Dir. James Burks, Ron Crown, Larry Hall and Steve Daye, 82 minutes, 2009
Cast. Beyoncé Knowles (voice)
Review By Michelle Moore
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Wubb Idol is the second movie from the Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Series. It is an 82-minute feature long creation, constructed from several episodes and guest stars Beyonce as Shine, one of The Wubb Girlz, an all singing, all dancing three-piece girl pop act.
Upon landing in Wuzzleburg, the girls are shown around by Wubbzy, who unlike everyone else in the city has no idea who the girls are. The girls then hold a Wuzzleburg Idol competition, which Wubbzy wins. The Wubb Girlz fly to Wuzzlewood, while Wubbzy and his friends Daizy, Widget, and Walden, make their way there in the Wubbmobile, wanting to stop off at many fun places along the way. Upon arriving, Wubbzy gets scared to be on stage with the girls but his friends join him and take away his stage fright.
Up until this point the film seemed connected, with the episodes clearing linked against each other seamlessly. The story is continuous and all suits the title ‘Wubb Idol'. Unfortunately, after Wubbzy's stage performance, the film trails off in a new direction. The last half hour or so of the movie involves Wubbzy getting offers of being in movies, first as a small part in the Wubb Girlz movie as a star, later on his own, leaving him unable to spend time with his friends. He later realises his friends are more important and returns home to Wuzzleburg with his friends. This part of the story seems sidetracked from the original concept and fails to keep children entertained that little bit longer. If the last half hour or so segment where Wubbzy stars in films, had been cut from the DVD, then children could have the perfect hour-long episode/feature film they could enjoy coherently, without getting sidetracked.
Ignoring the faults in the narrative however, the film is actually very easy to watch and includes the singing talents of Beyonce supplying voices for all 3 Wubb Girlz. Their song, ‘Sing A Song' is something children are going to be singing along to for months to come, as it is fairly slow moving and lyrically simple so children will grasp it very easily.
Besides the prolonged ending, this straight to DVD movie will be an enjoyable watch for young children and a brilliant addition to their growing collection of favourites.
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