Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007 - (Page 24) BUYING GUIDE HOLIDAY www.homemediamagazine.com The Very First Noel Hebrew Holiday A few suppliers make room for the Jewish in the holiday season By Brendan Howard verybody knows Christmas has more participants than Chanukah in America, but Chanukah lasts eight gift-giving nights. That could be a lot of DVDs. But it doesn’t take long to figure out that Chanukahinspired DVDs are few and far between. Maybe it’s because the Festival of Lights is a minor religious festival in the traditional Jewish calendar, but there still are notable Chanukahthemed DVDs. Did you know dearly departed puppeteer and performer Shari Lewis was Jewish? You will after seeing her Lambchop’s Chanukah and Passover Surprise ($19.95) from Classic Media. Two Jewish holidays also are rolled into one DVD in Monterey Media’s puppetfilled Chanukah & Passover at Bubbe’s ($19.95). With the scarcity of Jewish-holiday titles, double-dipping with Chanukah in December and Passover in April could be the way to go. Adam Goldberg saves Chanukah as cinema’s first Jew-sploitation hero in Paramount Home Entertainment/Comedy Central’s The Hebrew Hammer ($19.99). This one’s strictly ‘R’-rated, so don’t slip it into your 8-yearold Jewish grandchild’s present this year. Another one that really little kids probably will not appreciate is Paramount Home Entertainment’s South Park: The The True Christmas Spirit Two producers keep the Christian aspect of the holiday in their titles By Dan Bennett on Green and Dennis DeShazer, like many people, remember with fondness those 30-minute holiday television specials from a generation ago. It’s with those evergreen TV specials in mind that Green and DeShazer have produced The Very First Noel. The 23-minute 3-D animation that chronicles the journey of the three wise men in a program intended to inspire. The title, mixing humor, hope and faith, is narrated by Andy Griffith. The Very First Noel ($9.99) streets Oct. 6 from Genius Products and Exclaim Entertainment. “This title will resonate both with children and baby boomers who remember this style of Christmas entertainment,” Green said. “And Andy Griffith has that voice that adds a certain warmth. It’s unique in that it has Christmas carols, but with a twist, because they have a Hawaiian sound.” The Very First Noel is created by Carrie and Yerrow Cheney, the latter a production designer on the animated feature film Curious George. The familiar story is intended to reach both children and adults. “This is the kind of title that has the chance to be one of those evergreen titles on DVD,” Green said. “Its story and structure make it feel classic.” Green and DeShazer know something about classic childhood icons. DeShazer is the co-creator of the popular television character Barney, and Green is one of the people credited with helping brand and publi- E Complete First Season ($29.98), which features the infamous episode “Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo.” In it, young Kyle sings his sad lament, “The Lonely Jew on Christmas.” PBS Home Video has A Taste of Chanukah ($14.99), an hourlong concert with choirs as well as humor with comedian Chasia Segal. The eminent Jewish home entertainment company, SISU Entertainment, is repromoting four animated or puppet-filled titles: Lights: The Miracle of Chanukah ($18.95); There’s No Such Thing as a Chanukah Bush, Sandy Goldstein ($19.95); Shalom Sesame Chanukah ($18.95) and Chanukah on Planet Matzah Ball ($19.95). The kid-friendly In Dudu’s Kindergarten Vol. 11: Chanukah ($24.95) finds the multitalented Dudu Fisher teaching and entertaining the little ones in the spirit of the Festival of Lights. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Eight Crazy Nights ($14.94), starring the voice and raunchy humor of Adam Sandler, is the only big-budget film ever made about Chanukah. Warner Home Video’s meditation on the Christmas and Chanukah American experience can be found in The O.C.: The Complete Series ($179.92) due Nov. 27. Friends on the show celebrate Chrismukkah, sort of like peanut butter and chocolate, two things that might go great together. You can decide if they do. J cize Barney into a purple international superstar. The two men founded Exclaim Entertainment Inc. in 2003 to produce family entertainment with a faith-based perspective. A year later they moved the label under Dallas-based Reel FX Creative Studios. Their first title was the Christian-market based Boz, The Green Bear. Following the release of The Very First Noel, on Oct. 20 Exclaim Entertainment will debut A WowieBOZowie Christmas ($14.99), distributed by Provident-Integrity Distribution. The film expands on other Boz titles and tells the story of the likable bear celebrating the spiritual meaning of Christmas with his neighborhood friends. “The episodes before were three 13- to 15-minute episodes,” DeShazer said. “This is a bigger, single 45-minute story. It was the kind of story that called for expansion.” Already in the Boz line are both video product and CDs, with expansion into books, games and other products on the way. “We’re very excited about the way consumers, ministry professionals and retailers have responded to Boz,” DeShazer said. The company and new titles have provided Green and DeShazer with post-Barney career satisfaction. “We were looking around at what to do next, and we found that that there was a need for strong, faith-based entertainment for the preschool age,” Green said. “We liked the idea of exploring how the notions of faith and prayer factored into a child’s daily life in the form of entertainment.” 24 Home Media Magazine September 2–8, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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