Frosty The Snowman

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...

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...

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...

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