"DISNEY CHANNEL HOLIDAY"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) NOT RATED Studio: Disney Back to DVD Review Home |  |
Instead of releasing a swatch of DVDs for each of the hot Disney Channel properties for the holidays, the Mouse House has put out the “Disney Channel Holiday” on the shelves.
Forget the holiday theme. For parents, this DVD represents a nice way to sample the different Disney Channel series and can help in making a decision on whether or not to subscribe to the Disney Channel itself. Sure, some of the series like “Lizzie McGuire” and “Even Stevens” are no longer in production, but that doesn’t stop Disney Channel from rerunning them non-stop.
Fortunately, we’re not subjected to holiday episodes of lesser shows like “The Jersey” or “The Famous Jett Jackson.” I think that (for good reason), these shows have disappeared from our collective conscious.
The Disney Channel shows featured on this disc include “That’s So Raven,” “Kim Possible,” “Even Stevens,” “Lizzie McGuire” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” Each one features a Christmas-themed episode – except for “Even Stevens” since the Stevens family is Jewish. There’s also a bonus “Phil of the Future” episode in the special features.
Depending on what your tastes are for Disney Channel shows, you’ll like, love or revile the different episodes. My personal favorites are “Kim Possible” (which features a heroic save by Ron Possible against the evil Drakken) and “Lizzie McGuire” (which presents the big-deal episode with Aeorsmith’s Steven Tyler playing Santa).
The “Even Stevens” episode is decent, spinning a Hanukkah version of “It’s a Wonderful Life” when Louis wishes he was never born. I never watched this show on television, and I’m not really on the Shia LeBeouf bandwagon, but it’s a nice slice of family programming.
Of course, anyone who knows me will anticipate that I hated every frame of the “That’s So Raven” episode, except for the ones that include the underused and under-appreciated Anneliese Van Der Pol.
This disc gave me a chance to watch an episode of “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” which was never-before-seen when the DVD was released (although the episode aired in mid-December). It’s a cute enough show, but it doesn’t have the same warmth and sweetness of “Lizzie McGuire” or the likable leads of “Phil of the Future.”
In addition to the unlisted “Phil of the Future” episodes, the bonus features include an “I Love Christmas” video from fan_3 in a not-so-subtle plug for Radio Disney products.
Specifications: Fullscreen (1.3:1). English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
