The Busy Little Engine

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The Busy Little Engine
BusyLittleEngineDVD.jpg
DVD cover image
Directed byDesmond Mullen
Written byDesmond Mullen
Produced by
  • Desmond Mullen
Starring
  • Desmond Mullen
Narrated byDesmond Mullen
CinematographyDesmond Mullen
Edited byDesmond Mullen
Music by
Distributed by
Release date
  • December 12, 2005 (2005-12-12)
Running time
34 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$52,000 (est.)

The Busy Little Engine is a 2005 children's DVD written and directed by Desmond Mullen. It was selected for the 2006 San Diego International Children's Film Festival and reviewed in the professional library journals Booklist,[1] School Library Journal,[2] and Video Librarian.[3] The Busy Little Engine was picked Best DVD by Parenting Magazine in July 2006.[4]

Plot[]

The preschool-age DVD tells the story of a wooden toy train who pretends to be a real train. The main character, Busy Little Engine, appears alternately as a wooden toy train in a playroom and as a full-scale-size train in real-world backgrounds. With its intentionally gentle pacing and static camera work, it has been called "a young child's picture book come-to-life".[by whom?]

Busy Little Engine pretends to be a real train but does not actually know what real trains do. This presents a problem which is soon solved with the help of Busy Little Engine's puppet friend, Pig, and the off-screen narrator.

Through the course of the show, Busy Little Engine and Pig explore the everyday world using role-playing and imagination. Viewers learn about tangible topics such as , and basic railroad operations along with esoteric topics such as pretending, taking turns, and learning from others.

Cast[]

Reception[]

The Busy Little Engine was selected for the 2006 San Diego International Children's Film Festival.[citation needed] It was picked Best DVD by Parenting Magazine in July 2006.[4]

Inspired, in part, by Richard Scarry's book, What do People do All Day? and other children's picture books, the DVD uses static framing to its advantage. DVD Verdict's review[5] said:

Yet the three kids I've shown it to have been rooted to the screen. Creator Desmond Mullen, formerly of Industrial Light and Magic and a current producer for the Morehead Planetarium, makes an interesting observation: Pans, cuts, and other cinematic shorthand are not natural. We have to learn what they mean. Kids don't intuitively understand that a jump cut means something. Pig's straightforward manner and The Busy Little Engine's static framing mimic the way a child interprets the world. The proof is self evident: Kids dig this DVD.

References[]

  1. ^ Booklist magazine at the American Library Association. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  2. ^ Review of The Busy Little Engine at the School Library Journal. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  3. ^ Video Librarian magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Parenting magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  5. ^ Review of The Busy Little Engine Archived 2006-12-12 at the Wayback Machine at DVD Verdict. Retrieved on 2007-03-16..

External links[]

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