'Twas the Night

If you can get past the interstitial scenes of "natural" cherubs (read: studio kids and the offspring of Hollywood-hopeful parents) hesitatingly--with the requisite, cute verbal flubs--expressing their feelings about all things Christmas, then this family-friendly HBO-aired half-hour program offers up a stocking full of seasonal charms in its amiable pairing of classic holiday songs (studiously inclusive, covering Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa) with winsome animation and live-action montages. Standouts include Louis Armstrong's reading of Clement C. Moore's chestnut "The Night Before Christmas" (as well as Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" while the inventive Powers of 10-like animation zooms into a series of beautiful scenes), "Feliz Navidad" (Los Lobos), "The Christmas Song" (Nat King Cole), "Winter Wonderland" (Macy Gray), and--my favorite--"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Judy Garland), a wonderfully drawn piece in which a lone seafaring bunny tries to find any port in a wintry storm. Sure to appeal to both wee ones and their parents, this is recommended, overall. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)