Overview: An animated series based on the 'Carmen Sandiego' line of computer games. The world-renowned thief Carmen Sandiego has, with the help of her henchmen, stolen the landmarks of the world, and it's up to ACME Detective Agency sleuths Zack and Ivy to get them back. Like the computer game, this show's primary goal was to build up kids' knowledge of geography and world culture.

DVD Verdict: Welcome to the first season of the Emmy-winning computer game-turned-animated series. 'Meet Carmen Sandiego' (Rita Moreno), who swipes a cultural artifact or two in each episode. Dressed in red from fedora to heels, she's a vision out of a Technicolor thriller. On her trail, but always one step behind, are Ivy (Jennifer Hale, Justice League) and kid brother Zack (Scott Menville, Mission Hill) from the ACME Detective Agency. As the Lady in Red drops clues, the wisecracking Chief (Rodger Bumpass, SpongeBob SquarePants), a holographic image, helps the duo to decipher them (shades of 1980s phenomenon Max Headroom). In the pilot ("The Stolen Smile"), Carmen steals the eyes from a Van Gogh self-portrait. Why would she do such a thing? To solve the mystery, the globe-trotting teens travel to Holland, Egypt, and France. Along the way, they call on their knowledge of geography, art history, and zoology. Throughout these 13 episodes, including the two-part finale ("A Date With Carmen"), Ivy and Zack follow the master thief to India ("Dinosaur Delirium"), Russia ("By a Whisker"), China ("Rules of the Game"), and countless other countries. To track her down, the detectives also bone up on archeology, astronomy, biology, music, literature--and that's just to start. Every installment is book-ended by a live action sequence featuring "Player" (a stand-in for the viewer), who trades quips with Carmen via email. Portentous theme song aside, the end result is educational fun for the entire family. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Storyboard-to-Screen: The Stolen Smile
Opening title sequences from around the world (in 8 different languages)
Original art galleries
Episode trivia