Create Your Own Ultimate Disney Christmas Playlist

Disney didn't release a new character Christmas album this year, but 2012's Jingle Bell Fun was so entertaining, it deserves another winter in the spotlight. Plus, this is a great year to revisit Disney Christmas albums from the past and add some gems to your music player.

Looking over what's available to purchase digitally from iTunes and Amazon MP3, it's easy to create a fantastic Disney Christmas playlist. Here are Mouse Troop's picks for the best of the best, but we encourage you to sample all the available tracks and make your own personal Disney Musical Winter Holiday Extravaganza!

Netflix Delivers a Holiday Mouse-Fest

I wasn't planning on another Netflix post so soon, but the service has just added a quartet of Mouse Flix, all direct-to-video productions, to their instant streaming service.

The highlight of the bunch is the wonderful, hilarious and very under-appreciated  Three Musketeers, which places the Disney Fab Five in a fast-paced, fan-pleasing feature-length send-up of the classic tale. In-jokes, great animation and unique character moments abound, plus Pete gets his peg leg back! If you haven't caught this beauty, you're in for a treat. This could have (and should have) been a theatrical release.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is a trio of well-done tales. In the first, Huey, Dewey and Louie wish every day was Christmas and soon realize not all wishes should be granted. The second finds Goofy trying to give young Max a perfect Christmas in spite of a belief crisis. In the finale, Mickey and Minnie play out their own version of Gift of the Magi. Watch for Mortimer Mouse and an animated version of Firehouse Five Plus Two!

I'd love to see the entire run of the wonderful House of Mouse series show up on Netflix someday. In the meantime, the two compilation specials, Snowed In at the House of Mouse and Mickey's House of Villains will do. Both combine new animation with classic clips to create entertaining hour-long Disney mash-ups.

Gather the family, cook up some Mickey pasta and settle back for a good time. What a great way to start the Holiday video season!

Cars Land Winter Traffic Cone Cups

My great nephew (thanks, Rick!) braved the New Year's crowds at Disneyland Resort and returned with the best seasonal souvenir yet: the Cars Land Winter Traffic Cone Cup (Snow Cone). This whimsical alternate take on the mega-popular orange Traffic Cone Cups is the perfect way to enjoy a cool drink on a warm winter afternoon in Radiator Springs.

The best feature of this jolly mug is the revelation of what snowflakes look like in the Cars universe:

Merry Christmas From Mouse Troop!

 

Have a wonderful Holiday, everyone!

A Feral Cat Christmas (with Fish Heads & Crumbs)

The Hungry Bear Restaurant marks the farthest point of guest access along Disneyland's riverbank. From there on, it's pure Anaheim wilderness, full of mecha-moose, electric elk, and some for-real wildlife, such as the park's hidden feral cat colony, which we've visited before.

If you spot feral cats in the park in real life, it's best to leave the cute critters alone. In a comic strip world, however...well...Happy Holidays, and here's Fish Heads & Crumbs...

Four Wonderful, Offbeat Netflix Holiday Specials

Although Netflix streams holiday feature films such as White Christmas and The Polar Express, they seem a bit sparse on familiar Christmas specials. No Rudolph, no Frosty -- and no Yuletide Disney offerings, except for the feature One Magic Christmas. In light of the recent  Disney/Netflix deal, I hope we'll soon see Prep & Landing and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas on the service.

Yet, there's no need to get Grinchy; Netflix actually streams four of the best holiday specials I've ever seen (and I am a holiday video fanatic) -- four amazing productions that haven't been rerun to death, and they all share one thing in common: they're all aimed at adults as well as children. Get ready for Vikings, Dragons, Crocodiles, the Radio City Rockettes and the original 1962 Christmas TV Special that started it all! These four shows can truly be enjoyed by the whole family.

Here are Mouse Troop's picks for the Four Best Holiday Specials on Netflix:

#1 - DRAGONS: GIFT OF THE NIGHT FURY

Nothing says Holidays like Vikings and giant reptiles! This crazy, heartwarming follow-up to How to Train Your Dragon returns us to the wondrous Island of Berk as the Vikings prep for their winter holiday, Snoggletog (in Berk, it's considered good luck to give things awful names).

Before it's all over, we'll have exploding decorations, a flying Viking ship, a mystery solved and the true spirit of the Holidays brought forth in a tear-jerking finale.

It's all done with feature-quality production values, amazing character animation and the original film's cast (including Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel, Craig Ferguson and America Ferrera).

Strange Things 8: Thurl Ravenscroft Holiday Special

Welcome back to Strange Things, a roundup of offbeat Disney tunes that are obscure or performed in an unusual manner. All are available on iTunes and Amazon MP3. In honor of the Holidays, we're starting off with a Disney Legend often associated with Dr. Seuss and Christmas: the great Thurl Ravenscroft.

TRACK:  DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS
ALBUM: Thurl Ravenscroft - Christmas Cocktails Part Three

In addition to making the famous Grinch song his own,  the amazing bass singer is beloved for his performances in the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tiki Room, Country Bear Jamboree, and many, many more Disney attractions, films and records.

In light of his Disney legacy, I don't think anyone will mind that today's first pick is not a Disney song, but a wonderful, light-hearted Christmas tune sung by Mr. Ravenscroft as Santa Claus. It's another fantasy classic from one of the most memorable voices in entertainment history.

All right, regarding our next pick...I really didn't plan to start a lounge theme here...

Vinylmation Negotiation (with Fish Heads & Crumbs)

Disney Parks don't need Casinos. They've got Vinylmation. So far, I've been able to restrict my collecting to a few wonderful examples provided by family generosity and chance. Don't, however, ask me how many die-cast Pixar Cars I've purchased -- but, with Cars, you know what you're getting. Of course, the thrill of opening a mystery box is what makes a Vinylmation purchase so much fun -- and so potentially addictive.

Presenting a Vinylmation as a gift can lead to...complications. Time for Fish Heads & Crumbs...

Too Early For New Disney Christmas Music? Nah!

It's not even Halloween yet, and I'm posting about Christmas; what am I, Target? Okay, I'm fairly certain I'm not the only Disney fan who starts updating their Holiday playlists early as the new Christmas albums start appearing, right?  Anyone?

Disney Christmas albums are often hit & miss. This one's good -- Really, really good. Starting with the best cover art I've ever seen on a Disney Christmas release, Disney Jingle Bell Fun hits all the right...er....notes by balancing sentiment, humor and great performances into one satisfying album.

Keeping the pattern of past Disney Christmas albums, this one's half character-performed songs and half more "mainstream" contributions -- this time by Randy Crenshaw and Hailey Markman. Crenshaw and Markman's tracks are top-notch, but -- let's be honest -- we wanna hear the characters sing.

This time, around, the Fab Five Plus Daisy are in fine form, bringing comic charm to:

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Goofy does a guitar solo & Donald forgot to buy Daisy anything)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Goofy & Donald doing the call-and-response version)
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! (Donald & Daisy)
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Mickey & Minnie)

But the surprise, awesome shocker of this collection is the piano-lounge crooner version of "Toyland" sung by Goofy, completely in character, completely serious, and so touching and perfect that his "shooby-dooby-doos" halfway through don't sound ridiculous. Bill Farmer deserves a standing ovation and a Grammy Award for this one.

I definitely recommend Disney Jingle Bell Fun -- Possibly the best Disney Christmas album yet.

It's available on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/disney-jingle-bell-fun/id562275405?uo=4),  Amazon Mp3 and CD.