I wouldn’t mind having this Santa Vader and Taun Taun sleigh sitting on my mantle this Christmas season, how about you?

PowerPig via Timblelog

The Christmas spirit continues today on SMC with another classic animated TV special on Blu-ray, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This was released at the same time as A Charlie Brown Christmas and Horton Hears a Who! by Warner Bros. This is oddly the first time I’ve owned this special on any format, but at least I’m starting with the best.

The Grinch looks great in HD, and much like the Charlie Brown Christmas, it seems like it couldn’t ever get any better. A lot of the bonus features from the previous versions are here, including the awesomely cheesy TNT special hosted by Phil Hartman. I remember watching this at my sister’s house every year (that’s probably why I’ve never bought it), and it’s as fun as it was in the 90s. There are also a few more featurettes, a commentary by legendary June Foray and Phil Roman, and a DVD and Digital copy.

Is it worth upgrading from DVD? I think so, but I’m an HD junkie. It’s definitely nice to have some more classic Christmas content on Blu-ray. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is available on Blu-ray now.

In case you’ve been overwhelmed with the holiday season like I have this year, here is a classic Christmas Disney short to get you in the mood. Well, for Christmas, that is.

It’s Pluto’s Christmas from 1952, and it stars Pluto and my favorite Chipmunks, Chip ‘n Dale. I have it on a Disney Treasures set, but I’m pretty sure that every DVD this has been on is now out of print. All the more reason for you to enjoy it here!

As always, you can read more about this classic Disney short over at DisneyShorts.org.

It’s so refreshing to see some classic holiday animation coming to Blu-ray. Until now, there hasn’t really been any classic animation on the format from anyone but Disney, but Warner Bros. is showing their support in a big way recently. All at once they dropped A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Horton Hears a Who! on Blu-ray. Sweet.

A Charlie Brown Christmas doesn’t really need an introduction, and it’s been written about so many times online. This is the first time it’s been available in high-definition though, and it looks amazing. I didn’t think a Peanuts special would look this good in HD, but I’m pretty sure that this is about as accurate of a reproduction of the original cels and painted backgrounds that you could get.

The special itself looks great. Normally, when I watch something 4:3 on my TV, I stretch it out to reduce the chance of burn-in on my plasma, but this looked so good I finally got over my paranoia (this article helped too). The colors pop and the familiar designs we’ve come to adore for decades look better than ever.

Included in the set is It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown in HD, which is a plus or not, depending on what you think of the 1992 follow up to A Charlie Brown Christmas. The real draw in the bonus features is the 16 minute, surprisingly in-depth documentary on the making of the special.

Other than the documentary and the bonus special, there is a DVD copy (as if we don’t own it three times over already), and a digital copy.

A Charlie Brown Christmas + Blu-ray = pure awesomeness, so get yourself a little something extra this year and pick it up, it’s available now.

Disclaimer: This review is based on product provided by Warner Bros.

Ah, Rankin/Bass. You can’t have Christmas without at least a few of their classic holiday specials. Of those, 1974’s A Year Without Santa Claus has received a modern spin-off starring the Miser Brothers, Snow Miser and Heat Miser. Canadian animation studio Cuppa Coffee and Warner Bros.

A Miser Brothers Christmas premiered last year on ABC Family, and is now available on DVD from Warner Bros. Mickey Rooney is back (albeit in raspier form) to voice Santa, and the special is a pretty decent attempt to emulate the look and feel of classic Rankin/Bass.

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