Look, I know it’s not right, but there’s something just
vaguely, snickeringly quasi-sexual about Handy
Manny. I don’t know if it’s the fact that the subtitle of this DVD
collection the preschool hit is “Tooling Around,” I don’t know if it’s the fact
that the eponymous handyman
(handykid?) has, on the cover, a toolbox full of phallic-shaped implements with
their own sets of eyeballs and unnervingly wide grins, I don’t know if it’s
because title simply rhymes with “tranny.” I don’t know if it’s all of these
things, none of these things, or what — all I know is that when I first laid
eyes on this DVD, I laughed out loud. Of course, this all but clinches the fact
that when I have kids of my own, this will be their favorite show, and I’ll be
forced to watch it with them, left to contemplate if it’s actually possible
that I could be less mature than a toddler.

The Playhouse Disney preschool hit makes its DVD bow with
this hour-long title, in which Manny (voiced by That ’70s Show’s
Wilmer Valderrama) and his posse of talking tools work to fix problems around
their neighborhood of Sheetrock Hills. Along the way they impart messages of
teamwork, friendship and community, all while providing an introduction to
basic Spanish-language skills. Included episodes consist of “Amigo Grande,” “A
Sticky Fix,” “Pat the Screwdriver,” “Supremoguy” and the never-before-seen
bonus episode “Squeeze’s Day Off.”

The template structure here obviously involves a certain
amount of repetitiveness, befitting the target demographic for this title.
Ergo, whenever Manny and the tools get ready to fix something, there’s the same
sing-song little introduction. That said, the sweetly moralizing lessons
(about, say, small duties and acts serving a larger benefit in the grand scheme
of things) are easily applicable to any number of other situations.

Handy Manny: Tooling
Around comes in a regular Amray case, presented in 1.33:1 full screen, with
a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track. A simple set-top,
problem-solving game provides a few fun activities for the whole family, and
serves as the title’s only bonus feature of note, apart from sneak peeks at
other Disney kids’ titles. To purchase the title via Amazon, click here;
to purchase the title via Half, click here.
B (Show) B- (Disc)