Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Animation
Likes: Noggin
Dislikes: Max
Hates: Ruby

The Show
I can't begin to explain how perplexed I am at my daughter's love of "Ruby and Max." Normally, she exhibits pretty good taste when it comes to the TV she watches, be it the way she sings and dances with "Yo Gabba Gabba" or laughs at the Umbilical Brothers antics on "The Upside Down Show." But for some reason, she is consistently entranced and entertained by the stories starring these rabbit siblings, a show that consistently annoys me.

Ruby is one of those little girls who thinks she knows everything and lives to be in charge. Her monosyllabic brother Max is always getting under Ruby's feet and getting into trouble. Their parents? Nowhere to be found. Young Ruby seemingly is a single mom at about 7 years old, responsible for taking care of herself and her brother, with little help from anyone. Surprisingly, there's not an adult in town who seems to notice these children living an orphaned life, with the closest relative being a loopy grandmother who lives across town. The children's-book author who created the pair claims they have parents, but aren't seen to allow the kids to solve their own problems. Really? What kids have to put themselves to bed at night without even a babysitter to watch them. It's just weird.

Each of the three short stories that make up an episode follows pretty much the same path, as Ruby attempts to do something, be it a Bunny Scouts project, playing with her friends or taking care of a household task, only to have the mischievous Max mess things up (and occasionally accidentally making them better.) It's actually somewhat amusing to see the very bossy Ruby get her comeuppance, which sometimes even comes at her own hands. Unfortunately, for a show aimed at little kids, there's not much in the way of educational value, as both kids rarely acts in a way you'd want to see repeated, and Max's frustrating habit of speaking just one word per episode doesn't help.

This collection takes its title from the one Halloween episode included, where the usual plots of Max wrecking Ruby's get together and Max wanting candy make an appearance once again. But, as usual for a Nick Jr. cartoon DVD, the theme is a tenuous one, since the other episodes have nothing to do with the holiday (outside of the fall-season "Max's Candy Apple") while one of them is a damn beach episode. Of course, it all comes back to my little girl laughing aloud at the cute little bunnies, and in the end, that's all that really matters.

The DVD
The one-disc, four-episode release is packed in a standard-width keepcase with a promo insert. The DVD features a static, full-frame menu, with options to watch all the episodes, select shows and watch previews. There are no audio options and no subtitles, but closed captioning is available.

The Quality
The full-frame transfers are as good as the show ever looked on TV, with a clean image and bright, vivid color. There are no issues with dirt, damage or digital artifacts, though some pixilation is evident along black outlines, as is often the case with animation on DVD.

The audio is presented as Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks that are just what you'd expect from a kids show, delivering clear dialogue and music without any issues. There's nothing dynamic about the mix, but you wouldn't expect that anyway.

The Extras
Aside from some previews (a.k.a. commercials), there are no extras included.

The Bottom Line
Though I don't see much entertainment or educational value in this show, my daughter doesn't agree and finds it to be hysterical. One day, I hope she looks back and wonders why though. The DVD looks and sounds good, but there are no real extras and honestly, four episodes is pretty much nothing to a kid who can watch them the same way they chomp down cookies. There's just so many better options out there, that it's hard to justify dropping cash on this one.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.