This is a little review of "Arthur's Lost Pal" that I originally posted in my MySpace blog back on August 25.  I thought I'd share it here, too (and I also have one for a Blue's Clues special that aired over the summer, I'll post that in another post after I find it).

My review of "Arthur's Lost Pal":

Today, the kids and I watched the newest Arthur special on PBS (Arthur's Missing Pal).  They decided to do this special with 3D CGI, instead of the regular 2D animation (which they used as a big selling point in the commericals -- "see Arthur like never before," or something to that effect).  After watching the special, the 3D was definitely done as a gimmick, because there was absolutely nothing in the story that necessitated the 3D.  Basically, the plot concerns Arthur's dog disappearing (with a subplot of Arthur's sister, D.W., trying to get tickets to Mary Moo Cow on Ice).  Basically, lots of storytelling cliches used when telling the story of Pal's disappearance (especially for the search; basically, several times, Pal passes by when Arthur and his friends have their backs turned, or just as they're about to locate the dog, he ends up getting away).  And yes, the two plots do come together near the end... but I'm not saying how, so I don't spoil the story.  It was rather disappointing that not all of the main characters were used (although the ones that were used, most really didn't do much of anything to progress the plot... they were just kind of "there").  Also, I think they did a bit to "stretch" this story out to an hour; this special probably would've been stronger if it had only been 30 minutes.  Oh well.  I'm definitely not in any hurry to pick up the DVD that was released on Tuesday.  I just hope that future seasons of Arthur will not be done with the 3D, that it was just a gimmick for this special.