DVDs and Blu-Rays are a thing of past, right? We have streaming services galore, so who needs those old things, cluttering up the shelf? Turns out that they can still be a great deal for families -- and the best holiday deals are coming up soon.
Just as some households are returning to landline phones for their teens (it’s a real thing), families like mine have recognized the limitations of streaming video-on-demand services. Some weekends, we’ll hook up the Blu-ray player for movie night.
For one, certain films, TV specials, and series just aren’t on Netflix or its competitors, due to complex licensing issues. Secondly, those titles that are available on streaming often change services, and I know of no family that has them all.
Because availability changes so often, it becomes easier to just have a physical copy. Notably, several of these franchises are from Universal, which distributes its films to various services rather than keeping a core library like Disney+.
Here are seven film collections—currently available on discount with Amazon Prime—that we’ve owned for a few years, and we find our kids going back to time and again.
Frequently copied but never equaled, the charming specials of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass have defined American holiday entertainment for generations. These two brilliant writer-producers pulled together music talent from Broadway and top Hollywood actors, alongside stop-motion animation teams in Tokyo. to make this creative alchemy work.
From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to Frosty the Snowman to lesser-known titles, almost none of these half-hour specials is ever streaming, due to rights issues. Even though the Blu-ray set is a few dollars more, I highly recommend it over the DVD set–because you’d much rather juggle 5 Blu-ray discs instead of 9 DVDs with your kids.
One of the best non-Disney animated features ever produced, The Land Before Time, from director Don Bluth, came about with input and support of producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. From age 4 to early grade-school, it’s an engaging coming-of-age story about dinosaur Littlefoot and a band of young dino misfits on a journey to find their families.
Many people –- including Bluth himself –- dismiss the sequels, with which Universal has run wild, producing now 13 direct-to-video movies with the same characters.
In our experience, kids love these simple stories centered on friendship and discovery. Take note: a couple of the sequels have a brief narration intro that seems to preclude any Genesis-based creation account, so some families would want to skip past that though it has no bearing on the stories.
An unmatched biblical animated masterpiece -– though this holiday season’s David is a worthy successor in theaters -– The Prince of Egypt remains a monumental achievement in cinema.
Because Hollywood-based streamers are rarely elevating Bible stories, especially outside of Easter and Christmas, this is one you really should own.
A lesser-known direct-to-video prequel of sorts, Joseph: King of Dreams, recounts another musical, Torah-based story of brotherly rivalry, redemption, and God’s power in Egypt and the Mideast.
Beyond the two DreamWorks-produced films, parents may feel they have few options to keep kids engaged with the greatest stories ever told –- from the Bible, of course.
In 1993, two college friends, Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, experimented with early computer animation software and produced a half-hour episode of goofy talking vegetables espousing Biblical values.
In its heyday in the early 2000s, a third of U.S. households with children watched VeggieTales. Even today, faith-based streamers (i.e. PureFlix, Yippee, Minno) lead with their veggie titles. But if you don’t have those services and want a selection of the best stories, this box set includes the franchise’s two feature films plus a good sampling of half-hour episodes.
Another timeless Don Bluth classic, An American Tail presents young Fievel Mousekewitz and his immigrant family traveling from Russia to become naturalized mice in early 20th-Century New York City.
Though it has a few scary moments, kids will likely remember the songs most in this bright, action-packed adventure. A sequel, Fievel Goes West, is notable for its music, humor, and the final performance of Jimmy Stewart, who plays a wise sheriff hound dog.
A short time before The Prince of Egypt began production, many of the animators worked on lesser-known drama film, Balto, which recounts the tale which inspired Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
When an Alaskan community was in peril, only a brave sled dog team could make the difficult trek through the frozen expanse to deliver medicine. Considering the dogs talk, it certainly takes some liberties.
The first film keeps kids in rapt attention, and the two sequels (much less grounded in factual events) are also worth checking out.
If you have a kindergartener or early grade-schooler, chances are your school celebrates Dr. Seuss Day every spring with red-and-white hats and maybe the Grinch showing up. It’s for good reason, as the works of Ted Seuss Geisel continue to be among the best early readers.
While most families with kids are aware of the classic Grinch holiday special (since remade into an animated film), many haven’t checked out other half-hour Seuss specials.
Seuss himself wrote the songs that bring to life his classic books The Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears A Who, among others – several of them animated by Looney Tunes legend Chuck Jones.
Image: Shane Brown© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith and culture for several media outlets. He and his family live in central Florida.
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