Disney Christmas Favourites (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	very entertaining
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We managed to get this Disney Christmas compilation free with ipoints although it can be bought on Amazon for about £3.50. Originally this and another Christmas DVD were going to be extras in my daughters' christmas stockings but we then decided that it would be a good film to watch in the run up to Christmas instead.

There are a number of short films all with that Disney animation that we all know and love. There are some well known and well loved characters featured such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as well as a not so well loved one - Cruella Devill! Overall the running time is only 58 minutes so it does not go on too long at all and also can be watched in small chunks too! With a U certificate it's suitable for even the youngest child.

The first short film is Mickey's Mixed Nuts which features both Mickey and Minnie and there is some problem with getting the ingredients to make some nut stuffing. A visit to the supermarket results in a lot of slapstick comedy with piles of tins being bashed into and general mayhem ensuing. This was probably not much more than five minutes long but my girls really enjoyed it. There is something about the lack of sophisitication in these early films that is actually very appealing.

The next film is quite a bit longer and is called Santa Cruella. My girls were a bit worried that it was going to be a bit scary but like all good Disney films it does have a happy ending! It is a spoof on the well known tale 'A Christmas Character' by Charles Dickens and features all the characters from 101 Dalmations. Cruella plays the Ebenezer Scrooge part and on Christmas Eve she is visited by a number of ghosts who force her to consider her past, present and future actions. By the end of this short film this previously mean minded Christmas hating woman is full of festive cheer and brimming over with generosity. This definitely pleased the girls who always like happy endings. I found that as an adult watching with my children that I really appreciated the parallels between this and the original story which went straight over my daughters' heads!

The third film was Toy Tinkers and this one again was only about five minutes. This was another older one but this time featuring Donald Duck battling it out with Chip and Dale in a toy room drama where they are fighting over nuts and Christmas presents. Again, there is much mayhem and crashing into things but it is all good fun!

The final film is called 'Snow Place to Hide. This features a more modern Donald and his three nephews. This is an adventure that takes place in a ski resort . This was another enjoyable tale with lots of twists and as it was slightly longer the girls got in to it a bit more although I confess that I did slightly lose interest!. I'm not sure what date this one was made but there definitely seemed a little less slapstick and a bit more story!

Overall this is a very enjoyable compilation of short animated films and there is definitely something to please most family members. It's very easy viewing and a great DVD to shre with your children over the festive period!