Some people have hated this DVD, most actually, and a handful have been able to see the good points in this obviously flawed feature. No doubt, there was some false advertising involved, but it's really only the point that it has been referred to as an ALL NEW FEATURE. I've tried to write this review so many times, but it's always too long to be posted, so I'm going to cut to the chase with this attempt, so here goes. First, you HAVE to see the House of Mouse TV show before watching this Christmas special in order to appreciate it. If you had ever seen it you would have known exactly what to expect. Disney even provides us with the premiere episode as an extra on this DVD, of course that still means you have to buy it first. But I do suggest you watch that premiere episode before the feature anyway. In fact, it's actually better than the feature, not counting the wonderful Mickey's Christmas Carol segment. There are 3 other extras on this DVD by the way, two sing a longs, and a really unnecessary and short look into cartoon sound effects. As for the feature, the other reviewers aren't giving you the entire details when they say there is hardly any new footage. The new footage is probably equal to the old, or almost anyway. There are two "new" cartoons, along with the new wraparound footage, which is where you get to see all the Disney characters hanging out and sometimes performing, in Mickey's nightclub. They are never in the main cartoons, but they usually, especially in the regular episodes of the show, do get a good amount of screen time. It's just that they want to show you so many characters that few of them really get that much to do. The joy is seeing all of them together, period. For some Disney fans that alone is a wonderful treat. The two new cartoons are a new Donald Duck short involving some snowplay, that may seem like an old cartoon since we have often seen Donald and the boys in the snow in the past, and a really great Disney version of the Nutcracker with Narrator John Cleese. The two old cartoons are the classic Pluto's Christmas Tree, and the classic Mickey's Christmas Carol. Personally, even though I have them both on previous videos, it's great to get them on DVD in my opinion, and any true Disney fan should agree with me! True, I'd like to see Mickey's Christmas Carol get it's own DVD release though, so I can get the wonderful credits too. Overall, this DVD is really not that bad. It's flaws are the fact that not enough people are familiar with the House of Mouse series to know just who stars in the toons and who is just window dressing, and that the wraparound plot about getting snowed in and Donald being a Humbug are forced at you within the first minute of the show, which sets you off on a bad pace because it's so badly done. Oh, and that little matter of advertising as being "ALL NEW." I, for one, expected this DVD to be great because I admit, I ALSO thought it would be all new, not to mention Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas, which came out on DVD two years ago, WAS all new and was great. Also, I had seen House of Mouse. After finally buying it though, I WAS disappointed in the quality of the opening, and that there was less new footage than expected, but I still am glad I bought it. It's well worth it for the old Classics AND the two new cartoons, including the bonus House of Mouse premiere. But for what it turned out to be, it IS overpriced. It should be more in the range of 14.99, while I couldn't find it cheaper than 19.99. Well, if you still think you want to get it, I DO recommend it. If you are unsure, stick with the fairly recent Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas. It's ALL NEW and it's very good. But this is still straight to video folks, please stop being upset that you're not getting BIG SCREEN animation quality! I mean, grow up, that's not going to happen! Although Lion King 2 was close.
