Sunday, August 4, 2013

DVD Review - Liberty's Kids: The Complete Series

Liberty's Kids: The Complete Series
Voice Cast:  Kathleen Barr, Reo Jones, Chris Lundquist, Kevin Williams
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
ASIN: B00CMDPTTA
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Retail: $12.98
Running Time: 14 hours 26 minutes
Rating: TV-Y7

Review:

I consider myself a cartoon fan, but there have been many shows over the last fifteen years that have quietly went under my radar, including PBS's 2002-2004 series titled Liberty's Kids, which is set during the American Revolution. The series found its way onto DVD in 2008, but has been out-of-print for quite sometime. Mill Creek Entertainment recently released a 4-disc set of the Liberty's Kids featuring all 40 episodes.

Set in 1773, British teenage girl, Sarah Phillips, travels to the Thirteen Colonies to search for her missing father, Major Phillips, and stays as a guest at Benjamin Franklin's home. She takes a job as a reporter for Franklin's newspaper as she believes a viewpoint from a British girl is just want the newspaper needs. She befriends fourteen-year-old James Hiller, eight-year-old Henri Richard Maurice Dutoit LeFevbre, and Moses. At first Sarah is dedicated to her home country England, but towards the end of the series she clearly understands why the Thirteen Colonies wanted their freedom.

The episodes on the four-disc set are:

Disc One:

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
THE INTOLERABLE ACTS
UNITED WE STAND
LIBERTY OR DEATH!
MIDNIGHT RIDE
THE SHOT HEARD ’ROUND THE WORLD
GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
BUNKER HILL
POSTMASTER GENERAL FRANKLIN

Disc Two:

WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND
COMMON SENSE
THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
THE TURTLE
ONE LIFE TO LOSE
“CAPTAIN MOLLY”
AMERICAN CRISIS
ACROSS THE DELAWARE
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Disc Three:

SYBIL LUDINGTON
LAFAYETTE ARRIVES
THE HESSIANS ARE COMING
VALLEY FORGE
ALLIES AT LAST
HONOR AND COMPROMISE
THE NEW FRONTIER 1779
NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT
THE GREAT GALVEZ
IN PRAISE OF BEN

Disc Four:

BOSTONIANS
BENEDICT ARNOLD
CONFLICT IN THE SOUTH
DEBORAH SAMSON — SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION
JAMES ARMISTEAD
YORKTOWN
BORN FREE AND EQUAL 1781 – 1783
THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T BE KING
GOING HOME 1786
“WE THE PEOPLE”

Liberty's Kids is wonderfully animated series with a great voice cast, including several big name guest-voices, but the main focus of the series is to teach children about the American Revolution. There are only forty episodes in the series, but it does have a satisfying ending with the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. I do think it is odd that the children never age during the span of six years, but I guess that is the reason why it is called a cartoon. Overall, I enjoyed watching this well-written cartoon series and I recommend it to others.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own!







1 comment:

  1. I watched the 40 chapters and I must say I was highly captured by this great accomplishment. I enjoyed the kids, Moses, and Benjamin Franklin so much I couldn't stop watching till the whole 40 chapters were gone and it left me wanting more. I knew some events in history about our wonderful country but it wasn't till I watched The Liberty's Kids that I was able to learn & understand our history. I have lived in Philadelphia for the last 20 years and it's so great to finally enjoy this great city's heritage. I highly recommend it.

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