codeman38:

codeman38:

The quality control on the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Blu-ray release from Classic Media is… lacking, to put it mildly.

“How bad is it,” you ask? Three examples:

Exhibit A:

My wife and I ordered a copy of the 50th anniversary Blu-ray edition of Rudolph from Amazon, since they had it on discount. What we received had a slip cover, sleeve insert, and disc label all reading “50th Anniversary,” with a copyright date of 2014.

Unfortunately, the actual contents of the disc were the original 2010 edition, based on the menu design and the file timestamps. The (already meager) bonus features mentioned on the packaging, which were unique to the anniversary release, were nowhere to be found.

Yes, misprinted discs sometimes happen, even with major studio releases (sometimes with hilarious results). If it had just been that issue, I’d have written this off as a fluke—though to be honest, I have no idea how many other misprinted copies are in circulation, or whether they’d be recalled even if they were reported.

However, even if we’d gotten the correct edition of the disc, the problems don’t end there.

Exhibit B:

The 2010 version of the Blu-ray contains a noticeable audio glitch in the first verse of “Silver and Gold,” where an entire word has gone missing. (“Everyone wishes [skip] silver and gold…”). This line was correct, with the word “for” intact, on earlier releases; however, I can personally confirm that the line is glitched on the 2010 version.

Again, mastering errors happen, even on major studio releases. Still, once they’re discovered, they’re usually acknowledged by the studio once discovered, and often fixed on newer releases. That’s not always the case, though, even on major-label releases (for instance, the most recent Blu-ray of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast retained a mastering error where a scene from the extended version was wrongly used in the theatrical version).

Unfortunately, Rudolph falls firmly into the latter category. Although this audio glitch was mentioned by several reviewers of the original Blu-ray release, according to the comments on this AVSForum thread, it remains unfixed in the re-release.

But even that isn’t the worst sin committed by Classic Media in their Blu-ray releases of this holiday classic.

Exhibit C:

The packaging for the 2014 release very clearly states that the disc includes English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. Similarly, the actual packaging for the 2010 Blu-ray includes a [CC] logo on the case.

There is no subtitle track whatsoever on the 2010 edition that we received. None. Nada. Nul. (And no, it doesn’t include NTSC closed-captioning data, either—yes, that’s possible to embed in the video stream on a Blu-ray, though largely pointless and rarely done since many players can’t even display it.)

“Maybe they fixed this on the actual 2014 disc,” you’re thinking? Nope. According to the same AVSForum thread linked above, as well as this DVDizzy review (which clearly shows the correct menu layout, and not what’s on the misprinted copy), there aren’t any subtitles to be found on that release, either, despite the box’s claim to the contrary.

Rudolph has aired on TV with closed captions since at least the early ’90s (and possibly even earlier; I’m only going off my own memory of watching it). The original DVD releases of it from Sony also included subtitles. Even VHS releases of it were captioned.

Seriously, Classic Media, how did you manage to screw up something that’s been present on so many previous releases of this film, get the details wrong on the packaging to add insult to injury, and then keep the erroneous packaging in circulation for 4 years (or 8, if we’re also including the original Blu-ray release)?!?

Verdict: guilty as charged.

Update:

Just received the Anniversary Edition of Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town from the same publisher.

At least this time, the disc is the version that it claims to be (with an “anniversary edition” menu screen, and files having a timestamp of 2015).

Unfortunately, just like Rudolph, the specs printed on the case are complete fabrications. The alleged subtitle track, once again, does not exist.

But deaf people aren’t the only audience that Classic Media has slighted this time around—how about a significant portion of the Canadian market? The packaging mentions the availability a French dub, but don’t get your hopes up, Francophones; the actual disc only offers English and Spanish tracks.