The Story:
It's Christmas in a small, poor American town, and everyone is struggling to get by, but particularly the Grainger family.

Little Abbie Grainger (Elisabeth Harnois) is depending on Santa Claus to work miracles for her family this year. Abbie's father, Jack (Gary Basaraba), has lost his job, and his family is being forced to move out of their home. This doesn't stop Abbie, her father, and her older brother Caleb from having the Christmas spirit. But Abbie's mom Ginny (Mary Steenburgen) is another story. She is pessimistic about their future, hates her job at the local grocery store, wants to have nothing to do with celebrating the season, and is on the verge of telling Abbie to stop putting any faith in delusions about Santa Claus.

And that's where the magic begins. In comes Harry Dean Stanton as Gideon, an angel whose task it is to show Ginny the Christmas spirit and help her remember what a wonderful life it really is. But to do so, he has to first show Ginny how dark life could be, so in the blink of a street full of Christmas lights, the world turns tragically cold—and for a while things become shockingly bleak and heart-wrenching. Gideon turns to young Abbie Grainger for help in getting her mother to recapture the Christmas spirit—and it's going to take a magical trip to the North Pole and a one-on-one with the real Santa Claus to set things back on path.

As if you couldn't tell from the description, One Magic Christmas borrows the best elements of classics such as A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life to totally pull at your heartstrings. Yet, this movie does it with the added charm of being seen through a child's eyes, adding a fairy tale quality that will have children and adults smiling and crying. The performances are outstanding. The children are all adorable. Gary Basaraba plays the loving kind of father most of us only wish we had. Harry Dean Stanton is both mysterious and comforting as the angel who has to make everything right. And Mary Steenburgen is brilliant in this little family movie as an exhausted mother who has to make an Ebenezer Scrooge-like transformation.

And visually, you experience Christmas. You feel like you are on the snow-covered streets at night, with the winter mist escaping from your lips. You are convinced you've stepped into Santa's workshop and been given a tour by the man himself. One Magic Christmas is everything a Christmas movie is supposed to be.

The DVD

Video:
The original Artisan release of this DVD offered both full frame and widescreen versions, but the widescreen version was letterboxed. Although this Disney release does not offer a full frame version, it is in anamorphic 1:85:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 televisions. The print is virtually the same as the Artisan release, though. It is showing its age with some specks and dust. The overall image is dark, and is slightly grainy, and it seems that to compensate, the colors have been saturated a bit.

Sound:
The Dolby 5.1 audio track is mostly front heavy. The left/right separation is excellent, but the back speakers are mostly just filler. The sound is set deeply into the speakers. Actually, the audio is much the way I remember it from back in the 2 speaker hi-fi VHS days. Perhaps it's based on the source material, because the menu audio (orchestral score from the movie) sounds fantastic.

Extras:
Not much in the way of extras. When you first pop in the DVD, it automatically launches into trailers, which you can skip. And oddly, they are not an option from the main menu. You have the option of English or Spanish audio tracks. There are English captions for the hearing impaired, and French subtitles.

Final Thoughts:
One Magic Christmas has everything you'd expect from a Disney movie and a Christmas movie. It's heartwarming, it's a tearjerker, it's sweet and innocent, delightful for both children and adults. And it captures the essence of the holiday season with unforgettable performances by the entire cast. This is one of those movies that will become an annual event in your family.