Television Reviews : A Kids’ Show With an International Flavor

Here’s a new half-hour children’s series that adults will want to tune in to. “Long Ago & Far Away,” premiering at 6:30 today on Channel 28, offers a succulent share of animated and live-action films from all over the world, based on books, fairy tales and folklore.

The 16-part series, hosted by James Earl Jones, encompasses international award-winning films from Czechoslovakia, France, England, Denmark, Hungary, Canada, the United States and Sweden. Titles include the familiar--”The Sleeping Princess,” “Wind in the Willows”--and the unfamiliar--”As Long As He Can Count the Cows” and “Svatohor (Saint Mountain).”

Jones introduces each episode in his inimitable fashion, then returns at the end to leave viewers with food for thought.

Judging from the first segment from England, a sophisticated, superbly crafted, animated puppet version of “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” wittily told in Robert Browning’s original verse, the series deserves a place on young and old “must-see” lists.