Frankly, I think the title for this collection is a bit on the ridiculous side. Then again, this is the second time this collection has been released on Blu-ray (not to mention the previous DVD releases) so there needed to be some differentiation. I just wish it weren’t in such a cumbersome manner. Getting past the ridiculous title for the collection, fans of Christmas who do not already have these in their home will seriously want to get this. Those who already have one of the previously available home video collections would also do well to look at the contents – and then just go ahead and buy this, replacing the older collection regardless of format.
Let’s dispense with the upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray. Television specials like this had a certain “look” to them, and on DVD or in high-definition it doesn’t matter. The stop-motion animation looks exactly as you remember it. I happen to have the DVD release of this collection from 11 years ago. It included on 3 DVDs:
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Frosty The Snowman
Frosty Returns
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
The Little Drummer Boy
Cricket On The Hearth (as a separate 4th DVD in its own)
What we have with this new collection is two Blu-ray discs and included are:
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Frosty The Snowman
Frosty Returns
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
The Little Drummer Boy
Cricket On The Hearth
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
This means there are a few missing:
Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
The Year Without Santa Claus
Nestor The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Twas The Night Before Christmas
Frosty’s Winter Wonderland
Rudolph & Frosty’s Christmas In July
The thing is, how many people remember those other specials? I do because I grew up watching television in the 70’s and 80s, long before home video recording had become commonplace. If you missed these specials when they aired you had to wait a year before they would be shown again. I wonder if we are ever going to get a “full” collection of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials.
So this collection, the question is the worth. While there are seven different specials here, some more warmly remembered than others (mostly due to personal preference) it is the special features that might surprise most viewers. And it’s a good surprise. There are featurettes on how to draw characters, some sing-along bits, a “pop-up” book (virtual of course), trivia and factoids, and more. I was actually surprised at how much there was.
Rewatching these specials of course was a fun trip down memory lane, and sharing them with my kids of course is always fun. This new Blu-ray package offers a fantastic way to keep these specials ready for viewing whenever the mood strikes. If you are not interested in the whole package, you can get individual discs of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.