The title card for the 2002 re-release
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs is a Christmas-themed sing-along video produced by Walt Disney Home Video, originally released on October 4, 1988. It was the fifth release in the Disney's Sing-Along Songs series of videos and was reissued in 1990 (as Volume 8) and 1994. A new version of the video with some new songs added was released on November 5, 2002, with narration by the late Roscoe Lee Browne who voiced Francis from Disney's Oliver & Company.
Description[]
It's the happiest time of the year! And the season of Santa, reindeer and gift-wrapped surprises will be even jollier with this joyful volume of Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs. Gather up the family and enjoy a fun-filled collection of the most beloved Christmas songs and carols, accompanied by a wonderland of wintry holiday scenes! It's a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds that is sure to make everyone's holiday very, very merry! Voices ready? Let's all sing!
Songs[]
The original 1988, 1990 and 1994 VHS releases contained the following songs:
| # | Song | Performed by | Set to clips from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "From All of Us to All of You" | Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Eddie Carroll) | Walt Disney Presents: "From All of Us to All of You" (color version) |
| 2 | "Deck the Halls" | Chimes and Chorus [1] (Incorrectly credited as the Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus and Larry Groce) | Pluto's Christmas Tree |
| 3 | "Jingle Bells" | The Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus | Donald's Snow Fight Once Upon a Wintertime (Melody Time) Snow Foolin' |
| 4 | "Joy to the World" | Larry Groce and the Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus | The Nutcracker Suite (Fantasia) |
| 5 | "Up on the Housetop" | Don Janse's Children's Chorus | |
| 6 | "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" | Bing Crosby | The Night Before Christmas Peter and the Wolf (Make Mine Music) Corn Chips The Wind in the Willows (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) Bongo (Fun and Fancy Free) Mickey's Orphans (colorized version) Once Upon a Wintertime (Melody Time) The Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros) Peculiar Penguins Squatter's Rights Dumbell of the Yukon Pluto's Christmas Tree Chip an' Dale Lady and the Tramp |
| 7 | "Sleigh Ride" | Larry Groce and the Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy | Mickey's Christmas Carol |
| 8 | "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" | Don Janse's Children's Chorus | The China Shop Broken Toys Santa's Workshop The Night Before Christmas |
| 9 | "Winter Wonderland" | Larry Groce and the Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus (only the chorus is credited) | On Ice The Autograph Hound The Hockey Champ Donald's Snow Fight Bambi The Cold-Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros) Peter and the Wolf (Make Mine Music) |
| 10 | "Here Comes Santa Claus" | Larry Groce, the Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus, with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy | Disneyland parade footage |
| 11 | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | Gene Autry | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer |
| 12 | "Silent Night" | The Living Voices | Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria (Fantasia) |
| 13 | "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" | The Disneyland Sing-Along Chorus (Larry Groce is credited, but he didn't sing it) |
Plays over the closing credits during Lady and the Tramp background and the fireworks ending from "A Present for Donald" on the 1988, 1990 and 1994 releases. At the end of the song, Jiminy Cricket wishes the viewers, "From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas! And a very Happy New Year!" |
The 2002 reissue removed "From All of Us to All of You" from the actual program and added in the following songs:
Gallery[]
VHS
Walt Disney Home Video, 1988
Walt Disney Home Video, 1988
VHS
Walt Disney Home Video, 1990
Walt Disney Home Video, 1990
VHS
Walt Disney Home Video, 1994
Walt Disney Home Video, 1994
VHS
Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2002
Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2002
DVD
Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2002
Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2002
1st UK VHS release
2nd UK VHS release
1st Japanese VHS release
2nd Japanese VHS release
The 1993 laserdisc release, with Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas (front)
The 1993 laserdisc release, with Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas (back)
"From All of Us to All of You"
"Deck the Halls"
"Jingle Bells"
"Joy to the World"
"Up on the Housetop"
"Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"
"Sleigh Ride"
"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"
"Winter Wonderland"
"Here Comes Santa Claus"
.jpeg "RudolphtheRed-NosedReindeer(1948).jpeg (128 KB)")
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
"Silent Night"
"Seasons of Giving" (2002 only)
"As Long As There's Christmas" (2002 only)
"Jingle Bell Rock" (2002 only)
"The Best Christmas of All" (2002 only)
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Trivia[]
- In the original issues, a still image of the Christmas tree from the animated film Lady and the Tramp is used for the closing credits. The firework shot from "A Present for Donald" is used at the end, as well.
- "From All of Us to All of You" is played at the end of the advanced level of the Words of the Season vocabulary game on the 2002 DVD release.
- The VHS cover features artwork of Mickey and friends caroling, which was reused for the 2005 DVD release of Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites Volume 9: Classic Holiday Stories.
- The song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" used footage from the 1948 Max Fleischer cartoon of the same name, as Disney has never made their own Rudolph cartoon. This is due to the cartoon being in the public domain, allowing Disney to use it without any legal trouble.
- The lyrics to the song "Jingle Bells" used footage from the 1949 Famous Studios Screen Song cartoon Snow Foolin', which was also in the public domain. Much like the modern Sing-Along Songs cartoons, the Screen Songs series used sing-along sequences and a bouncing ball to encourage crowd sing-alongs in the movie theatres.
- Here are some differences in the 2002 release:
- In the 2002 release, the timing of the words in "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" is different.
- In the 2002 release, "Winter Wonderland" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has the same design for the bouncing ball as the 1988 version but looks different. In addition, the timing of the words is also different.
- In the 2002 release, the bouncing ball for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has the Mickey with the Rudolph design for all of the duration of the song, but in the 1988 version, the regular Mickey bouncing ball appears but when it goes to the line, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", the Mickey bouncing ball with the Rudolph design appears and stays there for the rest of the song.
- In the 2002 release, the wraparound segments between each song have been replaced; the 2002 release uses new wraparound segments consisting of live-action Christmas sets with narration by Roscoe Lee Browne over it. In addition in the 2002 release, the older faded prints of classic Disney cartoons and movies from the 1930s-1950s used in the 1988, 1990 and 1994 releases have been replaced by newer transfers from the 1990s, which looked far superior.
- The beginning of the "Sleigh Ride" sing-along omits the first two lines (the reason being, those two lines were sung at a slower pace before the up-tempo portion begins).
- The "Seasons of Giving" sing-along uses the third version (introduction to the Christmas segment).
- The 2002 release is dedicated to Eleanor Richman-Adams.
- The ending from the House of Mouse episode "Clarabelle's Christmas List" with Santa Mickey signing off is featured in the 2002 release.
- There is a different arrangement for the 2002 version of "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" than the original arrangement for the 1988 version. Andy Belling orchestrated both recordings.
- The songs "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Jingle Bell Rock" use their original Brenda Lee and Bobby Helms recordings.
- The 1994 version added the Disney's Sing-Along Songs logo at the beginning which features the same music from Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas.
- The original 1988 release ended with a list of other Sing-Along videos, announced by Jiminy Cricket, but the 1990 release ended with a list of other Christmas-related videos, announced by Brian Cummings, while the 1994 release ended with the 1994 version of the Disney's Sing-Along Songs promo.
- This is the only Christmas volume of the series to have a known Spanish version.
- The Christmas village that was featured in the 2002 version was manufactured by Department 56.
- The original Don Janse and his 60 Voice Children's Choir recordings were accompanied by a very quiet pipe organ and were enhanced for this video by additional synthesizers.
See also[]
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