The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley is a series of musical mystery videos starring twin actresses Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen. The series was also written as children's books, usually showing the twins on the cover. The video series was distributed by KidVision
. Following the theme song, the girls receive a phone call, informing them of some urgent mystery that needs to be solved. The girls jump at the opportunity and say their motto
, "We'll solve any crime by dinnertime!" The girls then map out their destination on a map, and always declare that the trip should take "about 15 minutes" on their bicycles. Each video features the girls singing multiple songs about the mystery they are working on. They never fail to solve the mystery with their sidekick, Clue (a Basset Hound
), and, indeed, the solution is usually something either very obvious or very trivial, to give the video a humorous ending.
1. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of Thorn Mansion (1994)
2. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Logical i Ranch (1994)
3. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Sea World Adventure (1995)
4. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Mystery Cruise (1995)
5. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Fun House Mystery (1995)
6. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Christmas Caper (1995)
7. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Shark Encounter (1995)
8. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the U.S. Space Camp Mission (1996)
9. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Hotel Who-Done-It (1996)
10. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Volcano Mystery (1997)
11. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the United States Navy Adventure (1997)
KidVision
KidVision was a Warner Bros-owned home video distributor of children's programing active from 1993 to 2002.-History:KidVision was founded as a division of A*Vision Entertainment, later WarnerVision Entertainment in 1993 and started distributing videos in 1994 with The Magic School Bus, Shining Time...
Format
Each video begins with the girls singing the theme songTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
. Following the theme song, the girls receive a phone call, informing them of some urgent mystery that needs to be solved. The girls jump at the opportunity and say their motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, "We'll solve any crime by dinnertime!" The girls then map out their destination on a map, and always declare that the trip should take "about 15 minutes" on their bicycles. Each video features the girls singing multiple songs about the mystery they are working on. They never fail to solve the mystery with their sidekick, Clue (a Basset Hound
Basset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....
), and, indeed, the solution is usually something either very obvious or very trivial, to give the video a humorous ending.
Plot outlines
Each episode is named "The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley" followed by the name of the mystery.1. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- A ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
is supposedly haunting a mansion in TransylvaniaTransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, and the girls must figure out who or what is actually behind it. The "ghost" ends up being the caretaker of the mansion who is also a beekeeper.
2. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- Pungent smells and weird noises plague the "Logical I Ranch". Some employees of the ranch think it is being caused by a dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
running loose.
3. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- The only full-length movie that came from the series. The girls' parents work at Sea WorldSea WorldSea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
as over-worked dolphin trainers. One day, the girls run into a dead body in the woods that eventually leads them and their parents to a cruise shipCruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
while trying to solve the rigged mystery. The boss of the girls' parents had planted evidenceEvidenceEvidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
to get them all on the cruise, so they could take a much-needed family vacation.
4. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- The sequel to The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
: The Case of the Sea World Adventure. The girls' father's laptopLaptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
containing vital information gets stolen while on a cruise shipCruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
, and must be retrieved. They believe a friend of their father's was responsible, but it later turned out to be a staged occurrence.
5. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- Something is making scary noises inside the fun house at an amusement park, and the girls must figure out who or what it is. Using the clue of "Monster Mush" and "bananas", they find out the monster lurking inside the fun house is really an orangutanOrangutanOrangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
.
6. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- Hackers break into Santa'sSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
computer to steal the "Spirit of Christmas", the plane Santa uses to fly to deliver all the presents to the children of the world on Christmas EveChristmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
. It is up to girls to show what the holiday is all about.
7. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- Three piratesPiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
claim that the sharks in a tank are singing, and the girls must figure out where the strange sounds are coming from.
8. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- A space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
has been grounded, due to a mysterious tapping sound coming from its outer surface. Unless the girls can figure out what is going on, the space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
will be not be able to lift-off. To figure out the mystery, they get help learning about space travel through the U.S. Space Camp program.
9. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- The girls travel to HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where they meet a hotel manager who has been dealing with a string of recent disappearances around the hotel.
10. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- The girls receive a call from some miners of marshmallows that a snowballSnowballA snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is often used to engage in games, such as snowball fights. Snowball fights are usually light-hearted and involve throwing snowballs at...
-throwing monster has been "terrorizing" them. The girls eventually find out that the "snow" is really ashVolcanic ashVolcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
, and the "monster" is actually a geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
warning them that an active volcanoVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
is not a safe place to work.
11. The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley
- Unidentified flying objects have been seen flying overhead. In this case, the girls get help from the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to solve the mystery. The "UFOs" ended up being a satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
that was flying too low in orbitOrbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
.