Scholastic Video // 2006 // 42 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Daniel MacDonald (Retired) // November 16th, 2006
Classic holiday stories and songs will keep kids laughing and singing all winter long.
From Scholastic, the premier name in children's literature, comes video adaptations of five picture books, just in time for Christmas.
If you have kids, you may be looking for a good DVD to pop in the player of your minivan for the annual trip to your parents' house at the holidays -- The Little Drummer Boy ...and 4 more holiday stories would fit that bill nicely. It provides a selection of holiday-themed stories written over the past 45 years, with some engaging illustrations and lively readings that should keep the little tykes from asking, "Are we there yet?" I'll go through them individually:
* The Little Drummer Boy
Here we have the familiar Christmas
song of a boy who traveled to Bethlehem for Jesus' birth, and having no gift to
bring, played his best song on his drum. It's basically shots of pages from the
books, with no animation (like a Ken Burns documentary), while the smooth vocal
styling of John Jennings does justice to the song. The illustrations are
detailed and muted, and should keep kids' attention for the five minute
duration.
* Merry Christmas, Space Case
This is a story of young Buddy
McGee, a boy who met a talking spaceship ("The Thing" -- not to be
confused with John Carpenter's The Thing, which would be entirely
inappropriate for your wee ones) at Halloween and became friends. The Thing
promises to come back for Christmas, but Buddy's parents abruptly decide to go
to Grandma's house instead. Buddy leaves a note, hoping The Thing will see it
and find him. At Grandma's, Buddy is tormented by the twins next door, and in an
effort to show off tells them about his friend from outer space. This just about
gets Buddy beat up when The Thing doesn't show up, but the pair are eventually
reunited, and The Thing takes care of Buddy's tormentors in short order. It's
unfortunate that Buddy doesn't find a way of dealing with the bullies other than
having his own bully push them around, but it's a cute, well-animated
story read with vigor by Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future).
* Sam and the Lucky Money
Ming-Na Wen (E.R.) reads the
beautifully illustrated tale of Sam, a Chinese boy who is given four dollars of
Lucky Money to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Told he can spend the money on
anything he wants, Sam's mother takes him shopping. While he's tempted by sweets
and toys, some of which he cannot afford, Sam starts to think his money
worthless, until he realizes how much of a difference it would make in the life
of a kindly homeless man he meets on the street. While it's not animated, the
art is absolutely stunning, and the story's final moments are quite moving. This
is my favorite of the group.
* The Tomten
The Tomten, a little troll who looks a bit like a
mini-Santa, comes out on cold nights when all are asleep, visiting a farm and
speaking to all the animals in a language they can understand. While it's a very
simple story in which not much happens (it's a poem, so this is allowed),
narrator Owen Jordan's voice could lull an insomniac to sleep. I could listen to
this guy read the phone book and be out in ten minutes. The illustrations are
well done, but the age of the film (it's from 1961) shows; not likely something
that would bother younger kids, though.
* The Twelve Days of Christmas
Similar to the titular story,
this "bonus" is the popular song with illustrated accompaniment. It
seems to be more panning shots over the pages of a book, with some basic
animation added in for flair. Catchy, this one'll get stuck in your head for
days.
My wife, a grade 3 teacher, says The Little Drummer Boy ...and 4 more holiday stories would be well-enjoyed by kids as young as two, and as old as seven or eight. It features an English subtitle track, listed in the Features as "Read Along," that will allow kids to do just that, learning a bit about reading and writing in the process. It's also on an auto-play loop, so it'll start back up about 30 seconds after hitting the main menu, so you shouldn't have to hear too much "Play it again!" here.
There's not that much to it, but all in all, it's a worthwhile addition to your kids' collection, and one you might just catch yourself being drawn in by too.
Review content copyright © 2006 Daniel MacDonald; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2008 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 84
Perp Profile
Studio: Scholastic Video
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* English
Running Time: 42 Minutes
Release Year: 2006
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Extra Bonus Story Exclusive to DVD
* Read Along
* Interactive Menus
* Story Selection
* Auto Play
Accomplices
* None