The Money Mammals: Saving Money is Fun

Joe the Monkey and Piggs the Bank might sound like the names of Mafia mobsters, but they're really mammalian spendthrifts who need to learn the value of a coin in order to buy a gift for Clara J. Camel's birthday. OK, they're actually fuzzy animal puppets operated by creator John Lanza and crew in a bright half hour that demonstrates to preschool children how saving money can be fun. No, really. The colorful critters show children how to go to the store and spend cash, but they also emphasize and illustrate clever ways of saving money—a lesson that's never too early to learn. The eight songs by Randall Crissman and Mark Lanza have lyrics that explain the concepts, but more importantly, the songs are pop melodies with cool guitar riffs and catchy beats that will inspire viewers to sing along (which is made easy by means of a sing-along featurette). The "Kids and Money" featurette has interviews with cute tykes reacting to the show they've just seen, but more interesting is the behind-the-scenes slide show that depicts the production from storyboards to puppet articulation. In 12-minute "Just for Parents" featurette, the show's financial consultant, Sarah Harden, explains in a static talking-head shot why teaching children about money is important. Yeah, sure, but let's hear the infectious "Red Straw Hat (for Clara's Birthday)" again.