Nessieldwi
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Brennan Camacho
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
sngbrd39
Does anyone else remember a time when PBS children's shows were actually about, you know, education? Those halcyon pre-Barney-influence days when you knew you'd get good quality programming on PBS that the whole family could enjoy? Well, Between the Lions is definitely a return to those days. It probably feels like that because, according to what I've read, a lot of people who worked on pre-Elmo's World Sesame Street work on this show. So they know very well what a quality children's educational program should be like. I watch this show every day with my students (I'm an elementary school teacher assistant), and it definitely helps them with phonics and basic reading skills. It feels like the next step up from Sesame Street, building on the letters they learn from that program and showing how they are used in forming words. Plus, like Reading Rainbow, it introduces them to stories and books they might not be exposed to otherwise.Yeah, some of the little sketches and running jokes with the lions are kinda silly and corny (ie: Cliff Hanger, "what took you so long?", etc.), but but those things are only a small part of the show. It's not like there's a major part of the show that's irritating. If you don't like Cliff Hanger or any other of those bits, take comfort in the fact that a) it's probably not on every episode and b) the segment will only last 2-4 minutes, if that. (And plus, the kids like Cliff Hanger. They'll say "Can't...hold...on...much...LONGER" with him when they see him.) So, to sum up, Between the Lions is a wonderful show to watch with your children to help teach them basic reading skills. There are corny bits, yes, but by and large, it is an entertaining show for all, and it serves its purpose well!
JuneDesmond
When I was a kid all I ever wanted to watch was Electric Company. Seeing past episodes of it now, I kind of laugh and think it is silly, but it served its purpose. The whole reason behind the show is to teach pre-reading skills. The best way for most children to learn initially when they are pre-school age is through repetition. The characters are lovable, children will attach easily to them, which will also help to increase pre-reading skills. In this day and age reading starts so much earlier in school systems it's nice to have a show that is trying to help specifically with this task. Sesame Street is up there too it just isn't focused solely on reading. Some of my favorite Muppet voices are in this show: Moakley from Fraggle Rock among them. I love this show and think that it is a must to have in the household and my children both love it. Including Cliffhanger. However, their favorite is Chicken Jane. It's a FUN show.
bbqsauce
"Between the Lions" is a thoroughly engaging, well written, entertaining program that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. My 3-year-old and I like to get up early and watch it together. The only character I could really do without is Arty Smartypants; the others are entirely likeable, even the curmudgeon Busterfield. My wife and I feel that "Between the Lions" is like "The Electric Company" reborn, except that the writing is superior, especially with the incorporation of puns and other wordplay that are meant for grown-ups to enjoy ("Click" the computer mouse, a dinosaur called a thesaurus, Clay and Walter Pigeon, Chicken Jane, the sidekick Russell Upsomegrub, the author Livingston Dangerously, Monkey C. Monkeydew, etc.). "The Electric Company" was fast-paced, musical, and educational, but it can't match the humor and thus the total value of "Between the Lions."
david-345
Between the Lions is one of those shows where it appears that you are not allowed to have an opinion about it or it's content. The series has gotten almost universal acclaim and anyone attempting to voice a differing opinion gets shouted down as someone who is against literacy. I'm not against literacy, far from it, but I am against bad television and Between the Lions is about as bad as it gets. Have the critics who praise this series actually taken the time to watch it? How on Earth can this thing teach children how to read? It might have a noble goal, but that goal is buried under tons of obnoxious characters and bad skits that really, really grate on one's nerves almost from the get go. And people wanted to drive Barney the Dinosaur off the air and leave this thing on?PBS would be better suited to keep repeating Reading Rainbow ad nauseum as it is far superior to Between the Lions, for that matter why don't they repeat the Electric Company, a show that was both educational and very funny? These lions should be put on the endangered species list.
