I Gotta Go!

Color, NR (nothing offensive), 30 min., DVD $12.95, VHS $9.95

DVD: no extras

Available now

First Run: Video premiere

Director Vicki Esralew

I Gotta Go! is a child development tape for parents and children that proves there really is a specialty tape for everyone. This one takes a potentially embarrassing topic, potty training, and turns it into one of the most unintentionally funny (but also catchy) videos around. It consists solely of songs, touching on four aspects of potty training: awareness (how to recognize that feeling "way down below"), how to actually go to the bathroom (including a thorough discussion of washing your hands afterward), reinforcement (encouraging kids to cheer themselves on) and mastery (which includes a rap-inspired song called "I Have the Power"). Parents won't be able to stop laughing at the group of dancers doing choreographed moves to songs that feature such lyrics as, "When nature calls, I gotta go" and "Pull down when you're ready, pull on when you're through." On the other hand, kids will respond to the bright colors, pop-inspired tunes and dozens of small children in the video. They also will like the chimpanzee who bafflingly appears throughout the video in a diaper. And, since children like to mimic what they see, I Gotta Go! will most likely get them to, well, go to the potty. Also included are soothing and positive training tips from Dr. Pete Richel and a word from the creator of the video, Esralew. --Mayna Bergmann

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