The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (2000) DVD review

I'm glad to announce that the fully animated adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus that was released in 2000 is now available on DVD.

DVD cover

I just got my copy. There's no special features, but then, what could they add? (There's a small trailer that was on some other Universal VHS releases about that time, but it's hardly worth watching when you have the entire movie.)

Subtitles are on the disc in English and French, and there's also an alternate Spanish language track. The menus are static, and while designed for the title, are rather plain and silent. They are not animated.

The video quality is very clear, as is to be expected. Here's a comparision between my VHS transfer from a few years ago and the new DVD. (Note: VHS has a lower image resolution than DVD, and VHS image quality degrades with age.)

VHS transfer

DVD

As you can see, the image is clearer and the colors are vibrant.

As for the feature itself, I reviewed it in 2009. Please refer to that blog entry.

At the top of the blog is a scan of the cover art, using some of the same artwork as the original VHS release.

VHS cover

The case is a standard white case. While I noted the "recycling" logo inside, instead of having holes in the case, these designs show thinner spots in the casing plastic.

So, if I was rating this DVD by content alone:
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Language features: 5/5
Special Features: 0/5
Menus - navigation: 5/5
Menus - design 3/5
Package: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
While the menus could have been prettier and while they could have thrown extra features on the disc, overall, it's not necessary.

Baum fans should pick it up.