![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() All of which is bound to have parents fielding awkward questions about Christmas's temporal proximity, as well as concerns about Rudolph and Frosty's chances for survival here in the heat of the summer. Finally, in an apparent attempt to corner the holiday market, FHE will engineer the home video debuts of two more second-string staples of Christmas viewing, "The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas" and longtime Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones' "A Very Merry Cricket" (both $14.95) as well as the re-release of animated Christmas specials featuring Gumby and the Family Circus, all due to start spreading Christmas spirit in mid-August. FHE also promises to bring out Rankin-Bass's (less popular) small-screen contributions to our Thanksgiving and Easter celebrations at a later date. The four are priced at $14.95 each and - with the exception of the fully animated "Frosty" - feature the "animagic" technique of bringing still models to screen life through stop action photography. Arriving in mid-August are: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the 53-minute musical featuring the voice of Burl Ives the half-hour "Frosty the Snowman," as told and sung by Jimmy Durante "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," (53 minutes) featuring the voice of Fred Astaire and the half-hour "Little Drummer Boy," on which Greer Garson lends vocal support. ![]() And they may well find a surprisingly warm reception at retail. FHE has reached an agreement with animation producer Rankin-Bass to bring four Rankin-Bass holiday classics to tape next month - four titles that, if they are outranked in quality by the Disney classics, have probably been seen by a wider audience than those animated masterpieces that Disney still keeps out of circulation. From now on, however, youngsters (and their parents) won't have to monitor the TV schedules to plan their visits with Rudolph, Frosty, Kris Kringle and several other familiar figures, brought to life in varying degrees of animation, that dominate the November and December viewing hours. That's when Family Home Entertainment will launch a holiday video festival featuring some of the sights, sounds and characters whose annual small-screen appearances have become equated with the holiday season. They'll be a little bit late for Christmas in July, but don't be surprised if video dealers jump the gun on the holiday season this summer: Some of the season's more recognizable icons are likely to start showing up in video stores as soon as next month. ![]()
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