When Von Drake approaches the gang at Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with a special request, they jump at the chance to help him with a new invention: Snow that never melts. Once everyone agrees that the Choo-Choo Express will be ideal for the job, things flow in typical fashion with quizzes and puzzles for the audience. The bulk of these rely on pattern, shape, and color-matching skills developed or developing in early schoolers. Fun songs in the episode are capped off by a feature tune from They Might Be Giants, "Choo Choo Express." TMBG has made quite a name for themselves among parents of a certain age that appreciated the indie group's eclectic tunes back in the day, and now tune in for Web videos and podcasts aimed at their kids. The problem-solving themes built into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Choo-Choo Express carry through to the bonus episode, "Mickey's Big Job." When Mickey agrees to look after his friend's farm in this episode, he unwittingly signs up for some challenges that only the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse can solve. The usual resolutions are drawn from Mickey's stock of "Mousekatools," with some help from you in the audience.
Audience participation is made even better by the two quiz modes, or "interactive adventures" connected to the bonus episode. If you've played DVD games before, you know the format, but here you'll use the actual episode as the subject for your quiz questions, rather than separate content. This may seem like an easy excuse for recycling content and calling it a game, but Disney has wisely latched onto the fact that kids put these videos on again and again, no matter what. The option to play a fun game while watching the episode is a bonus that kids will enjoy, and anything that turns 47 minutes of animation into weeks of entertainment truly deserves the title of "Disney magic!" The winter theme in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Choo-Choo Express makes this a nice DVD to grab for Christmas morning, or to gift wrap for some deserving little Mouseketeer on your list.
