Film Review: Owlegories Vol. 3 (DVD Release)

Written by: Laura Chambers (6/16/2016)

Confession time: I love kiddy cartoon shows. Seriously.  Some of my favorites include The Magic School Bus (evolution-based worldview aside; I like the humor), Arthur, Godzilla (the spin-off from the 1998 movie), and Peep and the Big Wide World. Yes, they can be sappy at times, but that can be part of the charm if done right.

So I dive into Owlegories, a series that features cute little owl characters Violet, Gus, Joey, Nora, and Twitch (as well as their newly hatched audience) as they learn all about “theOWLogy” from Professor Owlester, their teacher. Unfortunately for them, they have a foe in the form of “Devlin” (subtle) and his snitch and sidekick Fink, a hummingbird who always seems to be eavesdropping on their class.  Their mission is to learn how to apply the Bible to their lives and see evidence of God in nature.  Two DVD volumes have already come out, but as the episodes are standalone, it doesn’t matter if I begin with the third. Volume 3 is comprised of three episodes:  “The Fire”, “The Duck” and “The Seasons”.  Each story involves finding three examples of the premise they try to prove, ending with further teaching from a “guest lecturer” of sorts.

“The Fire” shows our adorable characters how gold is purified in a furnace, with the goal of teaching them how God is like fire.  Though they recognize the value of the gold trapped inside rocks, their foil is more interested in the rocks themselves. When Fink tries to show Devlin how to release the gold, he winds up destroying Devlin’s home. The class models compassion by giving him enough gold to buy a new one.  Clearly they’ve been listening to their teacher!

“The Duck” features guest star Si Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame, who plays (you guessed it) a duck, the former college roommate of the little owls’ professor. Seeing that the class is having a hard time cooperating on their solar system project, the professor sends them to meet “Uncle Fly” in the “Loohoosiana swampland” for a little pep talk so they can discover what God’s 3  greatest gifts are.  Devlin plots to snatch them from the kids so he can give them to his mother.  What he doesn’t realize is that they’re free for everyone. Fly has a little personal history to settle with Devlin which distracts him enough that the kids have to figure the third gift out for themselves, which they do.  A round of apologies follows.

“The Seasons” has our intrepid owlets exploring the various changing seasonal conditions with the help of the S6, a simulator that takes them through all 4 to see what they can learn about God from them. They also bring a gingko tree, which (natch) Devlin hopes to purloin. Disguising himself with nothing more than a lab coat and glasses (maybe the kids should get their eyes checked if that’s all it takes to fool them), he convinces them he and Fink are scientists who will help them with the simulator. Fortunately, Devlin fails once again, thanks to a couple of bees who set up a sting operation. (“Yes. I went there.”)  This story ends with a song that encourages kids in every circumstance, showing scenes from various episodes.

Is it possible to create a children’s show that educates at their level without being unbearably silly? Absolutely. I found myself chuckling at some of the jokes and the running gags often, such as the occasional nod to the fact that it’s a TV show. (Gus comments about it seeming like they go on another cool adventure every 11 minutes, which is just about the length of one segment.) I invite you to check out Owlegories with your child for fun, informative lessons that are good reminders at any age.  If you’re at your wit’s end, throw in the owl! (“Yes. I went there.”)

4.7/5