Customer Reviews

The Original Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town / Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns / Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol / Little Drummer Boy / Cricket on the Hearth)

5 star:		(216)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Classic Media brings us 7 Christmas specials in one gorgeous package in its "Original Christmas Classics" DVD collection. The headliners of this set are the three greatest Rankin/Bass Christmas TV specials of all-time: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town! In addition to these, we are treated to "The Little Drummer Boy", "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol", "Cricket on the Hearth", and "Frosty Returns". Plus, a CD of holiday music selections is even included as a bonus!

Disc One features everyone's favorite Rankin/Bass special, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Based on the beloved song, it's the stop-motion "animagic" classic from 1964 about a little reindeer born with a nose that glows red! Teased about his nose as a child, Rudolph runs away from Santa's village and makes new friends along the way but also encounters the frightening Bumble snow-beast! Then, when a fog comes up to threaten Santa's Christmas Eve flight, it's only Rudolph's nose that can save 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!

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 animated special is a musical version of Charles Dickens' classic. It's the story of a toymaker and his daughter who befriend a helpful 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 still a nice holiday viewing you probably haven't seen before.

Disc Two holds a classic that is nearly as beloved as Rudolph, "Frosty the Snowman". This 1969 classic is traditionally animated and probably Rankin/Bass's best work in 2D. The charming character designs, voices, music, and simple story are absolutely wonderful. Based on another classic song, this is the story 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 place that is always snowy, and the nasty Professor Hinkle, the frustrated magician who threw out his hat, wants the hat back now that he knows it holds real magical power! Hosted by an animated Jimmy Durante, "Frosty 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 back as Frosty's voice, is really good. Disc Two also includes the only DVD bonus feature in this set, a Frosty pencil test.

Also on Disc Two is one of the more recent and very disappointing sequels, "Frosty Returns." Truthfully, I don't think this can be called an official sequel, as I don't think Rankin/Bass had anything to do with this 1992 rip-off. Surprisingly, this one is from the creators of the wonderful Peanuts specials, sans Charles Schulz, but it has none of that magic. "Frosty Returns", which depicts a Frosty voiced by John Goodman and with nothing in common with the original aside from being made of snow, is hosted by an animated (and for some reason miniature) Jonathan Winters in an attempt to mimic the host-character style of the Rankin/Bass faves. He presents the story of a town that is becoming snow-free thanks to a businessman's spray can invention, "Summer Wheeze." Frosty and his friends go on a mission to prove to the townsfolk that snow can actually be a good thing, but all in all it's a story that is pretty uninvolving and forgettable. What a shame they never couple the original Frosty with "Frosty's Winter Wonderland". Unfortunately, you have to buy the other boxed set to get that one.

Disc Three features what is, in my opinion, 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 set. The 1970 animagic film, hosted by a stop-motion Fred Astaire, gives us the story 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 deliver toys to the children of Sombertown, meeting Winter the warlock and Jessica, the future Mrs. Claus, and going up against the awful Burgermeister Meisterburger. This charming take on Santa's origins includes the voices of Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus, Keenan Wynn as Winter, and the great 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 still much loved "The Little Drummer Boy," a somewhat dark Rankin/Bass animagic tale from 1968 about an orphaned drummer boy who hates people and only loves his animal friends until a visit to the original 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 own version of "A Christmas Carol." Both specials are charming and appreciated inclusions in this DVD set.

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 genuine soundtrack to one or more of the included specials.

Overall, this set is a must own for the Christmas classics lover, and my only major complaint is how hard it is to remove the discs from the lovely 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 Happy 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 Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), A Christmas Story, 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 Own Christmas Story, Sabrina the Animated Series: A Witchmas Carol, and more! And don't forget the many specials only available on VHS! Also, if you're into the bizarre, seek out the Star Wars Holiday Special!

We all love "Rudolph," and "Frosty," and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." "Little Drummer Boy" still makes me weep like a baby and the little known "Cricket on the Hearth" is a buried gem. I can even accept the odd addition of "Mr Magoo" (which is not a Rankin-Bass product) to the collection, but I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to put the NON-Rankin Bass Frosty special here instead of the "real" Frosty sequel: "Frosty's Winter Wonderland."

Don't be fooled. "Frosty Returns" is NOT by Rankin Bass and does not feature Jackie Vernon as voice of the venerable snowman or Karen the little girl or the story of Jack Frost trying to steal the hat so all the children will appreciate him instead of Frosty. "Frosty Returns" is a poorly written and poorly animated "special" and does not belong surrounded by these other true Christmas classics. But if you don't mind that and Magoo, it is a great collection of some of the TRUE holiday classics.Frosty's Winter Wonderland/Twas the Night Before Christmas

Just wanted to say that "Siver and Gold" is right in there where it's supposed to be, right after The Misfits meet Yukon Cornelius. Plus there's a cute little scene at very end (not included in the broadcast TV version) where Yukon discovers a peppermint mine...

...if your kids haven't seen these classics they're missing out!

Colliemom

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is my favorite Christmas classic, as it likely it is for many people. Getting it in HD without having to watching it with commercials, is a treat for sure!

In the latest set (2011 release, this review is for the Blu Ray set, NOT DVD set), you only get 2 discs instead of 3. You get Santa Claus is Coming to Town on one discs and Rudolph and Frosty on another disc.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - looks OK, but for a film in HD, I guess I expected something better. My understanding is this is due to the original masters and not a lack of trying. I would say this looks better than it likely ever did when it aired.

For the audio portion, you get English 5.1/2.0 and Spanish 2.0. For those of you thinking that you'd like to hear the film in 5.1, I can say... don't even bother. To me it sounds like all they've done is done some matrixing of the audio, with the majority of it coming from the center channel, and ALL of the same audio kind of sounds like an echo in the other speakers. A complete and utter waste. Watch it in the original stereo audio for a more genuine aural experience.

Frosty the Snowman - This one looks pretty good. They did a really good job on the restoration of this one (might have been easier being a cartoon, I don't know). Of the three (4 if you count the Frosty Returns extra), this probably was served the best during remastering.

Audio is presented in stereo 2.0 and sounds good. No pops, hiss or crackle.

Rudolph - Every year I see this coming out on home video (DVD, BD... VHS) format, I get excited that this might be the year Rudolph gets the royal treatment. Every year I am disappointed.

Video quality on Rudolph is really good. If you've seen the HD broadcast of Rudolph, you know what this looks like on Blu Ray. They did a decent enough job when they remastered it.

In terms of audio, it's presented in stereo 2.0. No pops, crackle, hisses or any other blemishes.

So if it's so good in terms of audio and video, why am I disappointed? Well, when I grew up I watch Rudolph (during the 80s) with Fame and Fortune as the song Hermey and Rudolph sing. In 1998 they returned to the original film elements for cleaning the show up and at this time they restored the original Christmas classic to it's original presentation, without Fame and Fortune and this is how it has been broadcast since.

However, this alone doesn't get me to drop the star ranking. I actually really enjoy the original as it was first aired in the early 60s.

What bothers me is that year after year, after the 2004 release, they've dropped Fame and Fortune as an extra. At least on the 2004 DVD I could watch and hear the song, even if it wasn't embedded in the video.

As I know how DVD/BD creation works, to some small extent, while it would be some work, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to create a DVD/BD that would allow you to watch with either Fame and Fortune OR We're a Couple of Misfits embedded in playback. This is a gripe, and if Fame and Fortune was at least included as a bonus, I'd have been much happier.

The other thing I hope for is a complete release. As above, give me Fame and Fortune in some fashion, but how about also restoring the Rankin intro from the 2004 DVD? How about giving us the GE commercials, the commercials that aired in the early 60s with the show, that used the Rudolph puppets to advertise for different GE products? I actually have these on DVD in a raw, non-restored format, and even if they included them without cleaning them up, I'd be so happy! How about an interview with the official Rankin/Bass historian, Rick Goldschmidt on the show?

And as a bonus, we get "Frosty Returns." I have no idea what Classic Media was thinking, but they put this on the Blu Ray in SD format. It plays back in 480p. This wouldn't be so bad, but the video is wretchedly horrible. Audio is OK, but the video issues are glaring.

Over all, I'm not sure the set is worth $30. It's essentially the same release as last year, without the third disc, so if you already have last year's (2010) release, you don't need this one. The audio and video is good given the original source material, but there's so much more that could be done with these classics, yet Classic Media seems to be satisfied by putting out "good enough" releases instead of taking the year between each release to really pull together something magical and worth rebuying.

On a final note. Keep in mind that Mr Magoo and the others, are NOT on the Blu Ray. You ONLY get Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty and Frosty Returns. The DVD does indeed have more shows. Not sure why Classic Media did this, but they did.

Alright, so I got this collection in the mail today and popped all 3 movies in to see how the transfers look.

Overall, I'm fairly disappointed. I think Rudolph looks the least remastered. It might just be because the setting is so white but there's very little detail and often the lighting was inconsistant (though that's probably stuck in the original film). Santa Claus is Comin' to Town looks the best. There's lots of nice, vibrant colors in it. Frosty is somewhere in the middle. The audio is incredibly soft on all 3 and not really worth noting. I'd be very interested in a more professional review from someone who knows more about the original negatives and whatnot, but as for my eye-based review I'd give it an overall C-grade.

There are, of course, some improvements. I've yet to see a 1080p transfer that doesn't do any good, but, to be honest, I wish I had been able to resist and saved $30. At $15 I'd be satisfied, but not $30.

As for bonus features there aren't any except the not-so-classic "Frosty Returns" and a CD featuring a collection of favorite Christmas songs.

Here's the tracklist of the bonus audio CD:

01. Burl Ives - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
02. Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
03. Jackson 5 - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
04. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Jingle Bells
05. Jimmy Durante - Frosty the Snowman
06. Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas
07. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock

As there are number of collections called "The Original Christmas Classics", and another called "The Original Television Christmas Classics" there can be some confusion about that is included in each set. Particularly as they are all collections of features by Rankin/Bass (except as noted) primarily from the 1960's, and traditionally shown during the holiday season.

"The Original Christmas Classics" DVD set includes the seven features listed below, while the Bluray set with the same name, the subject of this review, only includes the first four titles.

1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964 47 minutes)
2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (1970 51 minutes)
3. Frosty The Snowman (1969 25 minutes)
4. Frosty Returns (1992 23 minutes
5. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962 53 minutes)
6. Little Drummer Boy (1968 25 minutes)
7. Cricket On The Hearth (1967 49 Minutes)

The Bluray set has two video discs. Disc One contains Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, while Disc Two features Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, and Frosty Returns. Apparently all of the features have been remastered and restored to full length. Presentation is full screen, with no subtitles. Some Bluray sets apparently have an audio CD with songs taken from the specials, and some do not.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (1970): Rating 4.5 stars
While the legend of Santa Claus may be well-known, this delightful stop action feature delves into his early years, and also explains some of the common myths regarding Santa. The story is told partially through narration by a letter carrier (voiced by Fred Astaire) who delivers mail to Santa at the North Pole. An orphan baby boy is taken in and raised by the Kringle's, a family of toymaking elves. He is named Kris, and when he grows up, the red-haired young man (voiced by Mickey Rooney) leaves home with a big bag of toys. Through the gift of giving, Kris melts the ice cold heart of the Winter Warlock (voiced by Keenan Wynn), and makes a special friend in a schoolteacher named Jessica (voiced by Robie Lester). Kris faces numerous obstacles, but overcomes them with the help of his friends and family. He marries Jessica, and builds a home at the North Pole. As Santa Claus, he distributes toys to the children of the world.

The improvements made in the stop action technique, make for a smoother looking and more lifelike presentation, and the feature looks terrific on Bluray. With a creative uplifting story and some fun songs, this wonderful take on the origin of Santa Claus, is great family entertainment.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964): Rating 3.5 stars
A true holiday classic, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer features Burl Ives, a warm, teddy bear of a man, lending his unforgettable voice to Sam the Snowman, the narrator of this tale. Rudolph (voiced by Billie Richards) the son of Donner, runs away from home in shame, when his glowing red nose is discovered. In the woods, he meets Hermey (voiced by Paul Soles), an elf who dreams of becoming a dentist. The pair team up with prospector Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann), and after escaping the clutches of the Abominable Snow Monster, they all make their way to the Island of Misfit Toys.

After growing into a young buck, Rudolph returns home, and tracks down his missing parents and friend Clarice, who are being held prisoner by the Snow Monster. With the help of Yukon Cornelius and Hermy, the Snow Monster is defeated, and the prisoners are set free. A raging storm threatens to ruin Christmas, but with Rudolph leading the sleigh team, Santa is able to deliver presents after all.

Memorable characters, an underlying message of acceptance, and quality songs, particularly those sung by Burl Ives, pretty much insures that this will continue to be a beloved holiday classic. The Bluray image is reasonably sharp and blemish free.

Frosty The Snowman (1969): Rating 3 stars
This animated feature narrated by Jimmy Durante, tells the story of Frosty, who comes to life when the magical hat of Professor Hinkle (voiced by Billy De Wolf) lands on his head. Together with his new friend Karen and Hinkle's rabbit Hocus Pocus, Frosty sneaks aboard a train headed north. The trio ends up in the woods, with Hinkle trailing trying to retrieve his hat. Fortunately Santa arrives to save the day, returning Karen home, and taking Frosty with him to the North Pole. Based on the traditional song, Frosty The Snowman is a light and fun tale, probably best suited for young ones. The Bluray looks fine, but probably won't blow you away.

Frosty Returns (1992): Rating 2.5 stars
This animated special was produced by CBS rather than Rankin/Bass, and features narration by Jonathan Winters. Frosty arrives in the town of Beansboro, and becomes friends with children Holly and Charles. A new invention called Summer Wheeze, a canned spray that instantly melts snow, threatens to ruin the town's traditional winter carnival. John Goodman provides the voice of Frosty. Image quality is just average.

Whether this Bluray collection with just four features is a better buy than Rankin/Bass' The Original Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town / Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns / Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol / Little Drummer Boy / Cricket on the Hearth), or The Original Television Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town / Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns / The Little Drummer Boy), both which have more content, just depends. The remastered stop action features look very good in high definition, however the animated ones seems just average. Unless you are totally in love with Rudolph, and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, one of the DVD collections might work out better.

If you do have a warm spot in your heart for holiday programming, you will want to at least take a look at all the options. With so many similar products, some with the same name, it is easy to get confused, and Rankin/Bass probably needs to do a better job of making it clear to consumers just what they are buying.

I watched Rudolph with my wife and kids last night. They loved it! It looks great, but when Clarice sings her song ("There's Always Tomorrow"), a high pitched whine was audible throughout the song.(very high pitched, some people wont be able to hear it) I couldn't hardly believe my ears. The rest of the movie was flawless and has a few small scenes that I've never seen/noticed before.

All in all a great addition to my Christmas collection

This box set includes the four original classic Christmas specials from Rankin/Bass: RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER, SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN, THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY & FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. These are all without question excellent holiday productions that have not only stood the test of time, but, if anything, become more popular as the years go by and have been permanently woven into the perennial fabric of Christmas. There are also 3 extra specials on this box-set, the recently unearthed and long forgotten about Rankin/Bass special CRICKET ON THE HEARTH and two non-Rankin/Bass specials MR MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL and the horrendous sequel FROSTY RETURNS. MR MAGOO seems out-of-place on this box set but it is a nice special while FROSTY RETURNS is out-of-place and terrible and really should have been left off. But I'm not going to subtract any stars for additional material, as it is just that, and you can choose if you want to watch it or not. All of the specials look and sound great except for THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY which for some reason has a very grainy look to it and some audio issues as well. There is another box set available from Warner Home Video entitled "CHRISTMAS TELEVISION CLASSICS" which includes some other popular Rankin/Bass specials such as "Year Without A Santa Claus", "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" and "Frosty's Winter Wonderland". It would be nice if there could be a complete Rankin/Bass box set but seeing as how their catalog is owned by two seperate companies (the older ones by Classic Media and the newer ones by Warner) unfortunately, this will not be happening any time soon. Until then we will have Classic Media releasing these four classic with whatever add-on specials they can find, and Warner releasing their specials and trying hard to make the cover art look like they are actually these four specials.

I got this set for my mom for Christmas not only does she enjoy them but i do as well..growing up watching them on TV with her now i dont have to miss it when it comes on..you get all the great classics plus a cd of songs i would recommend this set for everyone who enjoys watching these once a year now you get to watch them whenever you like..the box it comes in is beautiful as well :) 5 stars and you cant beat the price

On this three-disc boxed Blu-ray set, The Original Christmas Classics, you can see three of the top Christmas specials, produced and directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, in high def -- plus get a music CD of original-version holiday pop hits like Brenda Lee' "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and Burl Ives' Decca versions of "Rudolph" and "Holly Jolly Christmas."

[For some reason, the DVD version of the same set includes seven specials. The set of three Blu-ray discs contains four shows in total, and it's a better deal than buying the three Blu-ray discs separately.]

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer is the first Rankin/Bass holiday special, and only their second TV special ever (the first being Return to Oz). Still the all-time champ, Rudolph is the longest-running holiday special in television history, running annually since 1964, mostly on CBS and NBC. You can get hung up on the modest scope of the stop-motion Animagic figures, elemental sets and limited effects, but you can't deny its power. There is simply an engaging quality about the production that charms every generation, regardless of how high-tech things become. Production designer Anthony Peters deserves more attention for his creations, which we see almost everywhere today -- even the lettering is widely imitated.

At its core, the story is about being "different," and how those differences become strengths. For a show aimed at children's, the characters can be downright cruel (this particular Santa, besides appearing to have an eating disorder, shows such displeasure he'd be right at home sitting next to Donald Trump on The Apprentice).

If you view the special in its historic context, during the civil rights movement, suddenly Rudolph is a victim of prejudice -- Clarice's father won't let his daughter be seen with him. Maybe that's reading too much into the story, but it makes one wonder if some members of '60s households realized they were watching or just dismissed it as a cute kid's show. Probably the latter.

As a cultural icon, you can't dismiss the influence this single special had on so much that followed it. Many of today's greatest names in animation have either cited it as a favorite (along with other Rankin/Bass films) or slipped its lore into their own work. Like The Wizard of Oz, elements of Romeo Muller's script have become part of our vernacular, from Charlie in the Box to Hermie the Dentist.

On Blu-ray, of course you can see the handmade quality of the animation in all its glory -- as well as details you may have missed, like Clarice's touch of blush or Fireball's freckles. AND, the long-omitted "Peppermint mine" scene has been included. If you've ever wondered if there was more to Yukon Cornelius' quest for riches, you'll see it just before Santa goes off to pick up the misfit toys.

For more about Rankin/Bass and Rudolph, check out the books and blog of author/expert Rick Goldschmidt, who helped save the peppermint mine scene.

Frosty the Snowman came along in 1968, when the small New York-based Rankin/Bass production company was proving itself in a marketplace dominated by Hollywood animation giants with Saturday morning series (King Kong), feature films (The Daydreamer, Mad Monster Party) and other specials (Cricket on the Hearth). Like all of their weekly series, Frosty was done in what is now called 2-D or cel animation. Almost all of their animation was done in Japan, and this was one completed at Mushi Studios.

The animation isn't much more fluid than in their Animagic productions, but it works very well even by today's standards, in which flash is becoming so prevalent in TV cartoons. What makes it stand head and shoulders over most specials is its unerring simplicity, the voice cast (led by Jimmy Durante, Jackie Vernon and Billy DeWolfe) and the rich musical "house style" by Maury Laws. More than anything else, perhaps, the design by Paul Coker, Jr. comes across most dramatically in hand-drawn animation and makes Frosty look like a Christmas card come to life.

Watching the crisp, linear Coker images (which resemble his work for countless greeting cards and especially MAD magazine) in Blu-ray is a treat. This was either beautifully preserved or painstakingly restored or both. By daughter remarked that it "looks like it was just made yesterday!"

The "bonus" on the disc is Frosty Returns, the 1992 special CBS commissioned years later (though the 1974 Rankin/Bass 'Twas the Night Before Christmas special usually held the ratings in the second half hour following Frosty), was directed by "Peanuts" legend Bill Melendez. CBS may have also requested that the special resemble a "Peanuts" special because Frosty Returns looks almost identical to a show with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Frosty Returns is notable for several reasons, including the voice of a very young Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olsen on MadMen) when she was a child actor, a witty script by Oliver Goldstick and Jim Lewis, and a nice supporting cast, especially if you're a SCTV and Saturday Night Live fan (the executive producer was SNL's Lorne Michaels, whose Broadway Video controlled the Rankin/Bass video library at the time).

My only quibble is that Frosty Returns either never got the loving care in the vault as it animated predecessor or there was a mastering problem, because there is a lot of "line noise" throughout, almost as if it were a VHS tape instead of a Blu-ray! I might guess that since this show is not the main attraction, it didn't matter as much, but you can't miss the flaws when you can see the images so clearly.

Other than that, Frosty the Snowman itself on Blu-ray does indeed look like it was made yesterday, rather than over 40 years ago.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town came to ABC first in 1970, when Rankin/Bass was firing on all cylinders. The visual difference between this production and that of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is considerable, especially with regard to the immense, detailed sets and more intricate characters, designed by Paul Coker, Jr. Yes, there is the same animation "on two's and three's" as well as a few modest effects, but everything clicks within the brisk 51 minutes, none of which seem padded.

When I asked him to name a favorite special (in The Cartoon Music Book) Musical director/composer Maury Laws called this his favorite, because he thought every element was perfect, from the cast to the script to the overall feel. Fred Astaire proved added another dimension to his legendary career as one of the best narrators in any special. Mickey Rooney's bravado was ideal for the young Kris Kringle. Keenan Wynn's Winter Warlock was memorable (especially when he gets the choo-choo). And our beloved Robie Lester (read Mouse Tracks for more about her) was the show-stopper when, as Jessica, she undid the proverbial bun and belted out her solo, a great tune in a score that hasn't a dud in the bunch (though sadly, in today's more creepy times, "Be Prepared to Pay" may seem to take on an odd -- thoroughly unintentional -- connotation).

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is so spectacular that it's the visual crown jewel in the trilogy with Rudolph and Frosty. And sure, it adds yet another set of myths to confuse those trying to figure out the origin of Santa.

In this case, the story springs from the mind of writer Romeo Muller, but I wonder if, like Rudolph, this special contains a nod to its cultural context. In 1970, Richard Nixon was president, the war was raging and the counterculture was questioning. Kris and Jessica become outlaws and get married in a forest like hippies (since no town would welcome them), and the Burgermeister does resemble Nixon a little. I even noticed that, when Kris says "It's not even safe here," they're standing among the burned remains of what might have been their small camp -- we get a quick glimpse and then it's gone with no other mention. This is the story of Santa as a revolutionary against political oppression.

Okay, enough with the term paper hypotheses. This is Rankin/Bass at their best and glows like a shimmering holiday display on Blu-Ray.