Search - Jingle All the Way on DVD

Jingle All The Way - Family Fun Edition

Wayne Minge | Tennessee | 10/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On October 16th, 2007, 20th Century Fox released Jingle All The Way - Family Fun Edition. This is the extended cut specially supervised by director Brian Levant. This runs at 94 minutes verus 89 minutes for the theatrical cut. This edition features the following additions...

1.) Instead of Howard going right after the woman in the car, he first sees another woman (Yeardley Smith) with a matching fur coat. He sees a TurboMan package in her bag and offers her money. She takes it and walks away. He takes it out and discovers that it is TurboMan's sidekick, Booster. He then runs after the woman in the car.

2.) In the following scene of Howard traveling to different toy stores looking for TurboMan, the 'Jingle all the Way' song is replaced by "The Christmas Song".

3.) A scene inside Howard's GMC when they're driving to Santa's warehouse where it shows Howard saying his "We've yet to see a sign of that supposed Turbo Man doll" sentence. The mall Santa doesn't sing his "Little Boy Who Santa Claus Forgot" song in the car.

4.) Additional dialogue in the warehouse, as well as the Mall Santa and all the other Santas singing a chorus of "Little Boy Who Santa Claus Forgot".

5.) The rock version of "Jingle all the way" plays as Howard fights the warehouse Santas

6.) An extra scene of Myron Larabee describing the Johnny 7 O.M.A gun to Howard.

7.) Additional dialogue between Howard and the cops at the warehouse.

8.) A scene with Howard riding home in a tow truck after his car had been stripped where he's rehearsing how he was going to explain what happened to him to his wife.

9.) An alternate ending: instead of the ending at the parade, the film fades back to Howard's house. He turns on the lights on his tree and everybody is happy. Liz says "It was so nice that you went to all that to get him that present.... so what did you get me?" It ends with a closeup of Howard looking horrified. This scene originally played following the credits (theatrical and home video versions).

Personally I prefer this edition cause I am a sucker for Director's Cuts...plus I do like this movie alot. This Extended Cut is presented in it's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, a fullscreen version is not offered on this disc. If you like this movie and have the previous edition I would recommend upgrading, if you're new to this movie then this is the edition to get."

Five Stars for pure fun!

Monty Moonlight | TX | 11/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, "Jingle All the Way" is chock full of bad acting and ridiculous situations, but hey, it's a Holiday comedy, and a darn good one! And, for those of us who are really into Christmas shopping and have been on that search for the elusive, must have toy of the year, it really touches a nerve!

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Howard Langston, a workaholic father who's failing with his family. He is constantly breaking promises and missing family events simply by being absent-minded and overly concerned with his business. When he shows up far too late for his son Jamie's Karate presentation, he realizes he's got some major sucking up to do. Howard immediately offers to get his son anything he wants for Christmas as a quick fix. But, little does Howard know that the toy Jamie wants, the official Turbo Man action figure, is the hottest toy of the season! No stores in town have one, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!!

Howard gets an early start in the morning, arriving at a toy store that hasn't opened yet and already has a large crowd outside. Here, he meets his biggest competition, an unstable mailman named Myron (Sinbad). Myron is also an inexperienced shopper whose son has asked for a Turbo Man figure. Both men are shocked and angered when everyone in the store mocks them upon hearing what they are looking for, and this is where their heated rivalry begins. Howard and Myron bump into each other at location after location in their search for the evasive toy and continue to physically abuse each other at nearly every encounter, and every bit of it is quite hilarious! In addition to dealing with Myron's attacks while searching for Turbo Man, Howard has to keep tabs on his intrusive neighbor, Tim (Phil Hartman), who is continuously making plays for Howard's wife, Liz (Rita Wilson). It's not as confusing as it sounds, but it's a lot for a man to have to worry about on Christmas Eve when he's gotta meet his family at a parade later on that same day.

"Jingle All the Way" is a great Christmas adventure that is full of laughs and mayhem! It's not supposed to be "It's A Wonderful Life," it's just supposed to be funny! And it is, if you have any sort of sense of humor at all and any experience with last-minute shopping during the Holiday Season! Arnold Schwarzenegger is still not a great actor, but he plays the role of a helpless, inexperienced shopper rather well, and this is probably my favorite of all his movies that I've seen. Sinbad is great as nutty mailman Myron, and Phil Hartman steals the movie as Tim, the seemingly perfect single dad that all the neighborhood women want, but who mainly has eyes for Liz. And, upon repeated viewings, Jake Lloyd (who plays Arnold's son) isn't as annoying as everyone says. "Jingle All the Way" may not be as magical as "Miracle On 34th Street," but it still qualifies as an annual MUST WATCH Christmas movie for this viewer, and probably many others!

Updating this review for the "Family Fun Edition" 2007 DVD release, the newest edition, which maintains the enhanced widescreen of the previous release, includes a handful of new extras along with a special, extended cut of the film. Unfortunately, having watched the extended cut, I can definitely say I still prefer the theatrical version. Luckily, this new release includes both. The scenes added into the extended version were deservedly cut from the film, and it also includes a different and completely inappropriate song in the early toy hunting montage, making the theatrical version much more enjoyable. The only positive thing I can say about the extended version is that they move the post-end credits scene to just before the end credits, and it fits so well that one wonders why it wasn't placed there to begin with. The extras include "The Making of a Hero", which is a somewhat interesting look at the creation of the Turbo Man character, "Super Kids", a pretty unnecessary interview montage with random kids on their wishes to be superheroes, and "Turbo Man Unmasked," a short and mildly funny mockumentary on the hero as a former (fictional) TV star that inspired a fictional action figure craze. Other extras include a photo gallery that is happily in a slideshow format and two DVD games. "Guess the Gift" is a somewhat fun game. I took less interest in the "Christmas Rush" shopping cart game, as it was one of those luck based games that didn't rely much on your input as to whether or not you won or lost.

If you're a fan of the film and don't own it yet, I definitely recommend the Family Fun edition. If you own the 2004 release that already had the 16x9 enhancement, you may not feel it necessary to double-dip for the sake of the extended cut or new extras. Also, all buyers should be aware that this edition doesn't contain the previous extras (theatrical trailer and cast bios).
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Hits close to home

Arnold Fan | MO, USA | 01/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is great if you have a zany sense of humor.

I think the reason that most people do not like it is that it hits too close to home. This movie is for people who can laugh at their problems, and some people don't feel that trying to find the toy of the year at Christmas is funny because of painful experience.

Of course, the point of the movie is that the father wants very badly to keep this promise to his son because he has let him down so many times before. At the end of the movie, guess what? Arnold BECOMES his son's hero! How cool is that? Who wouldn't want to be their kid's hero?

People whose parents let them down and people who let their kids down would not like this movie. Like I said, it hits too close home. Ouch!"

Some background on this movie...

A. Murray | NC | 10/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm glad this movie is finally getting re-released since I've always liked it. If you *ever* want this movie, BUY IT NOW... here's why:

For those who don't know, this movie was pulled off the shelves about 3 years ago. Fox was on the losing end of a $19 million dollar lawsuit which claimed they had ripped off the script from a Detroit high school teacher (Brian Webster). Later, the award was reduced to $1.5 million. Meanwhile, Fox appealed the case which held off any payment until at least late 2003; however, Fox was forced by this decision to pull the movie off the market and excess stock was sent back to Fox.

Murray Hill publishing (the Plaintiff) had optioned a script titled "Could This Be Christmas" from Laurel as far back as 1993. The script was about two men trying to secure the last known Action Man doll on Christmas Eve. Murray Hill says they pitched "Could This Be Christmas" to Fox in 1994 and a year later Robert G. Laurel Lessnau learned of Fox's plans for "Jingle All the Way" which was penned by a script reader for Fox Studios.

On May 22, 2004, Fox won on appeal. Apparently they were able to show evidence that "Jingle All the Way" was based on a treatment that predated the pitch for "Could This Be Christmas" in 1994.

Murray Hill vows to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Incidentally, Murray Hill's Lessnau died in September 2001, about 6 months after the company's court victory.

When the movie was pulled, you saw the price on this DVD skyrocket. Here on Amazon, if you search for "Jingle All The Way", you'll find an "out-of-stock" version. This is the one that was pulled. Notice that the price is STILL (as of today) between $26.99 and $132.57. Before this re-release was announced, the prices were all in the $100 dollar range. Some people obviously have seen the writing on the wall and have reduced the price of these used DVDs on the eve of its re-release. Some people, I guess, have not heard of this coming. Anyhow, if you want this movie buy one (or two) NOW before any further legal action makes it unavailable again. Then you can sell your extra here at Amazon for a hefty profit.

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