SANTA WHO

 Director William Dear is one of those talented guys that for some unexplained reason, never made it as big as he deserved to!  He demonstrated his enormous talent in the ‘80s with a surprisingly effective “Death Valley” and one of the best episodes of “Stephen Spielberg Presents:Amazing Stories”. He’s responsible for the one of a real mummy visiting a mummy film set.  Absolutely one of the funniest short films ever made!  He also deserves credit for making “SANTA WHO” much more entertaining than it would’ve been in less capable hands.  Leslie Nielsen stars as a Santa who lands on a car of a reporter scoffing at the idea of Santa Claus due to a traumatizing childhood episode.  The reporter wants to exploit this “Santa” and the son of his girlfriend wants to prove Santa is real.  Sounds similar to “Miracle on 34^th Street?”  It’s not a coincidence!  It’s not in the same league as that film(the original, mind you) but it still manages to be entertaining, especially for kids.

BUENA VISTA has presented the film with its correct 1.33:1 aspect ratio.  The image is decent, although there’s considerable grain in some scenes.  The colors are generally solid and fleshtones appear natural throughout. The contrast is excellent.

The soundmix is presented in Dolby 2.0 and it’s pretty restrained. There are a few separational effects, but they’re limited to the front soundstage.  Dialogue is well focused and free of distortion. 

An animated short, “THE ART OF SKIING” is included. Goofy stars in this satiric look at the sport, and it’s great fun for the whole family.  There are also trailers for several other BUENA VISTA titles.