Camp Harmony

And now, here's another Donut Man review, this time, it's....

Camp Harmony! This is another favorite Donut Man video, the second favorite, the first being The Donut All-Stars, since my Mom liked my review for the Donut All-Stars, I decided to review another Donut Man video.

The plot of this video is that The Donut Man (Rob Evans) takes Duncan (Steve Axtell), and the kids (otherwise known as the Donut Repair Club) camping at Camp Harmony, where they're their to not just camp but also make friends, and live in harmony, but Matt Taylor on the other hand, doesn't seem to be having a good time and he'd rather spend a regular camping trip, and so, without them noticing, Matt goes off exploring by himself, but that gets him into trouble near the pool where there's no lifeguard on duty, and so, Abbi and her friend Duncan come in and save the day. In my opinion, the Matt Taylor focused videos were the best Donut Man videos out there. Matt even forgets about what happened simply by learning that it's okay to still be their friends, and that exploring all alone was a foolish thing to do. Oh, and did I mention that he can't swim, and that he was standing on the diving board? Isn't that like a person with Vertigo trying to relax on top of the Empire State Building? But I digress. What else? Oh yeah.

The highlights of the video are not just the part where Duncan and Abbi save Matt from drowning, but also the songs as well, my personal favorite is the song that Rob Evans wrote himself with Roger Thrower called "Wonderful Saving Love," complete with Steve Axtell's puppets from Axtell Expressions, including Fireman Floyd, Willie (the boy sinking in the water), and Lifeguard Louie, as seen in this picture. This song really has a nice mix of Rock and Roll with a touch of Big Band attached to it, whoever thought Rob Evans could sing Rock and Roll?

My other favorite song in the entire video was The Donut Man's version of Daniel and the Lions' Den, complete with using Steve Axtell's lion puppet from The Donut All-Stars. The song has a nice rhythm and a nice saxophone playing in the background, and if I didn't know better, Rob Evans did the puppetry on the lion. I'm not sure if Rob Evans ever saw the VeggieTales adaptation of Daniel and the Lions' Den, heck, I'm not sure if he ever saw VeggieTales, but I'm pretty sure the VeggieTales' own version of Daniel and the Lions' Den better because the Wisemen were never thrown into the lions' den for breakfast, except, they escaped to Egypt. I'm not sure if whether or not The Donut Man made the part of the Wisemen being eaten all up up or if it was in the original bible story, but I digress.

All in all, this video is a stroke of genius, pure pure genius. Take a mix of biblical values, with puppets and costumes, great songs, and a rare actress like Martha Doggett playing the potter, and you've got yourself a perfect video all about camping and being friends with one another. I must say, Matt had to learn it the hard way. Also, much like The Donut All-Stars, this video also features Pia Manalo, the actress who played Min in the Barney the Dinosaur series. Hmm, I'm going to go ahead and blame the Texas Illuminati on this one.



To learn more about The Donut Man, visit the website.

http://www.donutman.streamlinenettrial.co.uk/

Also, to learn more about Steve Actell's puppets, click here:

http://www.axtell.com/

Or how about this page if you wanna learn more about the Laughing Louie puppet.

http://www.axtell.com/louie.html (all I can say is, don't buy it, it's too expensive.)

If you want to watch the Camp Harmony video, click here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCRjNhhuzcI

The Donut All-Stars

And now, for something completely different.

That's right, I'm reviewing a live action direct-to-video program. The Donut Man (Rob Evans) in The Donut All-Stars! I know this completely not a cartoon, and don't worry, I'll still keep reviewing cartoons in the future, but at least we have a Duncan puppet. Now, I won't exactly ruin the video for you, so, I'll just give you the basic premise. The first half takes place at the park in Texas, where The Donut Man, Duncan, and the Donut Repair Club practice for a big baseball game against the Mighty Warriors. With all their hearts, and souls, they trained and they trained, until they were all prepared for the big competition! I have no idea how they did it all in one day, but it doesn't matter. The second half has the club battling against the Mighty Warriors at the baseball stadium, ultimately winning. Now for my review.

What I like about this video is that, it's educational, funny, and has puppets performed by Steve Axtell of Axtell Expressions. Steve Axtell was a regular in the Donut Man video series, as the voice of Duncan. I especially found a funny version of their adaptation of David and Goliath, doesn't beat the VeggieTales version, but it's still very good. You have Andy Evans as David, and Steve Axtell's puppets like Lloyd as Goliath, the Lion from Camp Harmony, and a lamb. Complete with a baby lamb plush, it's all really funny! The video also knows how to slow down too, like after all the practicing, Matt Taylor (played by Matt Bell), tells The Donut Man the saddest news ever, his parents got divorced last winter, which would explains why Coach Taylor never showed up, after all, he was Matt's dad. The Donut Man understands about Matt's situation and explains that his parents got divorced when he was Matt's age, and he remembered in Church that there's a father in heaven who would never leave us, that of course, being God, leading to the heart-wrenching song of the video, "In His Arms." But I'm getting ahead of myself.

All that aside, with Matt's courage and confidence, he helped the Donut Repair Club win the championship from The Mighty Warriors! If I were to find some problems, there's only one, having an old man named Rick Randell be the sports announcer! I mean come on, he's too old to be a sports announcer, he's not like Mike O'Malley, Chick Hearn, or even Kirk Fogg. Heck, when he says "What's gotten into these kids?" he wheezes, and coughs, leading em to think "Why did they hire him?" Has he been the announcer for Donut Sports Network for many years:? Again, it's a nitpick, I'm just trying to look fro problems. Anyways, here's a fun fact for you. Bet you didn't know that one of the girls in the Donut Repair Club was actually Pia Manalo, who also portrayed Min on Barney and Friends. Isn't that ironic? Pia Manalo being in a Texas-related project I like that doesn't relate to Barney the Dinosaur. Heck, some of the crew of Barney and Friends worked on this video, like Jay Burney and Victor Sosa the director of photography. Pia Manalo was a part of the Donut Repair Club from 1992 to at least 1995.

So, overall, this video is great! You can really cheer on for the Repair Club in the big battle, and you can also admire the song during the competition called "Don't Be Afraid." It was a great triumph song. It's not like David Glen Eisley's "Sweet Victory," or Queen's "We Are the Champions," but it is still good.

If you want to learn more about the Donut Man, check out the link right here.

http://www.donutman.streamlinenettrial.co.uk/

Or if you wanna learn more about Steve Axtell's puppets, click here.

http://www.axtell.com/ (some of those puppets on that website were also used in the Donut Man videos)

Or if you wanna see the entire video for yourself, here's the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfcmVg2U2Do

This video is a production of Integrity Music Just for Kids. Songs that teach, songs that praise, with the Donut Man.