MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE: MICKEY'S BIG SPLASH
DVD release date: May 9, 2009

Hey there, hi there, ho there, Mickey’s Big Splash has surfed onto DVD with four episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. the series that is part of the Playhouse Disney block of programming on the Disney Channel. While the name seems to pay homage to the great Mickey Mouse Club TV series, this is a completely different type of show with a completely different type of audience.

Aimed at the preschool audience, the show features Disney’s main characters, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and others. Both the stories and songs are simple and obviously intended for the youngest of Mousketeers, and there is plenty of education thrown in.

While Mickey and the gang stay true to their character, it seems the goal of these stories are not just to entertain or generate laughs, but to use the classic characters to help kids learn about subjects such as counting, logic and critical thinking. In various situations, such as helping ducks get to the beach for the winter, or taking care of a very muddy Pluto, audiences are encouraged to help figure out what types of things might be used to help solve the problems.

The BONUS FEATURE is a Fun in the Sun with Mickey and the Gang Game offers the same type of situations that might appear in an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but this time giving the viewer the chance to interactively respond using the remote control, rather than just talking back to the television screen.

While most people are familiar with the popular Disney television shows and movies , many people are not aware that Disney has a long tradition of using their characters in educational films, many of which were never intended to be seen by the general public. Although Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is publicly available, it continues with Disney’s educational tradition.