Bob the Builder's first full-length adventure, "A Christmas to Remember", is a festive extravaganza boasting an all-star cast, including Elton John and Noddy Holder. Bob's twin brother Tom, a zoologist, (voiced by Stephen Tompkinson) is coming home from the Artic for the festivities and Bob's planning the perfect Christmas. But there are so many things to do first and Bob will have to work his little yellow hardhat off if he's to get everything done in time: there's the tree to fetch, the lights to put up in the town square, not to mention the stage to build for Lennie and the Lazers' free concert on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, Bob has all his usual friends to help as well as an extra pair of hands in the form of the loveable Banger (Noddy Holder), roadie to the band--unfortunately, he also has Spud--but when news comes that Tom has been unavoidably delayed, it begins to look as though Bob won't be having a perfect Christmas after all...

Meanwhile all is not well within the band: Lennie (Chris Evans) is losing his voice and John (Elton John) is having trouble finishing his new song. Luckily, Roley is on hand to help the creative process along and even suggests a jazzier stage name when it seems that John will have to sing in Lennie's place at the gig.

"A Christmas to Remember" is priceless festive entertainment for adults and children alike: Noddy Holder, whose stage characteristics are perfectly transferred to his diminutive screen persona, complete with Doc Martens and a stovepipe hat, puts in a bravura performance as Banger--while Elton John underplays beautifully right up to, but certainly not including, the rousing grand finale. With this successful transfer to feature length adventures, it seems that no job's too big for this particular builder. Reviewer: Helen Baker.

"Teletubbies and the Snow"
One day, sparkly clouds appear over Tellytubby land. Soon, everything is covered in fluffy, white snow--including the Tubbies' favourite things--their ball, bag, hat and scooter. The chubby foursome are at first afraid, but soon get stuck into some serious snow games, including rolling snowballs, sliding down hillsides, making footprints and making a snow Tellytubby--even their goggle-eyed vacuum-cleaner, Noo-noo, gets covered from brush to wheels in it. Teletubbies and the Snow will particularly delight pre-schoolers just getting their first taste of a real winter, but children who have never seen snow will love the four short films of real-life children singing winter songs and celebrating the year-end, as well as the antics of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-laa and Po, giggly Sun Baby and a cast of hundreds of fluffy bunnies hopping around. Reviewer: Alison Jardine

"Happy Christmas From The Teletubbies"
What better time than Christmas could there be for these four likeable, er, things? After all, like the children they really are, the Teletubbies find the whole procedure to be an endless source of wonderful surprises and exciting things to do. They get presents, of course, found with the tree which, in Teletubby Land, just mysteriously appears--exactly as it does to real children, of course. There's also some jolly footage of real children, including a suitably happy bunch choosing and decorating a real tree, and of course it's these sections of "outside broadcasting" which balance the caperings of the four plush poppets so well. Despite the festive theme, this needn't be a Christmas-only video; the whole world is wondrous for the Teletubbies' pre-school audience, so the occasion is perfectly presented as a part of that, no more and no less. Reviewer: Roger Thomas

For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is. The full title is "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands" and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful James and the Giant Peach), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." --Jim Emerson

This is a newly released (27.10.03)  animated adaptation of the classic tale by Charles Dickens, featuring the voices of Kate Winslett and Simon Callow.  The true spirit of Christmas is put to the test when Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by Christmas Past, Present and Future. What else can you say about this wonderful stor