Raymond Briggs' The Bear/The Animal Train

Rating:
Summary: Bad mistake of adding narrator to "Bear"
Review: .... I and my 2 1/2-old boy have enjoyed watching "Bear" so much in the past so I was excited to get the DVD version. However, to my disappointment, it has added narration - the VHS version did not have narration. What the narrator does is to completely take away imaginabiltiy and mind-creativity of kids who watch it over and over with different interpretation of the story each time. I would have given it only one star, but "Animal Train" was very good so I am giving the DVD three star rating. (By the way, there is nothing against the narrator, Judy Dench who happens to be one of my and my wife's favorite actors)

Rating:
Summary: Disney changed it for the worse.
Review: The Bear originally did (as stated in the Amazon editorial review information) "embrace a lost art: the wordless narrative." That is what you get when purchasing the VHS version of this wonderful short film. However, when Buena Vista Home Video (Disney) got a hold of it for the DVD they added narration and sound effects. The film suffers for these changes. I own the VHS version and have enjoyed it as an adult and with my children. I was excited to learn of a DVD version and ordered it as soon as it was available. However, I am disappointed in these changes and encourage you to purchase the VHS over the DVD.

As for The Animal Train it is pleasant enough and my 3 year old, who loves trains, has watched it repeatedly. But, it is not in the same class as The Bear (the original VHS version).

Rating:
Summary: Raymond Briggs' The Bear/ The Animal Train on DVD
Review: This Raymond Briggs' The Bear is one of the most wonderful Christmas cartoon classics of all time like The Snowman with out narration. However with the narration this totally distroys the full effect the cartoon was to have on its viewers. Who ever decided to add the narration made a grave mistake and ether does not have the imagintation of understanding story telling through music and motion like the nutcracker play, or just over looked the full artistic creativity from this enchanting short movie. Please, please someone redo this before it becomes a great loss. If this is the only copy to be made I guess it might be a little worth getting, but I do want to thank Amazon.com for trying to make what they can get a hold of possible. If the narration is removed and put back to Dvd then I will give The Bear five and a half stars.