Giving a fair assessment of films aimed at young children can prove a problem for even the most empathetic reviewer.

Fortunately this writer had his very own three-year-old at home to give his valuable and enthusiastic input on the Kindertoon series ? and didn?t have to resort to Smartie bribes to elicit comment.

Coming joint top in Austin?s list of favourites, with most repeat requests, was ?Snake in the Snow? and ?Bruno and the Banana Bunch?.

The first was an exceedingly brief but apparently utterly engrossing puppet play featuring, you guessed it, a snake in the snow.

Although by the end of the animation the grinning snake, who has been enjoying the impromptu skiing opportunities, is merely a snake in the grass ? although my mini-reviewer knows nothing of the dubious connotations of such a phrase.

He simply liked the fact the snake had shed his woolly hat.

An equal fave was Ken Cunningham?s Bruno and the Banana Bunch.

A massive disappointment to the senior reviewer in the family, who had fond memories of the Banana Bunch who used to scream into camera shot in the opening credits of the 1970s TV show driving massive beach buggies to the world?s best theme tune, this new Banana Bunch are merely some simply-drawn cartoon characters who hang about with an imaginative monkey who goes to the moon ? a tale told by an exceedingly patronising narrator.

Still, who am I to quibble as my youngster clamoured for repeat showings?

Also moon-themed was ?Moondance? from director Brent Davis whose set of African-themed tales includes ?I Want To Break Free?, which also part of the Kindertoon series.

The general gist of each is an animal encountering a massive amount of hassle ? an endless frying pan to fire scenario ? which certainly grabbed the attention of my son, who fired off a set of questions about virtually every scene, only some of which I was able to answer.

Reminiscent of the opening scenes of Ice Age both films had a colourful charm and a nice soundtrack.

Completely opposite to those was the baffling adventures of Mr. Jones in ?The Map?, featuring a strange character who lives in darkness on a treasure map and goes in the fruitless pursuit of a chest of goodies.

A bleak effort which had father and son reviewers united in disdain. ?Cheesybreadville? features the adventures of a poor Puerto Rican family who unwittingly produce a legendary snack.

The rhyming tale is nicely narrated but the simplistic animations don?t really encourage repeat viewings.

The father/son reviewing team was split up for the screening of ?Lunolin: The Little Naturalist? which was probably just as well as this macabre but incredibly witty creation will surely appeal much more for an adult audience.

And frankly you wouldn?t want your child copying some of the antics of tiny terrorist Lunolin.

I was irritated by the first 30 seconds of the film, with its one-dimensional drawing and odd use of a split screen.

But by the time I was two minutes in I realised it was by far the highlight of this series with an utterly unique atmosphere which sticks in the brain.

I only regret not watching it a few more times before handing back the DVD to BIFF. In short it was an absolute delight.