At one point or another, most all family friendly television programs air some sort of holiday special. Just one special you say? Well smurf that! How about two?! Taken from their TV show, that ran for nine seasons, we are offered two Christmas (not Holiday) specials starring those tiny blue…whatever they are. The animation quality signifies that one special comes from the earliest seasons, while the other come from somewhere later in the nine year run.
The simply titled The Smurfs Christmas Special is the older offering. It is a tale of two lost children whom the Smurfs attempt to save from a mysterious, magical stranger. Meanwhile, Gargamel uses a spell from this same stranger to try and destroy the Smurf village once and for all. The tale is simple and once again, love is used to conquer all (expressed in song).
The second episode on this DVD, ‘Tis the Season to be Smurfy features a little more madcap hijinx as a couple of pursuits break out while some of the Smurfs try to learn the true meaning of Christmas (now there’s an original theme for you) after befriending an elderly couple. Of course, the Smurfs burst into song frequently to raise spirits.
In both films the Smurfs are mistaken for elves, and in one case Papa Smurf is thought to be Santa Claus. This helps to make their adventures have a more Christmas feel. Otherwise, these would just be regular episodes of the Smurfs, in snow.
Video
Fullscreen. Despite its age, the picture has been very nicely transferred to DVD. Care has gone into preserving it, more so than I’ve seen in other 1980s cartoon releases (popular ones at that).
Audio
Dolby Digital English Mono. It may be a simple audio track, but it delivers what it needs to. There is some clear aging to the soundtrack, but everything comes out decently clear without need of much Digital boosting.
Special Features
Trailers: For other children’s DVD releases.
Final Thoughts
There is something about the sound and look of aging televisions shows that help make me feel warm inside. Perhaps I’m just a sucker for anything that even REMOTELY resembles the Grinch Who Stole Christmas in picture and sound quality (ie faded blue skies, crackling soundtrack, muffled voices, simple animations etc.). This is a nice, harmless Christmas DVD for young ones. Parents be warned though, if you’re looking to keep the kids busy this holiday season, this DVD only gives you two episodes worth of time to get other things done…
