WITCH’S NIGHT OUT (1978): It’s a Spooky surprise when a witch’s magic wand falls into the wrong hands in this nostalgic Halloween special! When a witch hears of a party being held at her haunted mansion , she decides to bring on the fun by showing off her magical tricks and turning the kids Small and Tender into whatever they want to be for Halloween. However, when her wand disappears, Anytown is turned upside down!

THE GIFT OF WINTER (1974): Welcome to “Anytown” where the lands become freezing, bleak and awful every winter. The people rise up in protest to state an exhausting march through the sub-zero wilderness to the Ministry of Winter and confront Winter himself, demanding a change. These unlikely rebels with their heartfelt cause are: Mayor Goodly, Nicely , Bazooey, Rotten, Malicious and two spunky kids named Small and Tender who save the entire project by persuading the all powerful, icy hearted Winter to bestow his great gift upon the world. It’s what makes the season full of wonderment, The Gift of Winter.

For thoughts on Witch’s Night Out + The Gift of Winter, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Witch’s Night Out and The Gift of Winter comes to DVD with a 480p transfer that is pleasing in lieu of an HD option. We do not have any details about the source, but Witch’s Night Out appears to have been restored at some point as it looks incredible. We would even say it could be mistaken for a Blu-Ray at points. There are still nicks and specks lingering throughout, but we would rather have some marks present than the natural character of the source smoothed over. The Gift of Winter is not in as good of shape with its more prominent wear and tear. Nevertheless, it still looks pleasant enough.

The animation style is one of the unique aspects of these specials, and the pulsating line detail leads to some minor blurring along the edges. These discs lack the definition that a Blu-Ray would provide, but it does avoid an abundance of digital anomalies such as overwhelming artifacts and digital noise. They are teeming with vivid colors throughout most of the run, but they cannot quite match the vividness an HD presentation affords. The discs could use deeper black levels as the image is not completely free of crush. We hope this sells well enough for a proper Blu-Ray release, but this DVD set gets the job done well enough to satisfy.

Audio Quality

This release boasts a Dolby Digital 2.0 track that achieves what it can within the sonic limitations. Dialogue is rendered clearly with no issues of clipping during more bustling moments. The featured channels have a fair amount of weight during the chaos of certain outlandish situations, but this is not a show known for being an action showcase. The music is showcased with a pleasing fidelity and clarity. MVD Entertainment has done a fine job with this audio track considering what is possible on the format. There are no subtitles provided.

Special Features

Witch’s Night Out

- Partners In Crime: A six-minute conversation between Jimmy Cross and Jonathan Rogers in which they discuss first meeting one another, forming their partnership, their work together, and more.

- A Moment In Time: A nearly 19-minute conversation between Jonathan Rogers and Jean Rankin in which they reflect on their work, thoughts on the characters, the animation style, how they created sound effects, thoughts on “adult animation”, and more.

The Gift of Winter

- The Development of Winter: A three-minute piece from 2014 in which Jean Rankin shows off early concept art from the film.

Final Thoughts

Witch’s Night Out and The Gift of Winter are two weird and wonderful animated gems that would likely feel like a fever dream of the past if releases like this one did not keep the memory alive. The animation style is unconcerned with stylistic perfection, allowing the animators to push boundaries in more ways than one. Witch’s Night Out is the standout of these two works, but both are well worth your time if you like something with a bit of edge to it. MVD Entertainment has provided a DVD with an agreeable A/V presentation that should please fans along with some special features. Recommended

Witch’s Night Out + The Gift of Winter is currently available to purchase on DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.

Disclaimer: MVD Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.