Atlanta Mail

Christmas Specials in Glorious 4k

MOVIE REVIEW
The Classic Christmas Specials Collection (4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Frosty the Snowman/Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town

TV-G -     

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Year Released: 1964/1969/1970, 2022 (4K restoration)
Runtime: 47m/25m/48m
Director(s): Larry Roemer/Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Writer(s): Romeo Muller, Robert May (story,) Johnny Marks (based on the song by)/Romeo Muller
Cast: Billie Mae Richards, Burl Ives, Larry D. Mann, Paul Soles, Stan Francis/Jackie Vernon, Billy De Wolfe, Jimmy Durante, Paul Frees, June Foray, Suzanne Davidson/Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees
Where To Watch: Releases on November 1, 2022, available to pre-order now.


RAVING REVIEW: Fair warning, I am incredibly biased when it comes to Christmas movie classics, so this may not be a fair review, but it’s my review, so I make the rules.


This is the year of the Christmas movie 4K renaissance; so many incredible Christmas films are finally coming to 4K now that the format has firmly placed itself in the physical media world. However, none had me quite as excited as this set, and with good reason, these films were an integral part of my childhood.

First, I need to upgrade my 4K TV; I purchased it right when 4K first came out, and it’s missing several features of newer sets. That being said, these still looked incredible. You could see the individual hairs on Rudolph, the imperfections in Frosty’s hand-drawn animation (which is a good thing!), and the incredible textures of Santa’s suit. These were done on film; you can tell how these transfers were handled with craftsmanship and love.

If you haven’t seen these films, I beg you to give them a chance; they’re all pretty short and fantastic watches. I was genuinely impressed with the blu-ray transfers, but these somehow take it up another notch. I’m not one to ooze over 4K transfers because I can’t always see the need. I’ve always felt the need for an animation to be given the best possible transfer; as long as it was shot on film, it usually has the best results. That shows why Frosty was so stunning, but the other two shocked me in the best way possible.

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