Gustafer Yellowgold's Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom

K-Gr 2—Gustafer Yellowgold is a pointy-headed fellow who came from the sun and landed in Minnesota. There, he lives with his pet eel, enjoying the company of a few friends. In the sixth entry in the series, Gustafer's friend digs up a giant molar in his yard. Although it looks nice on his head, he gives the tooth to Gustafer. This opens up all sorts of amazing possibilities as well as a moral dilemma. Is this the missing "wisdom tooth" with the power to make its owner wiser? If so, it doesn't belong to Gustafer. The story is actually a series of 10 music videos held together loosely by wordless, simple, graphic novel-style. The illustrations are big and bright as well as whimsical. Reminiscent of early Beatles tunes, the mellow music propels the plot forward while providing character development. The production is similar to that of the 1971 animated feature The Point, about Oblio and his dog Arrow, which was carried largely by Harry Nilsson's music. The songs here are smooth, with a bit of fizz—like apple juice with a hint of soda pop. While aimed at children, many of the references are clearly targeted at the adults who will also be watching. An accompanying CD allows fans to take the music with them. This is an amusing production with a bit of an existential musical twist.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA