If you’ve seen a child under four pretending to be in the wild, wild West anytime soon, they’ve either seen Toy Story or they’re a fan of Disney Jr.’s newest hit animated series, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West. Indeed, if these kids were wearing a pink cowboy hat or pretending to be a cactus, then they were definitely inspired by the latter. Debuting in 2014, Sheriff Callie is finally roundin’ up some episodes for her first DVD release, “Howdy Partner!”
Like most Disney Jr. DVD releases, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West: Howdy Partner! collects five episodes to give you 2-hours of content to entertain your little cowpoke. So sit them down with a glass of Ella’s milk from her saloon and take a load off. Unlike some Disney Jr. DVDs, this one doesn’t really try to link together a theme between episodes.
Each episode of Sheriff Callie is split into two stories, so within these five episodes are ten individual stories. The episodes are “Train Bandits/A Dirty Dusty Apology,” “Sparky’s Lucky Day/Peck’s Bent Beak,” “Toby the Cowsitter/Callie’s Blue Jay Blues,” “The Pie Thief/Fool for Gold” and “Moustache Toby/Doc’s Cheatin’ Chili.” Each story features a lesson and among them are themes such as friendship, honesty and saying “I’m sorry.” All are important lessons presented in a format that kids will love.
I wish Sheriff Callie had been around when I was growing up, it’s definitely something I would have been into. Sheriff Callie is a cat voiced by Mandy Moore (Rapunzel in Tangled) and is about the characters that inhabit her town. Among them are Deputy Peck, a woodpecker, and a walking, talking cactus named Toby. The series is set in the past, the “old West” to be specific, and the stories are told in a musical style. While the main characters sometimes sing, the real treasure in the music is a trio of prairie dogs who pop out of nowhere to sing a quick ditty about what’s going on. It’s my favorite part of the show.
Bonus Features
There are no bonus features on disc, but there is one in the packaging if you buy Howdy Partner! in its initial pressing. The sticker on the box advertises it as a “Pop-Up Play Set.” Packaged inside is a fold out, pop-up page on sturdy cardboard that features a backdrop of the wild west. Six characters are on a separate sheet as punch-out pop-ups and instructions on the bottom indicate where they should go to make your own diorama from the show.
Packaging and Design
Sheriff Callie’s Wild West: Howdy Partner! is housed in a standard DVD case. Inserts include the bonus Pop-Up Play Set, a code for Disney Movie Rewards (75 points) and a flier for Disney Movie Club. The case is housed in side of a shimmery embossed slipcover.
The disc is enhanced with Disney’s Fast Play. If you let it run its course, it opens with ads for Disneynature Born in China and Inside Out. After the five episodes, it plays and ad for Disney Movie Rewards before taking you to the main menu. The menu is just a variation on the cover art.
Final Thoughts
Sheriff Callie’s Wild West: Howdy Partner! brings the hit Disney Jr. series to DVD after a year-and-a-half of delighting children on TV. If your kids love the show, they will love being able to watch these episodes whenever they want. The Pop-Up Play Set is a nice physical bonus, but being made of paper makes it slightly too fragile to last through more than a few rounds of playtime.