Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas

Featuring a trio of holiday productions from clay animation pioneer Will Vinton's cache of children's cartoon classics, the crown jewel here is the festive 24-minute 1987 short Claymation Christmas Celebration. Hosted by dinosaur duo Rex (a scholarly, orderly tyrannosaurus) and Herb (a slovenly, blasé triceratops), the program serves up several festive carols, presented in winning vignettes: “We Three Kings” (with the trio of wise men, plus singing camels), “Angels We Have Heard on High,” etc. The between-segment banter between the dinos is chuckle-worthy, as is a running joke about the song “Here We Come a Wassailing” (rigid Rex fumes as passersby use the wrong word: waffling, wallowing, etc.). The standout segment here is definitely “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as performed by the princes of Claymation, the California Raisins, a hip and memorable bit that cements this enjoyable, heartwarming program's place in must-see seasonal fare. Also including Claymation Comedy of Horrors Halloween special and Claymation Easter, this disc is highly recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams)