music_beans2000's Cartoon Emporium presents:
Santa and the Three Bears DVD Review
Currently, there are FOUR (yes you heard me, four) different versions of the Christmas classic Santa and the Three Bears out on DVD. This page gives a thorough review of the four different versions available, noting differences and such.
Santa and the Three Bears DVD by LaserLight.
Well well well. It appears that this edition of Santa and the Three Bears is from an old broadcast VT probably made around the same time the movie came out. It also has the Live-action parts intact, as the UAV, Westlake, and Woodhaven versions all have the Live-action parts cut out. This DVD has chapter selection for the most part, which is handy for the scenes the little kids like. There are no extra features though. All-in-all, its a real solid DVD release, but of course, I must nitpick a little.
First, it appears that some parts of LaserLight's ST3B version have been cut. It appears that they were already cut in the VT master they used. In the first Wintertime song, Mr. Ranger helps out a squirrel trying to put acorns inside it's tree home. The UAV version has this part intact, but the LaserLight DVD has this part cut. There are also some noticeable cuts during the scenes where Mr. Ranger is trudging through the storm to get to the bears' cave. They were probably cut to ease down on the running time a little. If the VT was being broadcast, they would have to make room for commercials.
Second of all, it appears that the contrast constantly shifts from scene to scene. This effect will probably have some people trying to adjust the contrast on their TV to keep the picture looking good. The picture is a bit softer than the UAV version as well. There are also some problems with the VT master itself. (there are some common artifacts that I won't mention here since they are normal for a 30+ year old VT). Some of the more prominent artifacts are small lines appearing in the picture at certain points (During the first Wintertime song, and toward the end of the second Wintertime song), and some “delay banding” during the “Good Night Little Ones” song. (people with Big Screen TV's will notice this one) Click the images below to enlarge them.
Specifications:
Case
– Standard DVD Clamshell
Inserts – Chapter selection
list
Bonus Material - No
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Rating: * * * ½
Cover art coming soon...
Santa and the Three Bears video/DVD by UAV.
Apparently, UAV has had a version of ST3B circulating ever since the late 1980s. Before DVD, it was, of course, released on VHS. The PQ wasn't as good as other videos since UAV duplicated their videos in the EP format. In about 1996, it was included in UAV's “6 Hour Christmas Cartoon Collection” on VHS, also in EP. Nowadays, you can still find ST3B on VHS, but they have also released it on DVD. Its included in their “6 Hour Christmas Cartoon Collection” DVD, and is also being distributed as a stand-alone version, which I will review here. Both are being distributed on DVD under UAV's “Ovation Home Video” imprint.
The UAV Standalone version of ST3B DVD is packed in a standard CD jewel case rather than a standard clamshell, and is part of the “DVDtoons” series, a collection of DVD's containing public domain cartoons. UAV's ST3B DVD is mastered from a public domain ST3B print, but they chose a print that left the live-action parts of the movie out, thus just giving us the animated part instead. The DVD also has no chapter selection.
There are some good things about this DVD. The PQ is sharper than the LaserLight ST3B DVD, as shown in the examples below. There is also a bonus featurette on the DVD too, called “Polar Bear Christmas”. Its a Russian animated story about a polar bear looking for his human friend. Good choice for a bonus feature!
Specifications:
Case – Standard Compact Disc
Jewel
Inserts – Plug for other “DVDtoons”
titles
Bonus features – Polar Bear Christmas featurette
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Rating: * * * *
(even though UAV's ST3B release has
no chapter selection or live action parts, the PQ, bonus featurette,
and the full uncut animated sequence totally account for it.)
Cover art coming soon...
Santa and the Three Bears DVD by Westlake Entertainment
I recently came across this version of ST3B at a nearby K-Mart. It was only a $1.99, so I didn't expect much. Boy was I right in some cases.
First of all, it appears that they chose a somewhat medium-condition print of the exact same ST3B version that UAV currently uses. There are some differences between the two releases. The master prints for both UAV and WL releases were issued through Modern Sound Pictures. UAV removes the Modern Sound Pictures name in their version both beginning and end. They chose however to leave in the “Pirates World Inc. Presents” at the very beginning. WL on the other hand leaves the Modern Sound Pictures name in, even with the text below it: “This film is licensed for non-theatrical showing by optical projection. Any other type of use is strictly forbidden.” This text was probably the reason UAV omitted Modern Sound Pictures from the film. But hey, WL omits the Pirates World Inc. name though, using a partially frozen start sequence. Vice versa for you two!
Second, Like I said, they chose a meager-quality print. The picture has that PD cartoon jitter in it. Many of the indoor scenes appear too dark. The outdoor scenes however look fine. The PQ is still pretty sharp though.
Third, many aspects of the DVD case sleeve are wrong. It lists the running time as 76 minutes, while this release only runs for about 45 minutes. Plus, it lists several other people who didn't even appear in this version of ST3B. (Joyce Taylor, Ken Engels, Lenard Keith, Kathy Lemmon, Roxanne Poole, Micheal Rodriguez). They could have appeared in the original theatrical version with nothing cut out of it, but listing them on a version without them is nuts.
On the good side though, this ST3B DVD has a great chapter selection system. Not only do you see a still picture representing the chapter, they are actual movie scenes.
Specifications:
Case
– Standard DVD Clamshell
Inserts – None
Bonus
features – None
Rating: * *
Cover art coming soon....
Santa and the Three Bears DVD by Intermediavideo.com / Woodhaven Entertainment
Reviewed
by: Agent0042
I got this on reserve from my local library.
They actually sent it from a town pretty far away that's not exactly
part of the same system, but still is part of our computer / reserve
setup. The tag on it says that the library places its value at $20.00
(it costs more to replace this type of thing for a library) and that
they acquired it on October 18, 2004. The DVD cover and back look
pretty snappy. The front cover features "Christmas Collection"
at the top. The title "Sant and the Three Bears" looks
fairly fancy in the center and the picture is of Mr. Ranger and all
three of the bears. At the bottom, two bonus programs are promoted:
"The Beverly Hillbillies: Home for Christmas" and "Peeping
Penguins." I didn't bother watching either of these. The back
gives a basic description, pictures from each program and a features
list: Digitally Remastered, Dolby Digital, Interactive Menu. The back
also includes cast and crew info and length information, all correct
to my knowledge.
Unfortunately, despite the nice cover presentation, I wish I could say more for the DVD production itself. The menu is a static menu with your usual basic options. Despite the claim of Dolby Digital, the audio can be rather hard to make at times and could benefit from either subtitles or close-captioning. This the animation-only version of this production, 46 minutes long. The animation seems a bit crude and has a bad tendency to herk and jerk at times, with the picture quality also seemingly faded and rather poor. The story, though, is as good as ever. There is a chapter selection, but it's only a basic list, titled fairly decently though.
Overall, I'd say this isn't the best DVD production out there of this, but you could do worse.
Specifications:
Case – Unknown
(The library takes all DVDs and repackages them all in the same type
of case)
Inserts –
Nothing but the front and back cover
Bonus features –
The Beverly Hillbillies Home for Christmas, Peeping Penguins
Rating: * * ½
DVD Cover Art:
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Many thanks to agent0042 for providing me with this ST3B DVD review.
Thats all for the DVD reviews.
