Product Review

After a pleasant trip to the circus, Madeline and her buddy Pepito decide to make it their life's work and run off with the traveling caravan of gypsies in this colorful 24-minute installment of the Madeline series, based on author Ludwig Bemelmans's original story. When the stowaways are discovered, a kindly "gypsy mama" takes them under her wing. Curiously, neither child is missed until bedtime, allowing them a good head start and the beginnings of a performance career in a lion suit dubbed "Madelito." The kids eventually get homesick and are tracked down by Pepito's parents, Miss Clavel, and Madeline's class, but in the meantime there are clowns, a strongman, an elephant, and plenty of catchy songs. --Kimberly Heinrichs