A Rugrats Chanukah

The video does have some flaws. It's recorded in the fastest mode (apparently to save cost, but to be honest, I would have paid a few bucks more for a better quality recording) so the quality is not the greatest. Also, the closed captioning for the hearing impaired has lots of errors, such as some Yiddish expressions, and at the end when the blessing is given, it just says "(speaking Hebrew)" where the TV version spells it out and suffers from none of the above-mentioned flaws.)

Still, it is not enough to change my rating of 5 stars, or my recommendation of this video, as the content of the video is, of course, the most important part.


A Rugrats Chanukah   January 5, 2003
Mandy Johnson (Ocean Springs, MS United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Not only was this another endearing Rugrats episode, this video also had some very informative historical data. When my fellow teachers and I decided to expand our Christmas Around the World unit, we combed your website looking for innovative ideas.Unfortunately many teachers almost have to run a "dog and pony" show to compete with the visual stimuli of today's world. That's why we we so excited to find a copy of this great video that provides accurate historical and cultural information on a child's level with characters he/she recognizes and loves. Our second grade auditory learners were delighted with the video as were the visual learners with the paperback book of the same story. This video showed The Babies playing games and eating Chanakah snacks which we provided for our kinestic learners. This video held seven year olds' attentions while instilling information about the history and culture of the Jewish faith.


Real good Rugrats video, educational too!   October 11, 1999
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I might be in my pre-teen ages where people think they might not know what a good or bad movie is but I think all ages could enjoy. I'm not Jewish and many viewers probably aren't but I never was told or knowing the story behind Chanukkah and the whole episode explains it. Of course they even add a fun storyline to it (as the Rugrats try to put the Chanukkah play leader to a nap) to help people enjoy it. I definitely recommend it.


Great family entertainment.   December 3, 1999
Ruth (Illinois, USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

We found this to be an informative video for our children and entertaining to us as well. It explains Chanukah to children in a way they can understand when they are coming from another cultural background. The story is clear, easy to understand and follow, and entertains at the same time. It also shows the need for understanding, tollerance and the acepting of others different from ourselves in the world today. As a parent, I apprciate holsom videos that teach a lesson as well.


Poor video quality mars otherwise entertaining story   December 16, 1998
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

As usual, the producers of Rugrats have given us an entertaining and enlightening kids-eye view of the adult world that truly does appeal to both children and adults. The subjects covered include Christmas TV specials, Hanukkah customs, multi-ethnic families, and ancient rivalries. A second "bonus" cartoon (without a holiday theme) is also included.

My biggest complaint is with the video itself. In an apparent effort to save money, it is recorded in EP/SLP mode (very slow speed). This uses much less tape than videos recorded in the standard mode and thus costs less to make. The results show. The images are grainy at best and often snowy. I had to readjust the tracking on my VCR several times during the 17 minutes of the actual story time. This is especially disappointing coming from Nickelodeon inasmuch as Rugrats spinoffs are ubiquitous and are typically of better quality than this. It's hard to imagine the need to control costs here since the cartoon is not new; it was originally produced and broadcast in 1997.