Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus/Nestor The Christmas Donkey (Double Feature)

I bought this DVD because it includes one of my mom's favorite Christmas specials. I started searching for a physical copy and found that Amazon had the most affordable option with a reasonable delivery time, especially during the holiday shopping season.

Great Product

I wish I could have ordered JUST the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, a throwback to my childhood Christmas memories. But I guess Nestor the Donkey wasn’t a bad ride a long wingman. I do wonder if this is the very best audio / video transfer available of the alt. Santa Claus tale. If you are a fan of Rankin / Bass studio, L. Frank Baum or Roald Dahl (Charlie & Chocolate Factory / James & the Giant Peach), I think this story will please your stop motion Christmas sensibilities. I like the traditional Christmas story, so Nestor the Donkey is more along those lines. But exploring alternate imaginary tales is good for the creative soul. Rich 70’s vibe!!

I'm unclear as to why they would think making a Santa special with no reference to Christmas would be a good idea.The same people that brought us Rudolph, give us these two gems.I happen to love characters out of context, for example, Jack Skellington in the nightmare before Christmas was a wonderful blend of seasons and figures you think about during those holidays.This is so bizzare, with it's almost Gregorian chanting at the start, what looks to be "spare parts" figures throughout, battle scenes and slow motion charges, that it really had my entire family transfixed, with our heads tilted, like confused dogs, in a constant state of WTF?So this is really a celebration of all the Pagan rituals associated with Christmas, but it's done in such a strange, and I'm thinking LSD induced, way, that I find it to be unabashedly entertaining.I am repeatedly entranced by the weirdness of this special, which incidentally, was the last production for the animators. Go figure.I'd say get this, and ignore Nestor, that's just horrible, but throw Life and Adventures of Santa Claus into you holiday DVD mix, sit back, and watch the faces curl as your friends and family get pulled into this most strange ride.

For afficionados of the Rankin-Bass franchise this strange story is a must-own.This stop-motion version of L. Frank Baum's wild tale of a group of mythic immortals who (along with Shiegra the lioness) raise the child who will soon be known as Santa Claus is nothing less than a fantastic head trip.Other reviews have already noted noted the high caliber of the script and score, and I couldn't agree with them more.For children of the 70s and 80s, however, 'The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus' is probably one of the Christmas specials you've seen once or twice over the years on TV, but not enough times to necessarily remember it in its entirety. Decidedly, fabulously pagan in nature, it wasn't aired with the regularity other Rankin-Bass shows were over the years.I rate this highly for it's unusual subject matter, and the care with which the story was told with respect to the source material by Baum. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus will tickle the recesses of your memory and transport you back to your youth with it's mythic magic.I suggest this product for Rankin-Bass fans wanting to complete their collection, those who appreciate a rich reinvention of a well-known tale, or anyone who wants to watch a seriously trippy show.

Wow, that was so good. The pagan origins of Santa Claus by the animators who did the classic Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. What a hidden treasure; I never knew this existed. An adaptation of the wonderful story by L. Frank Baum. Santa raised by immortal spirits, elves, and fairies in a magical forest. Just delightful.

nice movie, not so keen on Nestor

My childhood was heavily influenced by Rankin/Bass specials and so I dedicated my christmas to collecting all the movies/specials. The only one I was missing was The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, which in my honest opinion, is one of their best works. It's unfortunate that many people these days have never seen nor heard of this one, when we all know about Rudolph.I am not sure what the critical reviews were really about. The video quality is as good as it can be, the audio could have been mixed better, but what do you expect? This one was made in the 1985, it's not BlueRay, sheesh.If you love the classics and not too much of a stickler for things, you will love this version. Heck, if Hollywood revisits this and mixes it better and redistributes it, I'd get that version as well.

Like the old Santa Claus forest type movie.

Llegó perfectamente bien. La imagen se ve bien y el sonido se escucha bien, ojalá estuvieran todas las películas que realizo Rankin Bass. Para quienes sean de México y se preguntan si tiene subtítulos o idioma en español, no los tiene. Está solo en inglés y sin subtítulos (ni siquiera en inglés).

I looked for this video everywhere. So happy with it. Good price.Would recommend for any age. I watched it years ago when I was younger and I never get tired of watching it every year. At least twice!

The main reason for purchase was for the Adventure of Santa Clause I already own Nestor on another DVD but that's ok this is the true Rankin Bass Movie so happy have been searching for this movie for quite some time am so happy to have found this amazing movie

Bought it for the Life and Adventure of Santa Clause and it is just as I remember it. One of my favorite Christmas movies, the picture is perfect!