Tractor Tom: Season 1 & 2 (DVD) – Series Review
Once in a while, we get to review a children’s series as good parents must know what to give their kids to watch in the morning with some breakfast, right? This time around, we’ve seen a whole bunch of episodes of Tractor Tom, a cute little red tractor who helps out wherever he can and who seems to possess a gift of befriending everyone around.
So, as said before, Tractor Tom is one of the good guys and this is quite obvious when you watch the series. Each episode is about some kind of problem on the farm and it’s mostly Tom who fixes the issues going on. In one episode, you’ll see how Matt (a friendly neighbor who helps out Farmer Fi whenever he can) lost his cell phone and the whole episode resolves around getting it back. Tractor Tom soon discovers where the little machine is hidden but the humans (Matt and Fi) don’t seem to understand what he’s trying to say. Children will certainly find it funny as they know themselves where the phone is hidden and of course, Tractor Tom will be the hero in their eyes.
The best thing about the small storylines is that there’s always enough humour to gets your cheeks in a smiley figure. Another episode for example, is about Tom getting all white because of flower and a little lamb thinks of him as her mother. Throughout the episode, you’ll see the lamb follow Tom everywhere while Matt and Fi try to reunite her with her real mother. Even for adults, those scenes are pretty entertaining to watch so kids will certainly love it.
Another great feature of the series is the diversity of the cast. Obviously, we’ve got Tractor Tom in the leading role together with farmer Fi and aiding guy Matt. However, we must not overlook the fact that the series takes place on a farm so what better setting is there to let some farm animals and other farm machinery join the cast? As good as every episode features some farm animals like sheep, ducks or horses and vehicles which interact with the main characters. This certainly opens up a path for more interesting storylines and every child will probably find a character to root for other than Tom himself.
Although the little stories are fine on their own and the characters are certainly diverse enough to keep your child from getting bored all too soon, the graphical style is really not the best one out there. The world in which Tractor Tom takes places just feels incredibly dull and shallow and misses a lot of vivid details and atmosphere. Especially outdoors, the world could’ve used some more attention to really make a child believe in what he or she sees. The objects you see on screen just look too artificial, too cold and too uninteresting.
Animations wise, Tractor Tom knows both good and bad times. The characters are sometimes really stiff and not that smooth while a bit later, it doesn’t look that bad anymore. Depending on what moves the characters execute, the animations are either acceptable or subpar.
Even in the Dutch version (which we received), the voice acting is actually quite good. Dutch voice actors tend to exaggerate their speech in children’s series but here, the conversations are all very normal and enjoyable to listen to. You’ll only hear Matt and Fi talking as the machines in the series can’t actually talk, which is quite a good thing to notice as too often, animals and objects alike are portrayed incredibly human-like in shows. Here, the farm equipment and animals seem to have a brain to use, but are not actually on the same level as the human personages which causes the series to gain a lot more credibility.
So, we’ve said that the only voices you’ll hear belonged to either Matt or Fi. Well… that’s not a hundred percent correct as the Tractor Tom series is accompanied by a narrator. Like this, the situation at hand gets explained without having to throw in ridiculous monologues or obvious let-me-explain-what’s-happening speeches. The amount of time the narrator appears in an episode has been kept to a minimum which is a good thing as it’s important for kids to see events unfold with their own eyes instead of trusting a stranger on his word.
Conclusion
Tractor Tom is an alright children’s series with some ups and downs. The storylines are entertaining enough and the diverse cast keeps the series from getting boring and reduce the feeling of watching more of the same. On the other hand, the world in which Tractor Tom takes place often feels lifeless and dull. Voice acting wise, there’s not much to complain and the narrator is a really good addition. As a conclusion, you could say that Tractor Tom is a so so series which is acceptable enough to watch but which also can’t compete with some other children’s shows out there.
Tractor Tom: Season 1 & 2 (DVD) - Series Review,
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[…] Once in a while, we review animated series as parents need to be informed of these as well. This time, we’re reviewing the third and fourth DVD of Tractor Tom, which is a series for toddlers about a tractor named Tom who goes on many adventures with his friends – other vehicles one can find on a farm. The series shows that life is not only about working hard, it is also about having fun from time to time. We’ve reviewed season 1 and 2 a while ago, which you can read right here. […]