Here is an UPDATE on what we know and think. First of all, WARNER BROTHERS finally released FROSTY'S WINTER WONDERLAND with 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS on DVD! The quality and transfer is VERY good BUT there are no EXTRAS. Still well worth getting. Many have asked about 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS because it has that wonderful COKER art and a GREAT score by MAURY LAWS and JULES BASS! RUDOLPH & FROSTY'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY was also released on DVD October 5th. The 1979 feature film is a bit long and not the strongest effort put out by the studio BUT it is GREAT to see RANKIN/BASS ANIMAGIC in a feature film with so many GREAT characters! You even get to see cameos by the HEAT/SNOW MISERS if you look hard. Also, something interesting to note...BOB McFADDEN told me he sang the song SANTA sings to MRS. CLAUS later in the film, substituting for MICKEY ROONEY. Even though MICKEY sang his own songs in SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN, he had some difficulty with this particular song. We received the PLAYING MANTIS SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN Figure sets and the new RUDOLPH characters from the RUDOLPH line and they are EXCELLENT! The FRED ASTAIRE/S.D. Klueger in the snowcar is particularly well done! It plays some of the song when you press the horn and the car even works and has RUBBER TREADS on the wheels. You can get all of this GREAT stuff from TIMEANDSPACETOYS.COM right now! My first book, THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO (MISER BROS PRESS) is completely SOLD OUT! Part of the reason is that AMAZON.COM really did well with the book. I will be occasionally offering single copies on EBAY under seller ANIMAGIC1 as I come accross them either in the MISER BROS PRESS warehouse or my own personal collection. I only know where about 10 are located right now and that is it...so if you want one, log into EBAY right away...I know they won't last until CHRISTMAS. I will also have some RARE RANKIN/BASS items up for sale on EBAY as well since I am going through a big move right now. We have received orders for XL and XXL T-Shirts and we are waiting for a delivery from our supplier. THANK YOU for your patience. Our supplier is in FLORIDA and got hit with the bad weather that we all heard about in the news. We may start offering some RARE videos or CDs in our SHOPPE this season! If you have some wants or ideas, e-mail me at Rickgoldsc@AOL.COM and maybe we will use your suggestions to Produce some new Product in the SHOP. Some have asked about us selling the commercial DVDs BUT that is something that we prefer to leave up to AMAZON.COM at the moment. I spoke with MAURY LAWS a few weeks back and his GREEN BAY PACKERS/LAMBAU FIELD DVD is doing really well! You can visit MAURYLAWS.COM for more info on him. He tells me there is a NEW Project he is getting involved with that is really exciting and he will let us all know the details very soon! Keep an eye out for a neat SPECIAL about CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SPECIALS on THE TRIO NETWORK this HOLIDAY SEASON...DON DUGA and TONY PETERS were involved with the RANKIN/BASS Section! Two GREAT guys! LARRY POTASH and I will once again be talking RANKIN/BASS on WGN MORNING NEWS. When I have the date confirmed, we will post it on the site. I also hope to be on FOX MORNING NEWS again as well as CLTV NEWS (CHICAGO TRIBUNE'S CABLE NEWS Channel). You may be seeing new covers on the classic RANKIN/BASS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL DVDs right now......BUT they are far from right. CLASSIC MEDIA/SONY WONDER has decided not to honor their agreement with RANKIN/BASS and put the RANKIN/BASS name on the front covers. This is quite puzzling considering without this name, these DVDs could be causing doubt that these DVDs are NOT the classic shows we all grew up with. It gives the appearance they are knock offs. The BIGGEST surprise was to find the new RUDOLPH DVD (And BOX SET) on the store shelves yesterday. Even though the cover image was taken directly from my transparency in my archives and the previous cover carried the correct RICK GOLDSCHMIDT ARCHIVES credit, the new one does not. AND to make matters worse....this is the 40th ANNIVERSARY of the classic RANKIN/BASS Special RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. Bernard Cowan's son ELLIOT has some RARE, newly discovered elements such as the songs LARRY MANN sang as SAM, RARE Studio photos of the voice actors, etc. He offered to let these items be a part of a NEW Documentary about the show in addition to the RARE stuff I have BUT CLASSIC MEDIA/SONY WONDER thought a DESTINY'S CHILD CD Single would be a better way to celebrate old RUDY's 40th year???????? In addition to this, the new box set says it includes a BONUS CD featuring the classic songs SILVER & GOLD and others. What it does not say is the CD contains horrible re-makes of the original tunes. If you want the classic versions of the songs that are featured in the RANKIN/BASS Specials, you still have to go out and buy another CD. I feel like the HEAT MISER when I take a look at how things are being done like this. Oh well, this should prove to be a GREAT HOLIDAY season for RANKIN/BASS and I am sure alot of POSITIVE things will come of it! HAPPY HALLOWEEN from MARK and I! I will be attending ALEX ROSS' annual Halloween party this weekend and will share some photos next month. The STARVING ARTISTS will be back in the studio come NOVEMBER as well as making a few live performances (Check STARVING ARTISTS section for UPDATES). I also want to THANK MARK SYKORA for his wonderful work on the site and NEWS! He went through a big move and has kept up with the NEWS in great fashion! In fact, he has helped with our friend's BILL JACKSON's site www.dirtydragon.com, which incidentally is offering GIGGLESNORT HOTEL on DVD now! You may also want to check out our friend DAVID SHELDON's website at www.dksheldon.com ..he is in the process of redesigning it. We cant wait for PIXAR's THE INCREDIBLES Nov. 5th! One of my friends at PIXAR , JOE RANFT (STORY), says it is REALLY something! JOE is working on CARS (The film) right now. Another friend, GREG EHRBAR (DISNEY), said the film is AMAZING ("Like a BOND Film") and he worked on the comic adaptaion for the overseas market. We can't wait! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!