Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale
On Christmas Eve all are welcome at the stable. On Christmas Eve all are welcome because there’s always room for a little one. That cold winter’s night, beneath the star’s light… …a Little One came for the world.
List Price: $ 16.99
Price: $ 3.97
The Original Christmas Classics Gift Set [Blu-ray]
![The Original Christmas Classics Gift Set [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vyvo5hvzL._SL160_.jpg)
- Condition: New
- Format: Blu-ray
- Animated; Full Screen; NTSC
Four original holiday favorites make the perfect stocking stuffer for the young and the young at heart. Includes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Burl Ives. 1964/65 min.), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney. 1970/55 min.), Frosty the Snowman (Jimmy Durante. 1969/30 min.) and Frosty Returns (Jonathan Winters. 1992/25 min.). Animated. 2 Discs. Color/NR.Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:
This classic 1964 television special featuring Rudolph and his misfit buddies set the s
List Price: $ 44.95
Price: $ 14.99
Lovely New Children’s Story,
It’s a cold winter’s night, and Kind Ox is nesting, all snug in his stable out of the bitter wind, when a visitor comes along. Old Dog. Kind Ox invites Old Dog into the stable where he will be protected from the harm of the storm, and soon more animals have joined the two of them. Stray Cat, and Small Mouse, to be exact. Then Tired Donkey comes along, carrying a woman, Mary, on his back, and a man, Joseph, at his side. Mary is weary, for she is about to have her baby, but there is no room at the inn, so Joseph is worried. But Kind Ox invites them in, and provides shelter for Mary as she gives birth to the baby Jesus, a group of animals around them.
ROOM FOR A LITTLE ONE is a lovely picture book that will paint a simple picture of how Jesus came to be for young children. The prose is extremely easy to understand for all ages, and the illustrations, depicting scenes of animals in the snow, and inside the warmth of the stable, will capture the hearts of parents, as well as their children. A wonderful holiday tale.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
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|A beautiful book,
My 11 year old son, brought this home from the book fair at his school today. He was very proud to show me his purchase. We have already read it together with little brother 3 times now!
Jason Cockcroft is an amazing illustrator. His pictures are beautiful and peaceful, while detailed.
Room for a little one, is not long, but has such a beautiful message. It ends with “…a Little One came for the world.”
This book is perfect for a bedtime story, or to be read on Christmas Eve, or morning. Our family highly recommends this book. We would give it a 6 if we could. It will be within reach all year long, not just at Christmas time.
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|A delightful twist on a historical tale!,
About two thousand years ago, in the town of Nazareth, a miracle occurred. There were Shepherds, the Angels and, on Epiphany, the Wise Men.
In author Martin Waddell’s version: This particular winter night is cold, and Kind Ox lies in his stable sheltered from the harsh bitter airs. He is snuggled in the warmth of his straw bed until Old Dog comes along in search of shelter and a warm place to rest his weary bones. Kind Ox invites him in. Not long after do more travelers arrive, also in need of shelter. Stray Cat, and Small Mouse, to be precise.
Then Tired Donkey arrives, leading Joseph along, as he carries Mary on his back. Mary is very tired and needed a place to stay. At each inn, the story was the same. There was no room for them.
“Where will my baby be born?” Mary asked.
Kind Ox invited Tired Donkey in. Mary gives birth to Jesus with the animals around them.
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale, is not only simply written and easy to understand, but is also exquisitely illustrated. This is a book your child will read everyday of the year!
Reviewed by Betsie
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|Blu Ray set is OK,
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.
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|be advised that the two disc bluray edition only has four of your Christmas favorites…,
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…
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|Blu Ray Review,
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
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