'Fred Claus' (PG): Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti give cheery performances in "Fred Claus," a sibling-rivalry-flavored Christmas comedy that earns its stripes with a nice mix of heart and humor.

Vaughn stars as Fred Claus, a down-on-his luck repo man who has always lived in the shadow of his younger brother, Nick (Giamatti), aka Santa Claus. Needing cash for his next big scheme with no one else to go to, Fred agrees to see his estranged brother at the North Pole to secure the money.

Paul Giamatti Interview Holiday Movie Section

But Nick isn't willing to be a saint for his older brother without a catch: Fred has to take a job at his brother's toy factory. But as a 6-foot-5-inch man among a world of elves, Fred doesn't exactly fit into place and throws off the timing in the clockwork operation. Complicating matters is a stingy efficiency expert, Clyde Northcut (Kevin Spacey), who's pushing to shut Santa's operation down since he's unable to keep up with the world's toy demands.

Vaughn brings bristling energy to the title character in "Fred Claus," as he shifts the fast-talking, wise-cracking persona that made him a riot in "The Wedding Crashers" into overdrive. The great thing is, it's hardly a one-note performance. As the situation turns serious in "Fred Claus," Vaughn shows that he's capable of conveying compassion, too.

Giamatti brings his usual worldliness to Nick, as he plays Santa as a regular guy who just happens to be a CEO of the world's largest wish factory. He's also totally believable as a man who's not afraid to admit he has flaws when it comes to understanding the hurt feelings of his jealous older brother.

Spacey delivers, too, as a pencil-pushing auditor with an agenda, and like Vaughn and Giamatti, is able to subtly show that he's far more to his character than meets the eye. The three leads are given a lot more to work with than the impressive supporting cast, which includes Kathy Bates, Miranda Richardson, Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz.

While "Fred Claus" inevitably suffers from some predictability, director David Dobkin manages to steer the movie into meaningful territory with a poignant final act. Predictability isn't always a bad thing, since in this case it provides the sort of goofy comedy that kids love. The bonus here, is, that there are also some heartfelt holiday lessons for them to absorb as well.

While such effects as flying reindeer deliver big as expected in "Fred Claus," perhaps it's the way that the filmmakers "hobbitized" such actors as John Michael Higgins ("Best in Show") and rap star Ludacris into elf-sized characters that comes off as "Fred Claus'" most impressive feat. The shots, especially when merged with the towering Vaughn, are simply jaw-dropping. It'll have you asking, "Ho-ho-how did they do that?"

DVD Features: Commentary by Dobkin, deleted scenes and more. (Warner Home Video)

Also New

'Shrek the Halls' (Not Rated): After making big green on the three "Shrek" movies, it only made sense for DreamWorks Animation to add some red into the mix and produce a holiday television special.

A year after it first aired, the aptly titled "Shrek the Halls" debuts on DVD, in a 22-minute film short (no commercials, remember) that measures up to its theatrical predecessors. It's a quick, fun romp that features all of the familiar animated characters (and voice actors), from Mike Myers (Shrek) and Eddie Murphy (Donkey), to Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona) and Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots).

Set mostly during wintertime in Shrek's swamp, "Shrek the Halls" follows the ogre's last-minute Christmas preparations, which comes hastily because of his complete lack of interest in the holiday season. Getting a "Christmas For Village Idiots" guide, Shrek completes his crash course in time, only to have the festivities crashed by Donkey, Gingy (aka the Gingerbread Man) and the rest of his fractured-fairly tale

"Shrek the Halls" takes off from where "Shrek the Third" ended, which means there's a lot more of the adorable and hilarious baby ogre triplets. And like the feature films, "Shrek the Halls" has more of pop music and pop culture references, which thankfully aren't overused.

Murphy's Donkey, per usual, provides the best laughs of the show, while Banderas delivers laughs and charms as the playfully smooth Puss in Boots. But not to be outdone, Gingy (Conrad Vernon) also shares an amusing tale of almost being eaten by Santa Claus.

However, there are more than laughs to "Shrek the Halls." Once a bit of poignancy is added about the true meaning of Christmas to the film, "Shrek the Halls" transforms from just another lavishly decorated comedy to a DVD that should earn its spot on your shelf of holiday favorites.

DVD Features: Given the short length of the special, the filmmakers wisely include a fair amount of bonus features. Among them are the sing-along bonuses "The 12 Days of Christmas" and "Deck the Halls," as well as the "DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox" -- all of which incorporate characters and scenes from the "Shrek" movies as well as "Madagascar," "Flushed Away" and "Bee Movie." Also included is "Gingy's Dunking Game." (DreamWorks/Paramount Home Entertainment)

'The Polar Express 3-D' (G): A perennial holiday favorite since its theatrical run four years ago, "The Polar Express" picks up steam with another DVD release, but this time in the 3-D format.

The film only appeared in its 3-D during IMAX theatrical run in 2004 and in subsequent holiday season re-releases on the large format screen. The three-dimensional results were remarkable at the time -- but not eye-popping spectacular -- and that's just about what you'll get with the 3-D version of the film on DVD, if not less.

Based on Chris Van Allsburg's classic children's book, "The Polar Express" reunites "Forrest Gump" visionaries Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, who once again utilize groundbreaking technology.

This time it's to tell the story about a boy on the verge of losing his belief in Christmas who is suddenly swept up on a magical train ride to the North Pole. Through the method, called performance-capture, actors including Hanks (in the role of The Conductor and five others), Nona Gaye and Hanks' "Bosom" buddy Peter Scolari are captured digitally and shrunk to the size of children.

The technology also creates the effect that the illustrations are similar to those in Van Allsburg's book. It projects a surrealistic atmosphere, but not to the point where you emotionally disconnect with the characters.

Like most 3-D releases on DVD, "The Polar Express" suffers from an image problem. The three-dimensional-enhanced images don't blend as seamlessly as they should at times, leaving the viewer with an occasional double-vision effect. Sitting directly in front of the television and making sure that the cardboard, blue and red-lensed glasses are positioned properly, will help alleviate any issues.

While the 3-D effects are easy to spot while watching the new "The Polar Express" DVD, they rarely feature the sort of reach-out-and-grab effects that you get with another new 3-D DVD release, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (which has its own image issues).

But while "Journey" is dependent on those effects to make the movie worth watching, "The Polar Express" doesn't need them. It's just as entertaining as a 2-D film, which is included in the 3-D release package as a separate disc.

DVD Features: A digital copy is available for download on the 2-D DVD version. Neither disc has any other bonus features apart from the standard language options and trailers. (Warner Home Video)