12 Days of Christmas: Merry Winter Wish DVD: US vs. UK

For the next three days, I'll be reviewing three winter/Christmas-themed Thomas and Friends CGI DVD releases. However, I'll be comparing the US DVDs to their UK counterparts and see which of them is better.

OPINIONS IN THIS BLOG ARE SOLELY MY OWN; THEY DON'T REFLECT ON THOSE BY THE THOMAS FANDOM ON WHOLE

Merry Winter Wish had it's initial release roughly a month after Misty Island Rescue came out, and roughly on the same week that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic began airing on the Hub Network. These four episodes were part of season 14 which began airing in the UK at the same time. In the UK, the release was intended for October 31, 2011 (odd because the episodes are Christmas-themed and not Halloween-themed), but because of Hilary Fortnam calling Hit Entertainment out for the use of Winter Holiday and not Christmas (I'll deal with it on the 21st), the release was held back for a year to redub the lines. Had it been worth the wait?

Merry Winter Wish

Released October 12, 2010 (US)/October 29, 2012 (UK)

Directed by Greg Tiernan

Episodes Written by Miranda Larson, Jessica Sandys Clarke, and Sharon Miller

Episodes Featured (US/UK)

Merry Winter Wish

Thomas and the Snowman Party

Henry's Magic Box

Merry Misty Island

Episodes Featured (UK Only)

Let it Snow

Surprise, Surprise

Sadly, no. The season 14 winter-themed episodes were very poor to start with, and the fact the DVDs at the time had only four episodes doesn't help much. Okay, both countries got more episodes per DVD, but as for this DVD, Merry Winter Wish was simply dull, Henry's Magic Box was no better, and Thomas and the Snowman Party was the worst bringing out the wrong messages. The only bearable episode on the DVD was Merry Misty Island, but mostly for Ferdinand's "tree".

For the UK, they got Let it Snow and Surprise, Surprise, both were from season 15, and were originally on Merry Christmas, Thomas!, which I'll cover tomorrow. The latter episode is not so much my favorite winter episode of the Nitrogen Era, but it's the least bad along with Merry Misty Island. For the record, I know international versions have one or two extra episodes, but I'm only focusing on the US and the UK versions, so keep that in mind.

In the United States, Mr. Perkins decorates the Knapford Station engine drivers' common room for Christmas (I refuse to refer it as Winter Holiday), and as he does so, he sings with some uncredited extras as carolers, mixes up some presents, and takes over for Mr. Arkwright as Santa Claus. This is left out in the UK edition, which is confusing; if they could redub some lines, then why couldn't they refilm the segment from ground up? Oh yeah, time constraints; I understand.

For the special features, the US only gets the Sir Topham Hatt's Frosty Friend game. Moving onto the UK, their Guess Who puzzle is Henry, the Down at the Station segment is about coal, and the bonus song is All You Need are Friends.

Which version would I buy?

Sad to say this, but both actually lose. The UK release does have more episodes, but it doesn't excuse the poor quality of the episodes. The US fares worse due to being in full-screen, unless you buy it on digital download. For the US, I would recommend buying Ultimate Christmas to both versions. Yes, the model-era DVD was two previously-released DVDs mashed together, but at least it has quality stories (most of them). For the UK, buy The Completer 14th Series instead; it's cheaper than buying five DVDs with four episodes each on them.

US DVD Rating:

2/10

UK DVD Rating:

2.5/10

Tomorrow: Merry Christmas, Thomas! - US vs. UK