimensional animated television program about a boy and his dog, was a much-cherished part of life for many children growing up in the '60s and '70s. Millions of parents and children embraced the lovable duo, their family and friends in warm and entertaining adventures every week from 1962 to 1977. Conceived by "Gumby" creator Art Clokey, "Davey and Goliath" provided a welcome alternative to violent children's programs. Produced by the Lutheran Church in America, the series featured moral themes, earning high praise from TV professionals, religious leaders and viewers alike. Includes eight 14-minute episodes.

It is rather obvious that no work was done to clean up the picture or improve the faded colors. In one story, their is a hair or string in the upper left corner that remains viewable for several mintues! Sound is adequate, but you won't be needing a THX certified sound system to bring this disk to life. (Nor will you need Dolby Digital, Dolby Surrond, or even plain old stereo...mono systems will be more than adequate.)

This disk itself is just a plain boring silver affair with the "Davey and Goliath" logo imprinted on it. The case is one of those cheap paper & plastic things like Warner Brothers uses for their fine films. It is obvious that as little money as possible was spent on the production and distrubtion of this DVD.

It is also obvioius that as little money as possible was spent on the actual production of Davey and Goliath...but that's understandable seeing how this was a non-profit televisionn show. The Lutherans were not looking to pick up a lot of ad revenue with their two claymation hereos.

So with all that out of the way, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the purchase of this DVD, especially if you are interested in grounding small children in good, old fashioned moral lessons.

Davey and Goliath wildly succeed where 90% of children productions fall down and die --it gives children valuable life lessons while still managing to be entertaining. In the last 40 years or so, the only thing I can think of that suceeds as well are the very recent "VeggieTales" productions. What's even more amazing is that these profound little lessons in morality are done without being preachy or condemming; rather, they are done in a very gentle and loving manner. Many of these Davey and Goliath episodes would be as welcome in a Jewish or Muslim household as they would in a Christian home.

The animator, Art Clokey, and the writer, Nancy Moore, deserve a tremendous amount of praise and gratitude. My two children (ages 4 & 6) love watching these episdodes, just as their father did when he was their age. And while they are watching they are learing some valuable things about life and morality that no child should be withhout.

This particular disk contains the following episodes:

1. The Waterfall

2. The Parade
3. Officer Bob
4. The Dog Show
5. The New Skates
6. Cousin Barney
7. The Time Machine
8. The Mechanical Man

The total running time of all eight episodes is 113 minutes.

No home should go without a copy of this DVD.


Pleasant but perfunctory DVD   May 15, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

A nice selection of episodes from the classic series. I wish they had given some thought to some extras, but what's here is good enough. The film sources could have used a little cleanup here and there, but it's certainly better than the Gumby DVD, also from Clokey Productions.


blast from the past is suitable for viewing by today's kids   September 25, 2001
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

When I was a child growing up in Dallas, TX, there used to be a program on Channel 5 each Sunday morning called "The Children's Hour." The host would have a child on as a guest each week and someone from the zoo would bring in different animals, then they would switch to a cartoon or another feature. Somethings changed, but each week you could count on a new episode of "Davey and Goliath."

Designed by the same folks who created Gumby, the characters are created in claymation, stop-motion fashion and it's obvious. This is not the same quality as "Chicken Run" in appearance, but the short stories will grab your heart.

The underlying constant is a boy's love and devotion for his dog and the dog's love and devotion for his boy. All episodes have a moral lesson and while the shows were funded by the Lutheran Church, the shows are positively non-denominational. God is mentioned in nearly every episode, but the shows are not preachy, but instead show a loving family centered on Godly values (be kind, don't steal, don't lie, help your friends, etc.).

Goliath, the Great Dane (at least I think that's what kind of dog he's supposed to be) is the best part of the show. Only Davey can understand him, and the voice that comes out of Goliath seems to personify the deep, sensitivity a dog seems to convey when they lay their muzzle on your lap and look up at you with those big brown eyes.

If you haven't seen "Davey and Goliath" before, you owe it to yourself to do so. I don't have kids, but I still enjoy watching these 8 episodes. If I did have kids, they'd be watching this DVD before I'd let them watch some of the more modern garbage that's on TV for kids today.