Director: Jules Bass
Narrated by: Joel Grey
Studio: Warner Home Video
Rated: G
Run Time: 25 minutes
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” is one of the little known Christmas classics. It has always been a fun short special, another great from Rankin-Bass. The video on this Blu-ray is decent and showcases some rich color. The sound is original with Dolby Digital 1.0 mono but has some problems. One cool aspect of this set is that it comes with the Blu-ray and the DVD of this special. The only issue I have with this is that is it really worth the upgrade to Blu-ray for a short 25 minute. If you are looking to get in the Christmas mood and do not own this yet, I recommend it for sure otherwise stick with the DVD.
The only really extra included on the “deluxe edition” is a feature called “Christmas: A Global Tradition”. It is an animated comic book exploring Christmas traditions around the world. Not really great but would have loved to see a feature instead on Rankin/Bass. I am not sure whey they are calling this the deluxe edition when it is barely deluxe and they even removed the “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland” special from the previous release. Overall the special is great but the overall set is not amazing.
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Synopsis:
For some unexplained reason, letters to Santa Claus are being returned to the children of Junctionville. It seems some sour soul has angered St. Nick, calling Christmas “a fraudulent myth!” The skeptical rodent Albert Mouse has to be brought to his senses “and let up a little on the wonder why.” How Albert is persuaded to change his tune paves the way for Santa’s jolly return to Junctionville — and the joyous finale of this charming animated fable inspired by Clement Moore’s poem. Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes, John McGiver and George Gobel are featured voices. Approx. 23 minutes. Year: 1974
