This feature of the video is confusing to many parents of potential viewers. Will the video teach junior to speak one of the foreign languages on the tape? Not exactly. Will it make junior a little Einstein? Not exactly. What good is it, then?

What the video DOES do is help the mind preserve many of the nerve synapses in the brain which would otherwise be destroyed as the infant matures into a toddler.

Imagine a Bonsai tree, of which some of its miniature limbs and branches are trimmed because they are not useful to the tree as a whole. The body does the same thing to unused mental synapses sometime around the first and second years of life. And they don't grow back.

Now think about all the funny comedy scenarios you've seen where a Japanese tourist says something like, "Herro, I'm rooking for Horrywood, Carifornia." Why do his Ls sound like Rs? Because there is NO "R" sound (phoneme) in the Japanese language. And because our tourist never heard that sound in his infancy, he cannot now, as an adult, discern it from the phonemically-similar "L" sound.

Infants hearing a variety of phonemes foreign to English-speaking people at this young age will preserve the synapses that are sensitized (from birth) to these sounds. And this video does just that.

So while the video will not teach junior the foreign language, if he tries to learn the language later, he will have an easier time of it, because he will be sensitized to that language's sounds. And while junior perhaps will not be an Einstein for watching, he will come away from the experience with more synapses in his brain than had he not watched.

Also be aware that none of this is pop psychology -- it is well-researched and tested fact, taught in most undergraduate and graduate psychology, speech and linguistics classes today (See the producer's Web site for details).

Finally, as other reviewers have said better than I have, the video is a lot of fun for you and junior to watch together! And perhaps THAT is the selling point for prospective parents who want the best for their little ones.


An educated parent's $.02   August 14, 2000
 44 out of 47 found this review helpful

I had to add my input after reading all the reviews, positive and negative. This video does indeed appear "homemade." However, the creator (Julie Clark) and her husband, who does all the video, have gotten progressively more sophisticated with each video, although I would not recommend any of the Baby _____ videos for their video quality. Regardless, they are captivating to young babies. My six month old son has been watching all three, Einstein, Mozart and Bach since he was one month old. I was very dubious regarding the claims that they would interest a baby this young. He reacted with delight then, and continues to enjoy them all. He has just started watching Baby Shakespeare which seems to be his favorite, so don't be afraid to start your baby early on this one. I would suggest if your baby doesn't take to it the first time, give it a second try. You can get all the adult opinions you want, but really, it's how your baby reacts that counts! It's been designed to appeal to babies and their view of the world.


Good...but not Julie's greatest accomplishment.   April 7, 2003
 36 out of 38 found this review helpful

Okay...I must admit that my son is a Baby Einstein junkie! He was very fussy until he was three-months-old and Baby Bach was literally the only thing that saved my sanity on some days. Now that he is past the one-year milestone, he has the entire Baby Einstein library. He particularly loves the Baby Dolittle tapes and will watch them again and again.

We were happy to see a new title to add to our collection and waited patiently for the release date. I must say, I am a bit disappointed overall.

First, the video seems a lot shorter than the other ones. Maybe it's because I bought the DVD this time and am used to the "commercial" at the end of the tapes. My son insists on watching through to the "commercial" on the tapes, as even they hold his attention.

Second, the fast editing is more MTV than Baby Einstein. Our children have dwindling attention spans as it is. Disney's hands are ALL OVER this video. If you watch the Disney Channel, it's the same feeling. More substance and less flash would do this video good. Also, Baby Neptune lacks the panache of, say, Vincent Van Goat (Baby Van Gogh) or Jane (World Animals).

Last, it just didn't seem to hold my son's attention like other Baby Einstein titles. Starting with Baby Beethoven, the new voice at Disney seems to have disturbed the organic quality of the original tapes. To be honest, I miss Sierra and Aspen on this tape. It helped with the "from my house to yours" feel of previous titles. The puppets also seem to be lacking in this video. The interaction of the puppets with other puppets or the children is charming on previous videos.

On a positive note, I recommend the DVD for the repeat play feature if for nothing else. I don't stick my child in front of these tapes for hours at a time, but we often have them on in the background when we are playing together. Still, when you need a video babysitter to get the dishes done, having this option is a lifesaver!

I look forward to the Little Einstein series in the works for older children. I think these tapes will be a touchstone for my child's generation, much like "School House Rock" or "Free To Be You And Me" was for mine.


Baby Neptune - What a Washout   April 6, 2003
 33 out of 43 found this review helpful

How extraordinarily disappointing. The previous Baby Einstein videos were somewhat variable in their quality, I will admit it. Baby Bach lacked a puppeteer and suffered for it. Baby Van Gogh had an awful lot of Aspen and Sierra in it, even if they are cute kids. But Baby Neptune is a homogenized pastiche of the previous videos, relying on rapid fire scene changes and puppets of enhanced "cuteness" instead of personality.

Images flash by disjointedly, not even lingering long enough for frustrated parents to name the scene meaningfully. Shots zoom by in such a fashion to encourage motion sickness. Voiceovers sound as if they are provided by members of the Mickey Mouse Club. Puppeteers continually place their hands and arms in shot, ruining the already poor puppeteering.

And what ghastly puppets they are - with stuffed faces that do not allow them to express the range of movement and emotion that Markie especially brought to the characters. They looked like second rate Disney toy knockoffs, characters that never made it to the big screen. I was surprised not to see Sebastian, Flounder, and the Little Mermaid included as additional homages to the new parent company.

This video was designed by committee, and one that had not yet grasped the successful formula: puppets expressing simple emotions playfully to a background of gentle music and soothing video. Even the music in this video was stolen in parts from the other videos.

Twice as many production staff on this one, three times as many puppeteers, and less than half the quality.

Don't waste your, or your child's valuable time.


Good, but sometimes fustrating   September 6, 1999
 29 out of 41 found this review helpful

There is no doubt that this is one of the best baby videos around. However, there are many irritants to me.

1: The nursery rhymes in English are ruined (you can't sing along with the video) because the narrator doesn't use rhythm, but pauses for expression. Even after a few dozen playings, she still catches me out when I try to join in. There's lots of rhythm in the foriegn sections, you can handclap along, but it's a shame that you can't sing along to the English sections.

2: Diction of the English sections: for example, "Little" is pronounced "liddel" instead of "Lit-el". Not what I want my children to Learn

3: Maybe just on the PAL version, but probably on the US NTSC version: The difference between orange and red on the "stacking rings" section are so subtle to confuse all but the brightest child (or adult).

4: Dubbing: The xylophone section; if your older child tries to play this on their own toy, they get fustrated. The reason is that the notes they see hit on the screen don't match the song they hear. Additionally, try explaining to a child that although the xylophone on the telly makes a different sound if you hit the top or middle of a key, theirs doesn't. A bit more time in finding a bigger xylophone wouldn't have gone amiss.

The Metronone: It doesn't take a bright child to work out that their metronone at home clicks in the middle of a swing, not at the edges.

4: There are too many "boring" passages. While I agree that one shouldn't overstimulate, my 1-year old just loses interest at still images of flowers, dolls, shapes, etc, again and again. The patterns go down better than the photographs, by the way.

5: Sometimes there is an unreal quality, as if the tape is slowing down or speeding up suddenly. Overall, the video is poor: saturated colours, for example.

Having said all this, it's still VERY good. Bits I particularly like are the repeating jack-in-the-box, which always causes the kids to look up when they hear the music start, and overall the music is very good, I think.