Animal, Camping Videos Offer Quite an Eclectic Menagerie

Animal antics, a bushel of bears and camping how-to’s highlight this week’s family video roundup.

At the Zoo: 2. Goldsholl: Learning Videos, 25 minutes, ages 2-8, $14.95. (800) 243-8300. With terrific film of all kinds of animals, plus easy-to-follow, tuneful and informational songs, this celebratory nature video is top-notch children’s entertainment from the “Picture This! Sing-a-Long” series.

Filmed at Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, the video offers close-up views of gorillas, reptiles, kangaroos, ibex and other furred, scaled and feathered critters, plus information about each in the catchy songs.

The Adventures of Monty the Moose: Tundra Tails! Alaska Video Postcards, 40 minutes, ages 3 and up, $19.95 (800) 248-2624. Cartoon host Monty the Moose and his sidekick Capt. Patrick Puffin are back as hosts of another well-filmed nature tour. Amazing footage of the Arctic tundra of Alaska, and its rich variety of wildlife in changing seasons, is interwoven with a glimpse into the lives of the hardy human inhabitants and with Monty’s corny but often chuckle-inducing commentary.

The Adventures of Dave & Becky--In Search of the Haunted Gold Mine: Safe Camping Video. The Daily Adventure Limited. 37 minutes. Ages 3 and up. $12.99. (213) 965-0031. Dave Hood and Becky Borg, whose “There Goes a . . . “ show is part of the syndicated “Dream Big” children’s television series, launch their new home video series with this mild-mannered info-romp. The likable pair play reporters for a children’s newspaper, “The Daily Adventure,” on a wilderness trek to find a rumored gold mine. Dave bumbles along doing camping no-no’s; Becky sets him straight with good advice about safety and preparedness, from river crossings, tent setup and proper food storage to first aid, maps and sanitary needs.

Dream Big: A Day With Bears. KidVision/WarnerVision, 30 minutes, ages 3-8, $9.95. Local retailers. You’ll see lots of bears--some free, most in captivity, and some of the teddy toy variety--in this video from the “Dream Big” series itself. Human host Casey, who is a match any day for Barney’s cloying, hyper-enthusiasm, leads on-screen kids in unmemorable songs that segue into shots of performing bears, fishing bears, shaggy sloth bears, spectacle bears and baby bears. Warnings about the danger of bears to humans is almost lost in an emphasis on their “cuteness.” The film’s sticky windup includes a “cheer for Mother Earth.”