Dom Robinson reviews

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Cert:

Cat.no: KK 41006

Running time: 148 minutes

Year: 1965

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 30

Sound: Mono

Languages: English

Subtitles: None

Fullscreen: 4:3

16:9-Enhanced: No

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £9.99

Extras: None

Hector's House was before my time but this French production dubbed into English is still a curiosity and tells the tale of Hector the dog, Zsazsa the cat and Kiki the frog, in another of the excellent series of Kult Kidz compilation DVDs for under a tenner.

I don't know how many episodes were originally created but this DVD combines a massive 30 into one release including :

• The Mysterious Visit: Something falls into Hector's pond. We know it's Kiki's hat but he doesn't and it perplexes him.
• Good Morning Frog: Hector's question is answered by the arrival of his little green next door neighbour, coming back to claim her treasured possession, although the threat of extreme violence on Hector's part gives her a fright.
• The Three Christmas Trees: Lo and behold, all three members of the cast have contributed to the triple miracle that is now on show in their garden.
• Jealousy: Hector shows off when Zsazsa gets out her flash brolly.
• Hector Never Forgets: Hector goes to do the shopping and makes a right pig's ear of it when he doesn't remember to get any of the items Zsazsa and Kiki specifically asked for - and that's just the start of his troubles.

The episodes included are :

1. A Mysterious Visit 2. Good Morning Frog 3. A Strange Stranger 4. The Three Christmas Trees 5. The Marvellous Invention 6. Silence is Golden 7. A Song at Night 8. Hector is Too Late 9. The Brave Fireman 10. The Bell

11. Operation Survival 12. The Letterbox 13. A Good Remedy 14. The Quarrel 15. Treetop Kiki 16. Photography 17. The Weather Forecaster 18. The Botanist 19. The Soap 20. The Sweater

21. Piggy Bank 22. The Well 23. Deep Sheep 24. The Kennel 25. The Funnel 26. Jealousy 27. Playing Tag 28. The Thistles 29. Happy Returns 30. Hector Never Forgets

As you'd expect, the programme is shot in standard 4:3. There's occasional print dropouts, but on the whole this near-40-year-old series looks surprisingly good. I was unable to determine the average bitrate, but it is free of artifacts.

The sound is clear too with Hector's deep voice and the posh Zsazsa, but it won't tax your speakers given that it only lends itself to basic dialogue.

Sadly there are no extras or subtitles, but the chaptering is fine with one for each of the 30 episodes. The menus have some animation with sound and the sub-menus contain brief noises from each of the cast members.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS	0
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.

The following is a list of all the Kult Kidz DVDs reviewed online to date :