My Review: One of Great DVD for one Great Special!
I’ll start out by saying that this has turned out to be one of the best Henson DVDs (in the top 10 as of now; at least in terms of bonus features and total disc presentation).
When HIT got the rights to the Henson Family Showcase, in April 2004, one the properties on the top of their “list of things to release” was Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas (right along with Fraggle Rock). They were able to get their first Henson product out by the fall of 2004 (with the start of Fraggle Rock on DVD. They weren’t able to get Emmet Otter out on DVD as quickly as they first hoped (they wanted a Christmas 2004 release), but with about 6 months (or less) to prepare a product, get it made, and get it on store shelves in time for the holiday season, they decided to put it off until Christmas 2005. And let me say, it is a good thing they did.
When the project was first conceived, it was going to be a “quick and dirty” DVD release. Slap the special on a disc, make some simple menus, put some trailers on there, and “bam!” you got yourself a DVD release (very similar to the Columbia Tri-Star one from a few years back, just with HIT being this ones on the label). In fact, fearing that Kermit would be “too much work” to get, they figured not to even go after the rights, and were just going to cut him from the show (making this DVD slightly worse than the Columbia release; except cheaper). They figured if they made the disc cheap enough, that anyone with interest in Henson, Christmas, Otters, or DVD would pick it up. Any parent, collector, and even Henson fan would be hard pressed to pass up a $6 classic “family-friendly” Christmas special on DVD (unless they already had the Columbia release). If it was cheap enough, anyone who was curious about it or slightly remembered enjoying it would not be afraid to buy it.
However, lucky for us, Craig Shemin got involved. When word got out that HIT was planning a DVD release, he showed up at their door with a bunch of ideas, and a bunch of exclusive material. He was able to convince HIT to kick it up a notch and turn this from a $5.99 bare-bones DVD, to a $9.99 collector’s edition. Without Craig (and the other folks at Henson who got involved) this DVD would not be as great.
The all new behind-the-scenes documentary (created by Craig) is simply superb. With a run-time of an hour, this new special is worth the price of the disc alone. It is excellent - behind the scenes footage and pictures, interviews, inside looks, and more – could you ask for anything more? I could try to nitpick it (like, the key-titles stating who the interviewee is are pretty bland, and Cheryl Henson’s interview has some slight background noise, and it is a shame “so-and-so” or “whats-his-name” was not interviewed), but even when I try to find something substantial to complain about, I can’t. The documentary is great. For the price of the DVD, I would buy it just for this feature, it is great.
The other bonus features are just as great too (although they slightly overlap things shown in the documentary or found the special itself, they are still great to have). The deleted song is wonderful and a nice inclusion; too bad it never made it into the actual show. The blooper reel is also great (Frank Oz’s “Shut up, Emmet” at the end is just priceless). Although there are more bloopers out there (some not so “family friendly”), the amount given are great. I love Muppet bloopers, and this reel is great.
The “Favorite Tunes” feature could be seen as simple filler, but it’s nice to be able to just play the songs and listen to the great music (like having a soundtrack). It is a simple feature, but I wish more DVDs would include it (as it doesn’t take much to do). The Sing-Along is nice too, I wish more (if not all of the) songs were presented this way, but again I’m really reaching for something to nitpick. The photo gallery is also excellent - 106 pictures! There is some great stuff in the gallery, and worth the time to check out. Overall the bonus features go way beyond my expectations. For a little 1970’s TV special that most people don’t really know that well and is overlooked by the general public (this isn’t Rudolph, Frosty, or Charlie Brown). I am impressed that there are any substantial features, let alone ones like these.
The deleted/alternate scenes are a little puzzling. Why didn’t they just re-incorporate them back into their proper place in the special? I asked, and the main reason was the quality. If you notice, the video/audio quality of these clips are not as nice as the ones in the feature. Over the years the master of the special was restored, and kept in good quality – however this master was of the edited version (that’s why the other releases have used it). They could have spent money cleaning them up, or we could even live with some shots that weren’t as clear as the rest of the special. But no matter what they did, it would take some work and some money (Henson claims that this is the final and definitive cut of the film; they like everything the way it is presented here – and some of the other alternate scenes are not how they want the special presented…anymore). And at least they included them somewhere on the disc and it’s nice they are here (even if just for historic reasons).
The Kermit scenes that were cut – yes, we all know they were cut, now suck it up and get over it. If you never knew Kermit was in the special, you would never know he was missing now. But most of us know he was and we want him in it. When the disc was bumped up to collector’s status with, HIT decided to go after Kermit and make this the best DVD possible. But Disney wouldn’t have it. Disney is very protective of their characters and trademarks, and would not give Kermit (at any price, or any circumstance) to HIT Entertainment (a competitor) to include in their commercial product. It’s sad that these scenes will probably never be seen on a commercial release (unless someday Disney buys this special; or the Muppets get sold to someone else). It is a shame that he was cut, it is a shame he’s no longer part of Emmet’s world. But I’ve come to except it, and although his scenes were memorable, they weren’t really pivotal to the story and the special still holds up without him. The special features make up for the small change in Henson history here.
Oh, I forgot to mention the menus. The interactive menus are beautiful. Every single menu is great. They could have used still pictures, and no music but they went the extra mile and impressed me at least with these awesome animated menus that are stunning. These are some of the nicest Muppet DVD menus (with the expectation of Disney’s MCC, MTI, and TMS:S1 specially recorded live-video menus).
The packaging is just a bit flashy, a little too simple, and a tad “kiddie” looking for my taste; but it is still nice (at least there is not a flat-head Kermit on it). It’s growing on me.
Overall this DVD is great. Kermit is not here; and that’s a little sad. But Craig Shemin is here; and that’s more than excellent. So, go buy this DVD. Go enjoy it. Quick, Go! Christmas is only 70 days away!
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well anyways I got it here cheap at http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=HIT025811 Only $7.19 and FREE shipping! 
just thought i'd let everyone @ MC know its there for sale and CHEAP! 
) but any ways does it still say "With Jim Henson's Muppets" or has that changed. Yeah i know, I still have my Buena Vista 1996 vhs, but i wana see ALL the NEW stuff & whats changed. 
any one? any one!?
