We all cherish “Rudolph,” and “Cool,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” “Small Drummer Boy” calm makes me bawl like a baby and the minute known “Cricket on the Hearth” is a buried gem. I can even bag the unfamiliar addition of “Mr Magoo” (which is not a Rankin-Bass product) to the collection, but I have no understanding who idea it was a satisfactory view to effect the NON-Rankin Bass Cold special here instead of the “staunch” Wintry sequel: “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland.”
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Original Christmas Classics! Click Here
Don’t be fooled. “Frigid Returns” is NOT by Rankin Bass and does not feature Jackie Vernon as impart of the frail snowman or Karen the dinky girl or the yarn of Jack Frost trying to remove the hat so all the children will savor him instead of Icy. “Chilly Returns” is garbage and does not belong surrounded by these other legal Christmas classics. But if you don’t mind that and Magoo, it is a colossal collection of some of the Proper holiday classics.Frosty’s Winter Wonderland/Twas the Night Before Christmas
Classic Media brings us 7 Christmas specials in one blooming package in its “New Christmas Classics” DVD collection. The headliners of this residence are the three greatest Rankin/Bass Christmas TV specials of all-time: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frigid the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town! In addition to these, we are treated to “The Itsy-bitsy Drummer Boy”, “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol”, “Cricket on the Hearth”, and “Wintry Returns”. Plus, a CD of holiday music selections is even included as a bonus!
Disc One features everyone’s common Rankin/Bass special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Based on the beloved song, it’s the stop-motion “animagic” classic from 1964 about a itsy-bitsy reindeer born with a nose that glows red! Teased about his nose as a child, Rudolph runs away from Santa’s village and makes modern friends along the blueprint but also encounters the homely Bumble snow-beast! Then, when a fog comes up to threaten Santa’s Christmas Eve flight, it’s only Rudolph’s nose that can keep the day! Featuring unforgettable songs from Burl Ives (who plays Sam the Snowman) and others, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” has become a holiday tradition loved by millions!
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Original Christmas Classics! Click Here
Also on Disc One is “Cricket on the Hearth.” Introduced by Danny Thomas and starring the voices of himself, his daughter Marlo, Roddy McDowall, Hans Conried, Paul Frees, and more, this 1967 traditionally attractive special is a musical version of Charles Dickens’ classic. It’s the narrative of a toymaker and his daughter who wait on a gracious cricket that saves the day after the family falls on hard times. “Cricket on the Hearth” is a lesser known Rankin/Bass production and not as endearing as their bigger hits, but it is serene a nice holiday viewing you probably haven’t seen before.
Disc Two holds a classic that is nearly as beloved as Rudolph, “Frigid the Snowman”. This 1969 classic is traditionally spellbinding and probably Rankin/Bass’s best work in 2D. The charming character designs, voices, music, and simple account are absolutely unbelievable. Based on another classic song, this is the anecdote of a snowman that comes to life when the children who built him add a discarded magic hat. Unfortunately, snowmen can’t last forever unless they are in a situation that is always snowy, and the injurious Professor Hinkle, the frustrated magician who threw out his hat, wants the hat relieve now that he knows it holds true magical power! Hosted by an intelligent Jimmy Durante, “Cool the Snowman” is such a treat that it even inspired three 2D sequels so far, though only “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland”, from the same creators and with Jackie Vernon succor as Frosty’s boom, is really safe. Disc Two also includes the only DVD bonus feature in this station, a Chilly pencil test.
Also on Disc Two is one of the more modern and very disappointing sequels, “Cold Returns.” Truthfully, I don’t deem this can be called an official sequel, as I don’t contemplate Rankin/Bass had anything to do with this 1992 rip-off. Surprisingly, this one is from the creators of the amazing Peanuts specials, sans Charles Schultz, but it has none of that magic. “Wintry Returns”, which depicts a Wintry voiced by John Goodman and with nothing in current with the modern aside from being made of snow, is hosted by an though-provoking (and for some reason diminutive) Jonathan Winters in an attempt to mimic the host-character style of the Rankin/Bass faves. He presents the account of a town that is becoming snow-free thanks to a businessman’s spray can invention, “Summer Wheeze.” Cool and his friends go on a mission to note to the townsfolk that snow can actually be a suited thing, but all in all it’s a legend that is comely uninvolving and forgettable. What a shame they never couple the recent Cool with “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland”. Unfortunately, you have to steal the other boxed space to gather that one.
Disc Three features what is, in my understanding, the definitive version of how Santa became Santa. Well, along with “Santa Claus, the Movie” anyway. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” is the name of the special, and it’s the third of the three big-name classics in this DVD spot. The 1970 animagic film, hosted by a stop-motion Fred Astaire, gives us the legend of Santa being left at the doorstep of a toymaking elf family when he was a baby, being raised by them and amongst the forest animals, going on missions to express toys to the children of Sombertown, meeting Winter the warlock and Jessica, the future Mrs. Claus, and going up against the bad Burgermeister Meisterburger. This charming select on Santa’s origins includes the voices of Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus, Keenan Wynn as Winter, and the broad Paul Frees in several roles. Like most Rankin/Bass holiday classics, this is based on a classic song.
The remaining two holiday specials are also included on Disc Three. They are the lesser known but mild mighty loved “The Small Drummer Boy,” a somewhat black Rankin/Bass animagic myth from 1968 about an orphaned drummer boy who hates people and only loves his animal friends until a visit to the unique nativity scene shows him the light, and 1962’s “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” which presents the classic, nearsighted cartoon character as an actor in a Broadway production of his fill version of “A Christmas Carol.” Both specials are charming and appreciated inclusions in this DVD dwelling.
Lastly, there’s the CD, which is a mixed bag of 7 Christmas songs. They include a very brief “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” from Burl Ives, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from Bobby Rydell, “A Holly Jolly Christmas” from Burl Ives, “Silver and Gold” from Burl Ives, “Let it Snow” from Chicago, “Winter Wonderland” from Jewel, and “Merry Christmas Baby” from Otis Redding. The CD is an okay addition, but a 4th disc of more holiday specials or more DVD bonus features would have been preferred, or even a salubrious soundtrack to one or more of the included specials.
Overall, this site is a must enjoy for the Christmas classics lover, and my only major complaint is how hard it is to take the discs from the beautiful packaging. I also highly recommend the following DVDs and DVD sets: Christmas Television Favorites (featuring other Rankin/Bass faves and the Grinch!), Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Disney’s Classic Holiday Stories, Peanuts Classic Holiday Collection, The Gay Elf, Garfield Holiday Celebrations, Elf, A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Warner Bros. Classic Holiday Collection, MGM Holiday Classics Collection, Santa Claus (1960), It’s a Incredible Life, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), A Christmas Myth, The Nativity, A Christmas Carol (1951), Scrooged, Santa Claus the Movie, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Scrooge (1935), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (live-action), One Magic Christmas, Babes in Toyland (Disney), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Ernest Saves Christmas, A Chipmunk Christmas, the Santa Clause films, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Benji’s Very Fill Christmas Chronicle, Sabrina the Racy Series: A Witchmas Carol, and more! And don’t forget the many specials only available on VHS! Also, if you’re into the bizarre, recognize out the Star Wars Holiday Special!
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