5 comments about Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 8 - Holiday Celebration With Mickey & Pals.

1. It's true that not all the shorts here are technically Christmas related, but neither was the original 'From All of Us to All of You', for anyone who goes back far enough to recall this one. It debuted on 'Walt Disney Presents'(as it was called at that time) back in 1959. Basically, this is one of the earliest Christmas specials for children(predating 'Mr.Magoo's Christmas Carol' and 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', both from the early 60s). I actually caught it on both 'The Wonderful World of Disney'(the show's title during the '70s) and, later, on the Disney Channel(back when it wasn't just 'Saved by the Bell'-styled kiddie shows). 'From All of Us to All of You' did offer a currier and ives scene from, I believe, the film 'Melody Time'(available on DVD). However, no Christmas identification was specifically given to this winter excerpt, borrowed from the previous film, and it oddly didn't affect the cheerfull holiday mood of the show one bit.
   Also, I realize that everything from film to stage theater to the funny papers were far from politically correct in the day, but if that's all that 'modern' parenting has to worry about, turn on 'Barney'. It's pathetically annoying and, quite likely, will raise your toddler to become a goofy moron, but it beats having to explain to them that dogs tails are for themselves to wag only, guns are for adults, and cartoons are...well, cartoons.



2. Super Holiday classic cartoons! Just what you remembered as a child...let it take you and your children away to some fun holiday time with Disney's best cartoons! Quality is great! A must have for your holiday collection!



3. I have purchased two other Disney Christmas videos for my three year old son, and he and the whole family enjoys them tremendously. However, I was shocked and disappointed by this video. I am not a conservative person, but I do monitor what my young child watches. And while I may be a little conservative about what he watches, this was really too much. There were several racially derogatory scenes and Donald and the Chipmunks get into a military style battle over popcorn. Some parents don't mind animated violece, and I will tolerate a scuffle or two, but for me, this was too much. In my oppinion, pass on this video and look into Classic Holiday Stories VOL 9 or Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. After all, isn't Chrismas about peace and kindness?



4. This cartoon has been a classic in our family and seeing it again on DVD format was great as it brought back memories from childhood Christmas.



5. Mickey's Christmas Carol is my all time favorite Christmas video. The other cartoons on the dvd make it that much better. It's a good buy for Christmas, entertaining and fun.

5 comments about Black Christmas (Special Edition).

1. Most of you know Bob Clark's famous movie "A Christmas Story," which was released Christmas 1984, but ten years earlier, Mr. Clark tried his hand at a different type of "Christmas" storytelling, and it doesn't require a prococious narrator to get the message across. Forget the silly remake that was released on Christmas Day a couple of years ago, this 1974 shocker is the one to watch. First of all, it doesn't rely on gore and blood to fill in for the lack of script. Partly the reason why remakes usually are inferior (Planet of the Apes, Psycho, Willy Wonka, Halloween), is there determination to make an already great film better, which is nearly impossible. None of the above mentioned films needed to be improved upon, and Black Christmas can be added to that list.
   
   Black Christmas predates John Carpenter's Halloween by four years, but it provides every thrill of that film, plus its characters are witty and more intelligent. Clark makes good use of POV (point of view) shooting to allow viewers to survey the mayhen through the stalker's eyes. The fact that there are so many things unclear about the character makes us watch and listen more intently. The phone calls are truly creepy, and although Kidder handles the perverted caller flippantly, we are genuinely afraid for her and the other soriety girls. As a bonus, the film also includes Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet, It). I always found her to be an underrated beauty. Watch the movie alone with the lights turned down--you will be frigthened, and perhaps a bit tentative to answer the next phone call at your house.



2. WOW, so glad I finally watched this, the master granddaddy of slasher films. It's easy to realize the influences it had on the genre. I even think it gave some ideas to some comedy films, and I'm not talking about satire. It had the belligerent Santa cussing in front of little kids, plus children given alcohol.
   I was expecting way more blood and guts to cover up a weak storyline. I'm glad I was wrong.
   This is an amazing script, wonderfully paced, superbly directed, surprisingly well acted, and overall hugely influential. A must own!



3. Well I sat through the horrendous Black Christmas remake from a couple years back, and thought to myself "What could have warranted such a terrible attempt at remaking a horror film?". To find out I sat down and watched this 1974 original expecting the worst, only to discover that this original is a real gem!
   
   The fact that the film is set in a sorority house is about the only similarity between this great original and the terrible remake. While the 2006 version attempted to provide some elaborate back story on the killer, he remains a complete mystery here yielding steady tension throughout the entire film. The trouble begins with a slew of obscene phone calls to the house, and soon escalates to murder and disappearances. As the sorority house members are slowly picked off one by one, this tension grows all the more intense resulting in a very unexpected ending.
   
   I did have a few slight gripes about Black Christmas. For one it just took a little too long to get rolling, after the initial murder there is not much else happening in the film until about forty minutes in. There are some relevant plot points contained in this period, but it certainly could have been shortened a little bit for the sake of continuity. The other thing was the flurry of obscenity and crude sexual banter spewing from the sorority member's mouths. I am not offended by any of it, but it sort of came off as weak and stupid attempts at comic relief, and it certainly added nothing to the movie.
   
   All in all these flaws can be easily overlooked considering that the tension and atmosphere of Black Christmas is something that is rarely achieved. I consider this movie a horror classic, and I can easily see how it could have influenced slasher movies to come such as Halloween. See this one at all costs, avoid the remake like the plague.



4. terrifying slasher film. the scariest and most intelligent of the genre. the voice of that maniac over the phone crawls under your skin. careful about reading too much info from reviews and other sources about this movie. the plot can easily be ruined. now available in a new special edition release! time to upgrade.



5. This movie is pre Halloween by Four years and is really the standard by which all films of it's kind should be judged. Very Very Scary ! This little film has everything going for it... The 2007 Black Xmas Sucks and should never be watched.

5 comments about Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure.

1. My oldest, now 4, has been a Franklin fan for as long as he's been allowed to watch television. He loved the movie, which is why I gave it two stars. My personal rating would be a one at most.
   
   Why?
   
   Mature themes your average preschooler isn't ready to handle -- or, at least, I'm not ready for him to handle. Granny's parents dying in a fire when she's a little girl, Granny almost being trapped by the fire while sleeping outside in her tent, Granny later appearing to be near death. I'll take the hit for having to explain what happened to Mufasa in "The Lion King," but this is no "Lion King"!
   
   The depiction of Franklin in this one seemed to get away from the sweet, slightly whiny turtle in past movies, cartoons and books. They seem determined to turn him into Super Hero Franklin. I prefer the flawed Every Turtle. And in other Franklin works, there's always been a moral or values lesson. Not here.
   
   This is the new movie in the house, so, of course, the kids are into it right now. But I can't wait to get them back to "Franklin and the Green Knight." That's one of the sweetest kids movies I've ever seen.



2. I was also, a bit surprised at some of the mature areas of this
   film, but I felt it had a tender manner of dealing with the situations.
   Perhaps this Franklin isn't meant for super small children - yet I didn't find
   it offensive at all. My daughter really likes this dvd.



3. I thought that this DVD was very well done. The animation is different from the typical Franklin story, even his other full-length stories. The characters are "more animated", for lack of a better description. For example, instead of the usual stone-faced Bear character, he makes funny faces. The music is also different-not annoying like the other full-length stories. Franklin and Harriet are not whiney, spoiled, and annoying like they usually are.
   The problem lies in the story itself. Granny is dying of some unknow ailment and it seems that Franklin must find this magic talisman to save her life. That's quite a bit of pressure on a child, I would say. My daughter did not like that at all. We also get to hear Granny's story of hiding this talisman in a time capsule when she was a child, which is fine until you see the forest around her small pup tent erupt in flames, and watch as it creeps closer to her family's cabin where her parents are sleeping. She escapes to a row boat on the lake and watches and waits till the fire is gone. Then she sums up the story by saying that "she lost everything in that fire", and then went to live with some other family member. It's a pretty gruesome way to make the time capsule a challenge to find for Franklin! I wonder what the authors were thinking when they wrote this story line. I thought that killing off parents was just a favorite Walt Disney device. My daughter does not want to watch this again, it upset her so much. And even though it is a very well-done cartoon, I can't say that Franklin is one of my favorites, so it's not likely that anybody else will be watching it again either.



4. What the heck?! Franklin's Grandma, in a childhood flashback, watches as the house containing her sleeping parents is burned to the ground! What were the writers thinking? My children were mortified.



5. My 5 year old son just loves Franklin. He really loved this movie. Since this is a movie, the format is slightly different than the series, but he still loved it. Great movie and my son is so happy!

5 comments about Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.

1. It was just as wonderful as I remembered it from years ago. I had forgotten how the wonderful songs added to the story. My whole family was thrilled to get to watch this old family favorite.



2. If you are a fan of "A Christmas Carol" like I am then you will like this film. If you just have a passing interest then there are better versions.



3. The movie was a different version of the Scrooge. It wasn't as good as I remembered.



4. Not quite, but I have very fond memories of watching this on TV in the years after its release. I am pretty sure that it was the first Christmas Carol I ever saw. Its primary appeal will be to boomers like me. In the beginning Mr. Magoo plays himself, driving the wrong way through midtown Manhattan traffic, but after that, he is in character as Scrooge during a fairly traditional rendition of this holiday classic as a Broadway musical. The very basic animation is what you would expect. The highlights for me are the half dozen or so original tunes that make this seasonal treat special. Pair it with The Snowman and you are guaranteed to be ready for the holidays.



5. Perhaps nostalgia for childhood Christmas memories causes me to wax overly positive on Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.
   
   After all, a plethora of better productions with live actors are available. The animation is far from Disney-quality. And, of course, many people can't stand Jim Backus' Mr. Magoo character.
   
   However, this cartoon Christmas Carol has a number of virtues, including a strict, if abbreviated, fidelity to the original story, a great score with quality production and catchy/heart-rending songs, and the voice of the late, great Jim Backus.
   
   The versions shown on TV have been brutally edited. It's definitely worth buying the DVD if you enjoy the show, and it's a great introduction to the story for children.

5 comments about Disney Princess - A Christmas of Enchantment.

1. This DVD rehashes old Disney cartoons into a "Christmas" theme--I say "Christmas," beacuse a couple of the cartoons have little to do with Christmas. Additionally, the new animation that was created for this DVD is as bad as I've ever seen. If you like rehashed older cartoons that you can get on better DVD sets and crappy animation that makes the princesses look robotic, go ahead and waste your money on this one. Otherwise, skip it.
   
   SHAME ON YOU DISNEY--THIS DVD IS NOTHING BUT A CHEAP AND SHODDY ATTEMPT TO GET A FEW DOLLARS!
   
   IF I COULD, I'D GIVE THIS DVD A RATING OF "0"



2. I actually was a little bummed with the animation in this, but the songs are great, and my four year old watched it well into July then I finally had to "lose" it for awhile because I couldn't handle hearing anymore Christmas songs when it was over onr hundred degrees outside!
   
   I have a 2 year old & 4 year old who love it more than anything!



3. I ordered this product in early (very early) December -- it is now, the 2nd week of January & I still haven't received my item. This was to be a gift for my niece but I haven't received it yet. Amazon provided no reason for the delay, just that it was not being sent yet. Not a good reason.



4. I watched... I TRIED to watch this dreadful movie. It is clear how much Disney spent on this awful movie.
   Basically they use old cartoons, pre-made stuff and even clips from the original movies.
   The newly animated parts are laughable, the princes move as much as a stone statue and the princesses mouths don't even match the voice-work.
   The absolute worst was "12 Days of Christmas", the princesses sing about what they are getting. Jasmine sings she is going to get an emerald ring or something.
   They just us a scene from Aladdin where she and Aladdin ride on the carpet and have only put an emerald ring in the upper right of the screen - how creative!
   
   The cover is better than the whole movie combined, I hope Disney are ashamed of themselves after this.



5. I purchased Disney Princess-A Christmas of Enchantment for my granddaughter age 4. She loved it and we watched well into July! My second granddaughter age 3 is expecting a baby brother next month and has requested Grammy bring the DVD to Seattle for her to watch after her brother is born. Grammy purchased a second DVD for her to keep at her house.
   Grammy like this particular DVD because it is old cartoons she watched when she was very young! Everyone is a winner!!

5 comments about Summer Holiday.

1. I was very satisfied with all aspeects of this order.The quality of the movie is excellent,as was the speed of receiving the dvd.I never thought I would ever be able to get a copy of a movie I had watched in 1963.



2. Saw this movie in England never thought i would find a copy of it i'am thrilled to see it on DVD it's great Movie.



3. this movie was good fun with lots of crazy antics and good fun music, a bunch of youths in a london bus, adventures,romance,language problems and much more. If you like Cliff Richard or are simply a fan of music and laughs,this is the movie to see.



4. Oy. What a disappointment. So sickeningly sweet, I had my blood sugar checked for diabetes afterwards. Makes Elvis's Fun in Acapulco look like Citizen Kane. Could only have been redeemed if their holiday bus's brakes had failed, sending this lot of saps flying off a cliff.
   
   So sunny and light, it could make dark gothic horrors sound healthy and balancing, careful about showing it to your children!
   
   Cracking my copy in half felt like I was helping rid the world of a dangerous menace.



5. Not so well know in the USA - this is a great musical for a rainy day!

5 comments about Eloise: Little Miss Christmas.

1. I absolutely love this. I purchased it for my daughter and I like it just as much as she does.



2. 3-year old daughter loves this movie. Now that Christmas has passed (and I've seen this a million times), it's on to Me, Eloise. Very cute!



3. Our whole family enjoyed Little Miss Christmas! I have 2 daughters 6 and 8, and it captured their attention and imagination amazingly well. It lifted the holiday excitement. The religious themes and icons were very balanced in the storyline... in a way that worked well in our politically correct world. --- bring us more of this kind of Kids entertainment!! -- dad,



4. My 3 year old daughter loves Eloise! She's a perfect mixture of polite with a little spunk added in. DVD is perfect length to hold her attention.I will buy more Eloise DVDs.



5. When my daughter was 2-1/2, we got this from the library. She requested it pretty much every day, and we had to renew it 3 times. When we finally ran out of renewals, I decided it was worth the $10 (or whatever small sum it was) to get our own copy. Not only was our child entertained by the antics of all the kids, but turns out, based on comments she made later at Christmastime, she was absorbing the fact that there are many ways people celebrate the December holiday season, which delighted me. We ended up also purchasing the original Eloise story ("Me, Eloise," which tells of how Eloise and Yuko meet) on DVD produced with the same cast, which my daughter loves now too.

5 comments about Jingle All the Way.

1. Great family to watch with the family to put you in the holiday spirit!
   A movie you'd watch every season! (especially if you'd been in the same dilemma as Arnold....I know I have!)



2. I bought the vhs when that came out now I just got the family edition for christmas it's still fun and funny and now im 26 and it still makes me laugh it's one of my favorite holiday movie's it's turbo time on dvd now it's easier to watch on dvd instead of putting in the tape all the time I have to check out the extra's but I do like that the extended version is on here and I have never watched it on dvd before and owning it on dvd three things for me makes this a easy buy



3. Jingle All the Way brings to the screen the story of a father as he rushes to find his son a Turbo Man action figure on Christmas Eve. Things get a bit complicated though, when Turbo Man action toys are the year's most wanted toys...
   Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, Phil Hartman, Sinbad, and the rest of the cast, have carried out their performances wonderfully. Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs during the holiday season.
   The setting, the plot, the dialogues, and the music are all good.
   In conclusion, Jingle All the Way is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection if you are a Schwarzenegger fan.



4. Classis Arnold comedy with the addition of sinbad to boot. Tons of laughs for anyone who loves this acting master. Got to get the turboman!



5. The movie Jingle All The Way is an extremely entertaining movie which must be watched with children, preferably under 12 years. Any parent who has frantically searched for his son's toys at the eleventh hour can immediately relate to the main character who searches for the coveted toy for his son for Christmas.

5 comments about Noel.

1. Ultra-realistic misery for six or seven characters for 85 minutes followed by happy endings that are improbable even by Christmas movie standards.
   
   People who like socialist realism will like the first 85 minutes but will throw up at the end. People who like Christmas movies will find the first 85 minutes torture, but if they stick it out, may like the last 5 minutes.
   
   Two of the characters (Sarandon and the cop) are relentlessly obnoxious throughout the movie. Two others (Alan Arkin and Penelope Cruz) are non-characters: their roles are one note. Two others (the Robin Williams character and the young guy who broke his hand) are sympathetic. All of them seem to be playthings of the gods, since every circumstance throws one more punch at them.
   
   This movie bears no resemblance whatsoever to "It's a Wonderful Life." I don't know why the Amazon reviewer is so desperate to promote this loser of a movie.
   
   The about-face done by the cop character was psychologically totally unrealistic. So, it's hard to rejoice with Penelope at the end. She's going to be miserable.
   
   There are several unintended belly-laughs in the movie. For instance, the cop's partner keeps harping on the old guy as a dangerous nut case. The first three or four times, it is understandable if annoying. But when the partner pops up at the cop's apartment door and immediately goes into the same song and dance, it's a hoot, like one of those slapstick routines from a silent comedy.
   
   Bottom line: there are so many good Christmas movies, many of which haven't gotten the attention they deserve. For example, have you seen "A Season For Miracles"? Or, if you like realism, "Silent Night". Or "The Christmas Shoes". Or "A Holiday for Love". Or "Unlikely Angel". Do yourself a favor and buy one of these.



2. I just didnt' get this movie. It is so discreet in what you are suppose to be understanding that I never did. I bought it thinking it was going to a movie of Christmas hope like the previews said but instead it was just weird.



3. I saw this movie on TV a couple years ago and knew I had to add it to my library of movies. The DVD arrived quickly and I didn't waste any time watching it. This is a movie I can watch over and over. This is one of my all time favorites.
   
   
   
   
   



4. A good movie to watch at Christmas time but it is a bit depressing. Great cast, Suasan Sarandon (sp?), Penelope Cruz and Robin Williams.



5. This is a wonderful holiday movie. It is so close to home for me.

5 comments about The Apartment.

1. Several men kept an apartment for their daytime and nightly trysts and, sometimes, had to arrange ahead of time for the privacy they were paying for. This was a busy place day and night with appointments similar to Butterfield Eight where Elizabeth Taylor's character parlayed a long mink coat. The townhouse apartment was beautifullly furnished with good taste and expensive condiments. Not that they cooked. All of the essentials needed for good living was arranged for comfort and luxury.
   
   Another such apartment existed, on just the opposite: no durable furnishings, just a palet on the floor and a t.v. set. This is an updated version but rent paid by the inhabitants of a halfway house, no chairs, dresser, or even curtains on the windows. Black plastic bags kept the outdoors hid and the pad is kept dark. The victim is lured into this trap with one of the robot's enthusiasm about cooking a meal for her. He supposedly worked in the kitchen of an expensive restaurant which takes in felons right out of prison for social workers,
   
   He's not as young as he appears and his fingers have no finger nails. Using toys to make up for their deficiency, nothing works right. Long and floppy, it is frustration for the partner. That's just the beginning of weird abnormal behavior and known only the animal version which doesn't work. "Get on your knees" is not for an execution but an aboriginese approach. These men are demented. One got away but how many of the homeless were lured into damnation and didn't live to talk about it. A slight variation on an old theme.



2. Although this is billed as a comedy, it's only so in the sense that just as "Macbeth" was a tragedy and "Twelfth Night" was a comedy, this film is a comedy. What I mean is that over the years, the jokes are still amusing but not really funny anymore and in fact some of them are just downright corny e.g. the "you should see my backhand" line. Still, this film is very poignant and touching and really came to life for me towards the middle and end when it addresses the cruelty inflicted on women by men who just wanna have fun with no regard to the consequences.
   
   Women are treated like chattel although you find some difficulty in finding sympathy for them when you realise that in some way, they brought it upon themselves. If women only respected other women and played on the same team, "men" like those portrayed here wouldn't even have a chance to use them so easily. If you don't want a homewrecker to come destroy your marriage just don't be one yourself! Imagine if all women stuck to this credo...
   
   Anyways, both Lemmon and MacClaine put in very good performances here as the sympathetic man who realises just how bad his involvement in aiding and abetting his colleagues in cheating on their wives truly is after seeing the results on his victim MacClaine whom he really loves makes a selfless sacrifice of his own with regards his career to do the right thing and MacClaine as the "victim" who realises what true love is about. I thought I couldn't hate Fred MacMurray any more than when he was Neff in "Double Indemnity" but his acting is so good here that I actually found myself hating his character even more here although it goes without saying that "Double Indemnity" is the far, far better film.
   
   This is a very good film except that this DVD version is very poor. The film hasn't been restored in any way and so the picture quality is poor with imperfections galore and the sound quality in Mono is also very poor. There are also no special features worth mentioning at all. Here's hoping that a Blu-ray version with full high quality restoration work on both picture and sound quality is on the horizon. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or better options would be nice as well as a frame-by-frame picture cleanup to do justice to a deserving best film Oscar winner.
   
   Recommended but wait for a better restored version to surface.



3. This was one of the dullest movies I've ever watched! Other laudatory reviwes mystify me. Can this really be the same Billy Wilder who made " Some Like It Hot???"



4. Billy wilder was the first woody allen
   
   and this movie shows it
   
   the best comedy and drama with great performances and direction.
   
   a treasure, no doubt about it



5. The movie was great! It's funny to see the same nonsense that happens nowadays being portrayed years ago. The more things change they definitely stay the same!