The Little Drummer Boy - Universal / Classic Media - Nov 5, 2019

[rdodolak]

Universal Pictures will be releasing Classic Media's 25 min Christmas short of The Little Drummer Boy individually on Blu-ray on Nov 19, 2019.

From the producers of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town!

The heartwarming story of Aaron, The Little Drummer Boy, who comes upon the birth of baby Jesus and learns that the best gift is one given from the heart. Share the magic of this Original Christmas Classic®.

[hasslein]

Corrected audio? I hope so....

[TravisTylerBlack]

Wasn’t the original negative lost for this movie? The last print I saw looked pretty rough.

[WaltWiz1901]

Nice to see Rankin/Bass getting some credit on the cover (as they should)...

...but is there anything new here to justify any double-dipping? I'd like to see the broadcast mono soundtrack included or (ideally) the missing sound effects and one of Greer Garson's narration lines inserted into the stereo workprint.

[B-52 Bass]

Where is the second Drummer Boy movie.I really want that one! I only have it on VHS

[akaun6899]

Originally Posted by B-52 Bass

Where is the second Drummer Boy movie.I really want that one! I only have it on VHS

In Warner Bros' hands. They have released it through WAC in this collection: https://www.amazon.com/Rankin-Bass-T...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[Torgon]

I would love to see this and some of the others, get a proper release. At least Universal gave it its own disc. Current audio and video are lacking, but it’s all we’ve got.

[HR Pufnstuf]

Did anyone get this new 2019 separate re-release of The Little Drummer Boy? Wondering if this is a better print? Previous DVD/blu ray releases were poor quality.

HR Pufnstuf

[Dsneybuf]

"no improvement on print..."

[HR Pufnstuf]

Thanks for the info, Dsneybuf. That is too bad about the bad print on the new blu ray. No sale!

HR Pufnstuf

[blugremlin]

Don't these sorry releases just kill you?? Anything for a quick cash grab, I guess...

[vwnut13]

Originally Posted by Dsneybuf

"no improvement on print..."

Is it as bad as that font/color scheme?

[mwharris]

So, what is the final word on the missing sound effects and one of Greer Garson's narration lines? I still think that their original reason for ousting said sound effects, which took out a number of audio tracks - his drum in the song "Why Can't the Animals Smile?" and Greer Garson's "and as Aaron looked at the Babe......" were a small sacrifice to get rid of the two tracks of soft, little lambs bleating in pain and agony. When the bandits in the flashback kick a lamb, it bleats. And when Baba gets run over by the Roman chariot, he bleats. I take it this bluray release doesn't fix the problem, as it would be too detrimental to kids to hear such a thing. (The way Disney+ altered a scene in Lilo & Stitch to cater to today's "soft" kids).

[Torgon]

I got this in the Universal 5 pack and decided to give it a spin. So far, I’ve been comparing the PQ on this vs the PQ on the last Classic Media set from a few years ago. I have noticed a slight visual uptick. I haven’t looked into the blackouts and such, just the basic quality. Colors are a little richer and not as flat. I also noticed there is not as much black crush (you can see highlights in Aaron’s hair and not a black blob). I was surprised as I had not seen a review. The review by Rick Goldschmidt is not really accurate and was probably just thrown out because he wasn’t involved. I’m not saying this disc is perfect, but the PQ is probably the best we have seen. There are lots of things inherent to the source and this will never look great unless someone finds a better master. Universal did put some effort into this, but it looks like more can be done to make it right.

[moviebuff75]

It is taken from a syndication master. Nothing is cut, but additional fade-outs are there where they shouldn't be. Also, the ghosting is absolutely horrible. Almost unwatchable. I reverted back to my dvd.

[moviebuff75]

I believe that the altered soundtrack is actually how it ran in 1968. The Garson line that was originally spoken by Frees was an error...they forgot to replace it. The missing sound effects probably weren't there the first year. I believe the dvd transfer was taken from 16mm elements.

[Torgon]

Originally Posted by moviebuff75

It is taken from a syndication master. Nothing is cut, but additional fade-outs are there where they shouldn't be. Also, the ghosting is absolutely horrible. Almost unwatchable. I reverted back to my dvd.

Yeah, one of the fade-outs is right before a song. It makes it seem like a commercial break and when you come back, they start singing (which would never happen). I don't have the DVD to compare, but it is better than the last release, so I'm happy about that. Still, lots of room for improvement.

[Mayboy128]

Does anyone have the standalone release of this? I was curious as to what the spine and back looked like

[dukiejosh54]

Originally Posted by Torgon

Yeah, one of the fade-outs is right before a song. It makes it seem like a commercial break and when you come back, they start singing (which would never happen). I don't have the DVD to compare, but it is better than the last release, so I'm happy about that. Still, lots of room for improvement.

What are the issues in the last release? I was thinking about getting that release since it would not have all the fade-outs, I tried to find the thread for that release but couldn't find it. If this is the best version on blu-ray i'll just stick to this one.

[Mayboy128]

Originally Posted by dukiejosh54

What are the issues in the last release? I was thinking about getting that release since it would not have all the fade-outs, I tried to find the thread for that release but couldn't find it. If this is the best version on blu-ray i'll just stick to this one.

I have this version and this version. The former has random fade-outs, the latter does not.
I didn’t really notice much of any difference in video quality. Perhaps the latest release has a little more color, but I couldn’t swear by it.