Adults familiar with Baby Einstein educational videos understand the concept behind the company's products. Studies show that repeated exposure to pleasant images and sounds will create greater brain capacity in wee ones, ... more »as neurons become connected in the brain's auditory cortex. (And you thought you were just playing with your child.) Here, in time for Christmas, Baby Einstein takes a holiday breather. In Baby Santa's Music Box, the stimulation is similar, yet the learning is not quite so intentional--a relief for those of us a bit intimidated with the Russian, Japanese, and French introduced in the original film. No human words are spoken here. Rather, the sights and sounds of Christmas are presented in a visual feast of whimsical, happy scenes accompanied by seasonal music. From sledding and snowmen to glowing candles and shimmering ornaments, dozens of animated and live-action settings communicate the beauty and wonder of the holiday season. Penguin puppets unwrap presents, ring bells, and toss tinsel. Santa's sleigh in a gentle snowfall segues smoothly into a playful group of Christmas-clad youngsters dancing to Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker." Kids decorate a tree, twirl in stocking caps, and careen down a sledding hill. Throughout the program, the Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra performs soothing music from Christmas carols and classical favorites to traditional melodies from around the world. Infants and toddlers already sense the magic of Christmas. This "video board book" will help them celebrate it. --Lynn Gibson« less
Genres:Kids & Family Sub-Genres:Animation, Christmas Studio:Family Home Ent Format:DVD - Color - Animated DVD Release Date: 09/18/2001 Original Release Date: 01/01/2001 Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2001 Release Year: 2001 Run Time: 1hr 21min Screens: Color Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English See Also:
"They've done it again folks - 23 minutes of movie in an 81 minute production.As a public service, let me tell you what else you're getting for your money:Three collections of Christmas Music with no video, mostly just parts of the songs. (you already have most of them on CD anyway)A general "How to watch baby Einstein with your kids guide"A link to where you can buy all the stuff shown.As for the video part itself, it is undoubtably very entertaining for the 1 month to 18 month group, but not stimulating enough for older children, unless they just like the music. (in which case you can put on a CD)There are lots of brightly coloured ornaments, and a real cool train, and Santa dolls, and the cutest collection of kids ever cast in a Baby Einstein production. (It's a bit heavy on the Aigner-Clark kids, but hey - she's the boss after all, so no complaining)Unfortunately, almost one third of the scant 23 minutes comprises a white glove shutting the lid of a green box (with the host reundeer puppet inside), to signify the end of a segment. There are a lot of very brief segments for real short attention spans, and while some slow music pieces run on for a bit longer, the more unusual segments like the Japanese mobile are cut in mid flow.Every child loves to see animals, so, to keep the interest, they borrowed some unused clips from the Baby Doolittle videos, and threw in some animal footage.The puppets are very untidy citizens in this one. They throw tinsel around, and the gingerbread man piece had even my son saying "Yuch - Messy!"If you have kids less than 18 months old, I'd say "go for it" this Christmas to get them in the spirit, if your kids are older, put on some cd's and have a sing along."
Not up Baby Einstein Company's usual standards
11/20/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Like other parents of infants & toddlers I was very excited by the release of a Baby Einstein video with a holiday theme. Unfortunately this one just does not hold my baby's attention in the same was that others do. In fact, my preschooler (who enjoys watching the videos with my infant daughter) remarked that Baby Santa was 'boring.' Some of the main elements, which make the other Baby Einstein videos successful at engaging the attention and delighting infants, are not in this video. The Baby Einstein 'formula' usually includes a dynamic classical soundtrack interspersed with other sounds. The music / soundtrack is enhanced by the visuals which include short clips of kids, toys and other moving objects, and puppets - later videos include some nature scenes. The visually stimulating toys and other real world objects are just not included in this Baby Santa to the extent they are in the others. The soundtrack which is a primary source of fascination for infants, especially in Baby Mozart, Baby Bach, and Baby Van Gogh is not up to par: Baby Santa's score is a thin rendition of some carols without orchestration - in short - it is quite boring. There is much more emphasis on puppets and the 'kids' which just does not hold the same level of attention. If you are new to the Baby Einstein Company's videos and are looking primarily for a video which engages and enhances development, I would highly recommend Baby Van Gogh. Baby Van Gogh has high production quality and corrects some of the oversights in earlier Baby Einstein Company products (like ethnic balance among the kids, for example). It has enjoyed the greatest longevity and highest entertainment value of all of our baby videos - probably because has a really dynamic soundtrack and superb visuals. If you are specifically looking for something with a festive mood to add to the collection of videos for little ones, I would recommend Hap Palmer's "Baby Songs Christmas." Baby Songs Christmas is mixes some traditional carols with new songs and really 'homey' clips of kids (mostly). After about 6-7 months, my infant daughter started to enjoy this series, and we were all delighted with the Christmas video."
Just not the same as the others
LisaFrag | San Jose, CA United States | 12/08/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Unfortunately, Baby Santa's Music Box does not appeal to my nine month old son. He loves Baby Mozart, Baby Einstein and Baby Bach, and has even taken to Baby Shakespeare despite its claim to be for toddlers. With Baby Santa, the formula has changed slightly. It contains more children shots, and less of the repetitive action shots that keep babies entranced. The video may be appealing to adults because the children bits are very cute and the music nostalgic (traditional tunes and parts of the Nutcracker!), but these concepts are lost on the infant because he does not have the context in which to place them. Although I applaud the concept and the attempt, I would have to say I cannot recommend this video, at least for childen under one year. Perhaps an older child might see more merit in it. Beyond this, I would still recommend any of the other Baby Einstein Company videos."
Love it! Love it! Love it!
Dukland | A whole new world | 12/01/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"We just added this video to our collection a couple of weeks ago, and my 12 month old daughter can't get enough of it. She loves it more than Baby Mozart. Her cousins, ages 7.5 months, 17 months, and 4 years, all love this one, too.
My daughter's favorite parts are the children and the puppets, my niece's favorite parts are the animals, and my nephew loves the whole thing.
It's nice for adults, also, because the music does not tend to get annoying after watching the video a few times in one week. My daughter highly recommends this video!"
Wonderful addition to the Baby Einstein library!
jlsm | 11/14/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I heard this was being produced, I could hardly wait for it to come out! It certainly did not disappoint. Of the Baby Einstein series, our 9-month-old seems most interested in Baby Mozart, and after several days of watching Baby Santa's Music Box, she seems just as interested in this one. It holds her attention longer than Baby Einstein, Bach, or Shakespeare (we haven't yet tried Van Gogh). There's a good balance of color, movement, and live action, and the music is varied and fun. It's also just plain festive, and I'm sure we'll play it often as the Christmas season begins."