Goldie & Bear, Best Fairytale Friends on Disney DVD (Shelly’s Review)

Goldie & Bear, Best Fairytale Friends Review

Have you ever wondered what happened to Goldie after she left the Three Bears’ house? I sure have! My 3-year-old daughter has even started asking too when we get to the end of that story. Luckily, Disney has (once again) saved the day!

Enter the new Disney Junior DVD: Goldie & Bear, Best Fairytale Friends. Turns out that after the whole breaking-and-entering incident, Goldie and Bear became best friends. They live in Fairytale Forest, a picturesque wooded neighborhood crawling with celebrity fairytale and nursery rhyme characters. Seriously, it’s a “Who’s-Who” forest of the storybook world.

There are seven episodes on the DVD, but each episode is broken into two stories. One episode is 24 minutes long; the perfect amount time to help Mom get dinner started before there is a hangry meltdown. (Maybe that’s just in my house?)

What I really enjoyed was how so many classic characters were combined into each story. All the storylines meshed together perfectly and after watching all the episodes, it was like they should have all been friends from the very start! Every story has a positive moral lesson and a song to accompany it too.

Episode 1: The Birthday Chair/Big Bear
While helping Mama Bear decorate for Bear’s birthday party, Goldie realizes she forgot to get him a gift. Luckily, the Three Little Pigs come to her rescue and help her out. The gift is a perfect refurbishing of the chair she broke on their first encounter.

Bonus: Mama Bear is a little witty and bursting with love.

Bear decides he’d like to be bigger, but quickly sees that growing up is not what he wants. After Gnome grants three wishes, Bear is back to normal size. Leave it to a best friend to remind him that he’s just right- not to tall and not too short.

Episode 2: Fee-Fi-Fo-Shoe/Little Gold Riding Hood
During a friendly game of Buttercup Ball, a giant shoe falls into the playing field, halting the game. In order to continue, they rely on Jack’s beans to get them up to the Giant so he can move his shoe. Turns out though, once they make it back down the beanstalk, the Old Women has moved her family into the shoe! Everyone works together to solve this dilemma.

Goldie has long coveted Little Red’s beautiful hood. Be careful what you ask for though! Goldie convinces Red to let her wear the hood to deliver freshly baked treats to her grandma. As always, the Big Bad Wolf is hot on her trail. Bear is there to help Goldie make is to Grandma’s safely all the while keeping Red’s beloved hood spotless.

Episode 3: Bear’s Red Shoes/Goose Sitters
Bear is hesitant to dance in front of all his friends so Gnome’s cousin, The Magic Cobbler, lends him a pair of magic shoes. Naturally the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t want to be outshined so he pulls the “old switcheroo” on Bear’s shoes so he can be the best dancer. Turns out Bear doesn’t need magic shoes after all.

Jack (of Beanstalk fame) has to goose-sit despite not wanting too. Goldie & Bear convince him to let them do the job in exchange for two Golden Eggs.

Episode 4: Moon Jump/Big Good Wolf
It’s a special day in Fairytale Forest! It’s the annual Moon Jump Drawing! Each year all the characters put their name in a drawing; the winner gets to accompany The Cow on her jump over the moon. Goldie wins and leaves Bear in the dust. Mama Bear to the rescue though with a beautiful reminder about friendship.

Big Bad Wolf’s brother, Phil, is in town for a visit. “Big Bad” is super excited and boasts how Phil is even worse than he is. But Phil has adopted a new outlook on life after accidentally rescuing a family of mice. This lifestyle change does not bode well with Big Bad. Bear and Goldie attempt to help Big Bad bridge the gap between he and Phil by being nice.

Episode 5: Pinocchio-itis/The Clubhouse That Jack Built
Goldie experiences Pinocchio-it is after telling a few (several) fibs. The cure? NO fibs for one whole day! This turns out to be harder than she thought when Mama Bear enlists her help in keeping Bear away from the house while she and Papa Bear put together a surprise for Bear.

Jack (of Beanstalk Fame) builds a clubhouse for all boys in the forest with the name Jack. Jack B. Nimble, Jack (of Jill fame) and Little Jack Horner are all members. Bear stumbles upon the clubhouse while he and Goldie are out playing one day. Of course he wants to be a member too. Luckily for him, his real name is Jack Bear! The Jacks Club is almost too good to be true; almost.

Episode 6: The Egg/Golden Kickball
Goldie & Bear stumble upon an unusual egg. Humpty Dumpty, the resident Eggspert, is also stumped on what it is, so it’s up to Goldie & Bear to figure it out. When the egg hatches, Bear befriends the baby while Goldie make a flying machine to get him back up to nest. Bear is reluctant to part ways with his new friend though.

Bear kicks his new Golden Kickball over the fence of the Gingerbread Witch’s yard. She has long been feared and many a character has lost a ball over the fence. (picture The Sandlot!) Goldie & Bear retrieve the ball, but not without a run-in with the scary witch. (Who looks like a not-so-distant-cousin of the Wicked Witch of the East) Don’t believe everything you hear about her though!

Episode 7: Thumbelina’s Wild Ride/Big Bad Houseguest
Bear & Goldie are shocked by the size of their new babysitter. (Fairy Godmother was unavailable that night) Thumbelina quickly shows Bear & Goldie that height and stature do not matter. You can accomplish anything with the right attitude!

During his “Huff & Puff Practice,” Big Bad accidentally blows his own house down, so Humpty volunteers to keep Big Bad while The Three Pigs rebuild his house. Humpty soon starts to regret this decision when Big Bad oversteps houseguest boundaries!

Free Activities and Games
This DVD comes with a Playtime Fun Set that includes reusable stickers to be placed on a glossy picture of Fairytale Forest, a coloring section with a picture of Goldie & Bear and a maze.

Overview
Overall, I really enjoyed this series. My daughter and my 4-year-old niece did too. I especially loved the last four episodes though! I’m not sure if it was because I had become accustomed to the format of the stories or if it is just personal preference, but they really stood out to me! The Moon Jump was so darling and endearing too. Thumbelina was a positive force to be reckoned with and the Gingerbread Witch was actually quite the fairytale Martha Stewart. There was just enough wit and humor to keep both the kids and me equally entertained.