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SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN
SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN is a delightful Christmas special that is great for kids and the parents that grew up watching it themselves. The Golden Books Family Entertainment/Sony-Wonder DVD release looks and sounds quite nice, making this a holiday DVD that belongs in every Christmas collection. SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN is available on DVD individually for $19.98 or as part of a boxed set along with RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER and FROSTY THE SNOWMAN/FROSTY RETURNS for $56.98. |
This DVD review
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2001 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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SANTA
CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN is one of those childhood favorites that I’ve
managed to watch every year, despite the fact that I should have outgrown
this Rankin/Bass holiday special a couple of decades ago. I guess there
is something about the stop motion animation that really appeals to me,
or the fact that I never really grew up keeps me coming back to this television
program year after year. Either way, I still enjoy watching SANTA CLAUS
IS COMIN' TO TOWN every holiday season and now have the ability to
avoid commercials by popping the Golden Books Family Entertainment/Sony-Wonder
DVD release into my player.
Utilizing
the song Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town as inspiration this
delightful musical holiday special tells the life story of that jolly
toy bringer, who makes an appearance every Christmas Eve. It seems that
Santa was orphaned as a baby and raised by the Kringles- a family of toy
making elves. When Kris Kringle grows to manhood, he makes good on a lifelong
promise to deliver his adoptive family’s backlog of toys to the children
of Sombertown, which is on the other side of the nearby mountain range.
Unfortunately, Kris discovers that no good deed goes unpunished, as he
manages to he run afoul of the Winter Warlock that lives on mysterious
mountain, as well as the Burgermeister Meisterburger, who has outlawed
all toys in Sombertown. Soon Kris is a wanted fugitive, who continually
repeats his crime of giving toys to deserving children. SANTA CLAUS
IS COMIN' TO TOWN features the vocal talents of Fred Astaire as The
Narrator, Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock
and Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger.
SANTA
CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN is presented in the 4:3 television aspect
ratio of its original production. Considering that this television special
is over thirty years old, the DVD looks pretty darn nice. In general,
the image is slightly soft, but still looks a lot better than a typical
television broadcast. The transfer does provide all the clarity and detail
that one could hope for from a stop motion production of this caliber
and age. It appears that the film element is the weakest link in the transfer
process, with the mild softness being inherent in the original photography.
Also, the print displays a number of small blemishes to remind one of
the production’s age. Colors are nicely rendered with good saturation,
and strong, stable reds. Blacks appear accurate and shadow detail remains
good because of the program’s lighting design. Clean authoring keep digital
compression artifacts out of sight.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is rather pleasant sounding, especially
when one considers this program’s television origins. Fidelity is midrange;
lacking extreme highs and lows, but does a nice job of reproducing the
musical numbers. Dialogue is clean sounding and completely understandable.
No other languages or subtitles are provided on the DVD.
As
a bonus, the Rankin/Bass holiday special THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
is included on the DVD as a second feature. This religious themed program
takes the well-known Christmas song and dramatizes in typical Rankin/Bass
stop motion fashion. The program tells the story of an embittered orphaned
drummer boy, who is kidnapped by a corrupt showman who drags him off to
the town of Bethlehem to perform for those coming to the village to pay
their taxes to Rome. Along the way, the Three Wise Men and the infant
king that they have journeyed to see forever change the little drummer
boy’s harsh outlook on life. THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY features the
vocal talents of José Ferrer, Paul Frees, June Foray, Ted Eccles and Greer
Garson.
Again,
THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY is presented in the proper 4:3 television
aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the film elements for 1968’s THE LITTLE
DRUMMER BOY are in poor shape, which produces a less than stellar
video presentation. The image is somewhat dark, murky and grainy, with
only adequate definition. Colors tend to be a bit faded as well. While
the program is certainly watchable, let’s hope that someday someone unearths
better looking film elements for this holiday special. The Dolby Digital
monaural track actually sounds better than the program looks. Dialogue
is cleanly rendered and the musical numbers are reproduced with decent
fidelity. There is a bit of warble in a couple of spots, but for the most
part, THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY sounds nice.
Full
motion video, animation and music enhance the DVD's interactive menus.
Through the menus, one can select either program as well as scenes within
the programs. No other supplements are provided on the DVD.
