On February 14th, just in time for Valentine’s, The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Friends to the Finish was released by Shout! Factory. My son is a very big fan of Chuck the Dumptruck (well it sounds a bit more like Chunkadumptruck). He has over 15 of Chuck the Dumptruck’s friends and receiving his first Chuck & Friends DVD was the most exciting thing for him and now we watch it constantly.
The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Friends to the Finish is a delightful, friendly, bright and funny animation for pre-schoolers. It also includes what I call tot-rock, a little rock & roll kid style. The episodes include:
- Race To The Race
- The Best
- Chuck’s Big Break
- Game On
- Revving Up Rally
- Grandpa Treadwell
- Chuck Backs Up
- Need For Speed
- Vertie’s Stunt School
- Dancing Wheels
Each episode has a lesson to learn from Chuck and his friends Digger, Boomer, Rowdy, Soku, Biggs and Handy. In Grandpa Treadwell, Chuck and his friends learn that being the most stylish, fastest and strongest isn’t always what matters most and in Chuck Backs Up, Chuck learns about why it’s important to take care of yourself. Chuck’s friends learn their lesson about the right kind of Helping in Chuck’s Big Break and they all learn about what it means to be the best at something in The Best. Each episode is fun, easy to follow along and has great moral and instructional lessons. Plus they’re talking trucks!
Let’s meet some of the Characters! First there is Chuck the Dumptruck!
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He’s a little dump truck with a big sense of humor and lots of energy. Chuck is always curious and has a way of dreaming big ? then putting his dreams into action. He loves to go places and find out how things work, and he never backs away from anything new.
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| This little monster truck loves to live large. Biggs has energy to burn ? and a “go for it” attitude that keeps him ready for anything, anytime. He really stands out with his giant tires, rally flag, shiny tailpipes, and steer horns. You can just tell Biggs dreams of being a race star ? and he gets plenty of practice racing against Chuck. |
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| Did you ever think a fire truck could be shy? Boomer is big, and he can be loud, but he needs Chuck around to pull him out of his shiny red shell. He may need a push to join in an adventure, but Boomer always jumps into action when it’s time to help a friend. His sirens blare and his lights flash ? so you’d never guess that Boomer is really a quiet guy at heart. |
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| Digger is the strong, silent type of front-loader of Hispanic descent, happy to let his powerful scooper and backhoe do the talking for him. For the most part, he’s content to let others make the plans and just follow along, but he’s not without opinions. Digger is smart, gentle and considerate ? He?d never use his great strength in anger. He’s also level-headed and surprisingly graceful for a truck of his size. Digger is completely, one hundred percent reliable. If he sets out to get something done, you can bet that he will, even if he’s up until the milk trucks make their rounds. |
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| Rowdy the garbage truck has no clue that he’s smelly, loud, a little clumsy and completely excitable ? and probably wouldn?t care if he did know! He’s a big, energetic, physical teddy bear who loves to collect off things, is eager to please, and even more eager to join in the fun, leaving a trail of garbage behind. Comments about his stench or the commotion he causes roll right off his back. Rowdy is proud of the things that make him uniquely him, and he’s not going to change for anyone?then he wouldn?t be himself. That sense of individuality makes him one of Chuck’s favorite people. |
There are many more characters in The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Friends to the Finish. All of them I am sure your child will love. There are also toys of Chuck & Friends that you can get to go along with the movie, some of you probably already have them!
And if you want more fun for your child, you can download the Adventures of Chuck & Friends coloring sheets!
I have seen every single one of these episodes probably three dozen times before writing this review and hear “Chunkadumptruck!” throughout the day. I haven’t gotten bored of it yet and it’s a delight to see my son so excited to watch the show, play with his cars and color the pictures. I am very happy to share it with all of you!
Connect: You can connect with Shout! Factory on their Facebook Page and/or @ShoutFactory on Twitter.
Purchase: You can purchase The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Friends to the Finish on Amazon for $10.99.
