Synopsis
Despite the title, this holidays covered in this story run all the way from Christmas to theNew Year. Rabbit gets so touchy that, in order to placate him, the Hundred Acre Wood friendsmake resolutions to change, which involves exchanging roles. This is a gentle cartoon aimed atthe very, very young. The Carly Simon songs are pretty hard to take, though.
Audio
The precise nature of the soundtrack isn’t specified, which usually means 2.0. the music isg…ven a fine mix, and the sound effects do have some surround presence, but we’re a long wayfrom a full environmental effect.
Video
The format is fullscreen, but this is direct-to-video, so have no fear of cropping. The coloursare as clean and bright as you would hope for a cartoon special, and the same is true of thecolours. A fine transfer.
Special Features
As with the cartoon itself, the special features are all aimed the youngest viewers. Even themenu, with its animated and scored main page and transitions (and scored secondary pages)comes with an introduction showing youngsters how to navigate. There are two games, an“Enchanted Environment” (rather like a video aquarium, only this is Pooh’s house decorated forChristmas, and will run forever with music, sounds of a crackling fire, or both), and a songselection option (you jump to the selected song, and you can have the lyrics appear on-screen –you can also sing along with the film as a whole). For older viewers, there’s a featurette on theupcoming theatrical release Piglet’s Big Movie (with more burbling from Simon). There are alsotrailers for 101 Dalmatians 2, Lilo & Stitch, Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas and TheSanta Clause.
Closing Thoughts
Recommended for the really young kids in the house. The older ones run the risk of beingbored.
Special Features List
- Sneak Peak Featurette
- Games
- Trailers
- Sing-Along Options
- Song Selection
- Enchanted Environment
