• The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974): Santa has a bad cold and has lost the Christmas Spirit, so he decides to take a vacation and not deliver presents. Two of his elves head out to find children who will convince Santa that Christmas is still important to the world. However, they must deal with two bickering brothers -- Heat Miser and Snow Miser -- to accomplish their goal.
• Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977): An awkward outcast donkey with exceptionally long ears finds his destiny and is chosen for an important task -- escorting an expectant couple to Bethlehem.
• Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1975): Sequel to the holiday classic, where the famous red-nosed reindeer is sent by Father Time to find the missing New Year Baby and prevent the old year from remaining forever.

These stop-motion programs are all excellent, and it's great to have them all in one collection. Although perhaps not as popular as the Rankin/Bass production of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (also available on DVD), these shows are just as enjoyable and were created with the same high-quality production values. The stories are wonderful, and everyone is sure to be charmed by the delightful music -- whether you are seeing these specials for the first time or the hundredth.

The Picture:
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. These programs look fantastic on DVD -- crisp, colorful, gorgeous. There is some light grain visible in some scenes and a speckle or two on the source material (and occasional compression artifacts on Nestor), but much less than you would expect from 25-year-old television programming. This is the best I've ever seen these Christmas specials look, by far. Warner should be congratulated for putting so much effort into making these programs look spectacular.

The Sound:
The Dolby Digital mono track is fine, always easy to understand with clear dialog and great-sounding music.

Special Features:
The DVD includes no supplemental material, although subtitles are available in English and French.

Final Thoughts:
The Rankin/Bass stop-motion Christmas specials are some of the most beloved holiday TV traditions. This DVD presents a great collection of some of the better ones, and is sure to be enjoyed by the entire family (both the young and the young-at-heart).