If you ask anyone over the age of thirty what one of their childhood memories happens to be regarding the Christmas season, many of them inevitably will at some point bring up that there once was a time when network television broadcast a number of different specials. It wasn’t just Christmas where this was common but, as I’ve written in a review or two in the past, once the first Christmas specials were aired it became a countdown to when that magical night that dominated the lives of children everywhere would occur. Today the classics of yesteryear rarely have any televised appearance and if they do, there seems to be a lack of fanfare like there was in years past.
The Original Christmas Classics box set is something which has been seen in the past on DVD with a couple of different versions being released but with high definition now having become the norm for many, it was high past time that the Christmas special classics finally make the leap to blu-ray. Aside from the various movies which would make a holiday appearance, both The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory were among those which would be broadcast with regularity, there were animated specials. Aside from A Charlie Brown Christmas, the specials of Rankin/Bass were among those which were generally met with a high level of enthusiasm from both children and parents alike. This box set puts together three of their most memorable offerings as well as one rather outcast sequel which wasn’t produced by the company.
The collection is comprised of three discs in a slipcover box, one of those rather cheap cardboard ones which many will discard at some point, but having some of the memorable classics in one collection outweighs this. The first of these is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which was first broadcast on December 6, 1964 and was the first of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials to make an appearance. Instead of being traditional animation however, the company opted to adapt the now famous Johnny Marks song into stop motion animation, something which had already proven to be popular with children with the success of series such as Davey and Goliath as well as Gumby. The special would also be notable not just for the use of the song but also featuring Burl Ives as the narrator.
For their next notable Christmas offering Rankin/Bass would turn to yet another popular song, Frosty the Snowman, which has been recorded many times over the years, first by Gene Autry in 1950, then again in 1957 by Perry Como, both of which remain the two most famous versions. Frosty the Snowman was a departure for the studio in comparison to their other works as this would be the first time they would use traditional cel-animation, something which would later be used by the company with other animated classics like The Hobbit, The Return of the King and The Last Unicorn. Years later there would be a sequel, Frosty Returns, which was not produced by Rankin/Bass and has never gained the popularity as what the other specials have. Unfortunately it’s included in this set and is the only special feature found on any of the discs.
Finally there’s Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town which, just like the other specials, incorporates the song into the special. First broadcast in 1970, the special uses the talents of Fred Astaire but while he’s given top billing in the voice cast, he’s not necessarily the one who has the most dialog and in fact, as the narrator, has a very limited amount in contrast to the rest of the cast. This special also uses a technique billed by Rankin/Bass as being “Animagic” which is still stop motion animation but now features characters made of wood or plastic instead of clay which was commonly the norm. The box set also features a bonus CD with a collection of Christmas songs, not quite the extra feature that most are looking for, but not terrible for those who are hoping for just a bit more.
The only real disadvantage of this collection is that it could have been done a little better. Each of the specials is under an hour which in my opinion means that instead of having them separate, they could have been featured with multiple specials on a single disc which would have then allowed for the inclusion of others. 1974’s The Year Without a Santa Claus is sadly absent here and would have been a great addition to this collection. Everyone however who remembers these will inevitably have their own idea of what others could have been included so this is by no means a “perfect” release but even so, having three great classics in one collection may be well worth the price for many. It will bring back memories for some and provide a new generation of children with ones which they will certainly cherish for years to come.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.