The merry gang at Mythbusters may have disproved the myth that you can't polish a turd, but the saying still stands. You can repackage something all you like but, if the basic content sucks, then there's really no point.
Last year, I had the distinct displeasure of reviewing the 1974 animated special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on DVD. One of Rankin/Bass' lesser efforts, it's a slapdash collection of Christmas clichés without much skill or passion behind it.
Does this holiday special improve when it's reissued on Blu-Ray? I'll give you a hint . . . no.
Warner Home Video Presents Rankin/Bass' 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Blu-Ray, Starring Joel Gray
Here's the story in a nutshell: Santa Claus has a snit-fit after he reads a letter in the Junctionville newspaper calling him "a fraudulent myth" signed by "all of us." The not-so-merry old elf decides the folks in that town can live without his services and sends back all their letters unopened. After some digging, Father Mouse (George Gobel) discovers it was his snotrag son Albert (Tammy Grimes) who singlehandedly wrote the letter.
While human clockmaker Joshua Trundle (Joel Gray) attempts to build a giant clock to make things up to Santa, Father Mouse tries to teach Albert the true meaning of Christmas: peace, love and goodwill to all maxed-out credit cards. But, even thought Albert now understands the true mean of Christmas, he still manages to muck things up. Will Santa ever return to Junctionville?
If you've read last year's review of this special: those comments still stand and then some. I love a good holiday special as much as the next person (A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas come to mind), but 'Twas the Night Before Christmas really brings out my inner Scrooge.
Rankin/Bass' holiday specials weren't the most technically brilliant cartoons and the stories were served with a heaping pile of schmaltz, but they rarely lacked heart. This special feels like it was thrown together without much thought, which makes it hard to sit through.
The bait-and-switch casting credits also do it no favours. Joel Gray is officially the narrator, but Gobel actually tells 80% of the story. My only reaction to this special - other than "when will this piece of $%@! be over" - was a Beavis and Butt-Head moment when I heard Gobel unironically use the word "gay" in a song designed to melt Albert's cynical heart.
Don't be surprised if you've never heard that before: some slightly more clueful types edited that tune out of subsequent broadcasts.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas Blu-Ray Extras
Yes, this special looks better on Blu-Ray, but that's about the only "value added" in this set. There's a DVD enclosed in case you haven't switched over yet and you get the same American-centric featurette 'Christmas: a Global Holiday' that was on the DVD. Nothing else.
Where's Krampus when you need him?
'Twas the Night Before Christmas Blu-Ray Not Worth Your Time
If you absolutely have to own this holiday special, then I'd recommend hunting up the DVD that was released last year. The difference in picture quality really isn't enough to justify the increased cost, and Warner Home Video hasn't taken advantage of the increased storage space the Blu-Ray format offers.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas Blu-Ray gets a 1.5/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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