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(More customer reviews)"Holly Hobbie and Friends: Christmas Wishes" is that rare direct-to-video DVD special that's a true diamond-in-the-rough. Following up on the recent "Surprise Party" special, this DVD finds Hobbie and her friends and family celebrating Christmas. They learn about some of the usual stuff --- the gift of giving and all that, but there's also some hilarious and offbeat humor in this special.
What's unusual and special about these Holly Hobbie releases is that the setting is clearly the modern world, yet in many cases, the characters tend to eschew modern technology in favor of things more traditional. The characters ride on a train with a friendly neighborhood train conductor and everyone in the series is generally very neighborly.
In this special, when Holly visits her friends and family for Christmas, she learns of the unfortunate situation of a recently widowed woman and her twin boys. Holly tries to help her out. At first, it doesn't really work, but her joy is infectious. The mother is feeling sort of down because this is going to be her first Christmas without her husband. But Holly and her friends really help her to see that although her kids are upset about their fathers' death too, they're still excited about Christmas.
If you're looking for a holiday special that will teach your kids about all the different winter holidays, then look elsewhere. "Christmas Wishes" is pure Christmas all the way and it's refreshing to see a special these days in which the characters take part in a Christmas pageant, do lap-sitting with Santa and sing traditional Christmas carols such as "O Holy Night." Can't recall the last time I saw a special like this that made it onto Nick Jr. (it aired on Nick on November 13, 2006) in which the characters sang about "Christ, our savior."
"Christmas Wishes" puts all other recent children's holiday specials to shame, with the exception of "Caillou's Holiday Movie." This production absolutely glows with joy, top-notch production values, writing, music and animation. The music and vocal performances in particular are absolutely awe-inspiring. There's a performance by Grammy award winning country singer LeAnn Rimes at the end that's so strong, it gave me chills of amazed delight.
If you or your kids like Holly Hobbie or you're looking for a truly amazing Christmas special, don't just pass this by. This is absolutely worth your time.
This DVD is close-captioned. It also includes two neat bonus features --- an Interactive Dress-Up game and a photo gallery.
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Studio: Sony Pictures Home EntRelease Date: 08/28/2007Run time: 44 minutes
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