This Christmas may go down in history as one of the most boring ever for Christmas films. With just two major film releases (Harold & Kumar plus Arthur Christmas, neither looks promising) and just a smattering of Hallmark Christmas movies on TV folks will be turning more than ever to new releases on DVD and Blu Ray. Here is what is headed our way for Blu-Rays in the fourth quarter of 2011:

8/30/11 – The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is an ingenious and inspired fable that cleverly mixes Halloween and Christmas for an eerily unexpected holiday celebration. The film brilliantly combines stop-motion animation with three-dimensional sets and superb graphics to create a stunningly original movie experience. With a Grammy® nominated soundtrack by Oscar® nominee Danny Elfman (Corpse Bride, “The Simpsons”), Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a modern holiday classic. Bored with his perennial role as Halloween Town’s frightening Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington wanders off and discovers the cheerful village of Christmas Town. Determined to shake things up in Halloween Town, he enlists the help of some mischievous trick-or-treaters to kidnap Santa Claus and takes over the job of delivering gifts to the children of the world himself. When his plan goes awry, Jack attempts to restore Santa to his rightful place. But first, he must rescue St. Nick from the clutches of the evil Oogie Boogie!

9/25/2011 – Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Best Buy Exclusive

Steve Martin and John Candy star in another 80s-era John Hughes holiday classic as two businessmen rushing out of New York City to get home for Thanksgiving. Though strangers they keep bumping into each other and unwittingly pair up in a desperate quest to get home after a snowstorm derails their travel arrangements. This movie is painful for any experienced business traveler to watch but a delight for those who love the clashing personalities of Martin and Candy, one who is obsessive-compulsive and the other is a slob. You’d have “a better chance of playing pick-up sticks with your butt cheeks” than finding a better movie to watch on Thanksgiving Eve.

10/4/2011 – Twas the Night Before Christmas

For some unexplained reason, letters to Santa Claus are being returned to the children of Junctionville. It seems some resident has angered St. Nick by calling him “a fraudulent myth!” Skeptical Albert Mouse has to be brought to his senses “and let up a little on the wonder why.” How Albert is persuaded to change his tune paves the way for Santa’s jolly return to town – and the joyous finale of the animated fable inspired by Clement Moore’s poem and produced by the merrymaking conjures of Rankin/bass studios. The voice talents of Joel grey, Tammy Grimes, John McGiver and George Gobel make this festive fable even more fun.

10/4/2011 – Frosty the Snowman

Jimmy Durante narrates this Christmas story that is based on the song of the same name. To make up for the fact that her students are in school on Christmas Eve, the local schoolteacher hires the magician Professor Hinkle to entertain the kids. Unfortunately, he’s not a very good magician. Frustrated in his attempt to pull a rabbit out of his hat, he throws it away in anger. Outside, the kids build a snowman (what to call it? Harold? Oatmeal? Frosty!), and when the hat blows onto it–Happy Birthday!–it comes to life. Professor Hinkle decides he wants the hat back so he can make money off of its newfound magical properties, but the kids want to save Frosty. When the temperature starts to rise, a new problem threatens Frosty’s existence. Karen, the leader of the children, comes up with a plan to save him: take him on a train to the North Pole, where it’s always cold. With a cameo by Santa Claus, and the promise of Frosty’s return every year, this story of life, death, and holiday cheer is glazed with the sweet frosting of hope and happiness. A true holiday classic.

10/4/2011 – The Santa Clause 3

It’s Christmas time once again and Scott Calvin juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost, who is trying to take over the big guy’s holiday. At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol. Along for the adventure are Scott’s extended family, son Charlie, ex-wife Laura Miller, her husband, Neil Miller and their daughter, Lucy who, together with head elf Curtis, foil Jack Frost’s crafty scheme to control the North Pole.

10/4/2011 – Silent Night, Zombie Night

A week before Christmas a viral outbreak turns the citizens of Los Angeles into the walking dead. On the brink of severing ties with both his wife and longtime partner, L.A.P.D. officer Frank Talbot finds himself trapped with them. As death closes in their survival is further threatened by the fact that both men love the same woman.

10/11/2011 – Scrooge

Dicken’s A Christmas Carol set as a musical, starring Albert Finney and Sir Alec Guiness (Help me, Obi Wan!), produced in 1970. Though taking a few liberties with some of the details this telling is mostly true to Dickens and years ahead of the Muppet Christmas Carol.

10/25/2011 – The Christmas Blessing

In the inspiring sequel to The Christmas Shoes, Nathan Andrews (Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother) is all grown up. As a young doctor, Nathan finds himself questioning his career choice, so he goes to his hometown to soul search and reconnect with his father. Once home, a blossoming romance with teacher Megan Sullivan (Rebecca Gayheart, Vanished) and a fast friendship with student Charlie Bennett (Angus T. Jones, Two And A Half Men) teach Nathan to live life in the moment and embrace the time he ahs with friends and family. A tender, heartwarming tale, The Christmas Blessing reminds us that life, love and family are gifts to be cherished.

10/25/2011 – The Christmas Shoes

After 10-year-old Nathan Andrews learns that this will be his mother’s (Kimberly Williams, Father of the Bride) last Christmas, he decides to buy her a special gift. As Nathan sets out on his quest, fate puts him in the path of Robert Layton (Golden Globe Nominee Rob Lowe, “The West Wing”), an overworked attorney who has forgotten to take time for his family. It’s the boy’s love for his mother that inspires Robert to reconnect with what’s truly important in his life. Inspired by the #1 hit song and best-selling book, The Christmas Shoes show that small miracles happen every day – you just have to be willing to see them.

10/25/2011 – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Five-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Henry Winkler stars in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the story of what happens when you open your heart to the power of Christmas. Disenchanted single mom Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) is a Scroogettewhen it comes to anything Christmas. In fact, even her six-year-old son, Brian, is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. But when her Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) visits and brings a fellow passenger from his flight named Morgan Derby (Warren Christie), Jennifer’s dubious heart awakens to the possibility that perhaps Christmas really does hold miracles. It’s uplifting and laugh-packed and a story that will inspire the whole family to believe.

10/25/2011 – Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Young Pietari lives with his stern reindeer-herding father Rauno in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, an enormous excavation at a nearby mountain disturbs the locals and captures Pietari’s curiosity. When Rauno’s reindeer herd is mysteriously slain and the children in town go missing. Pietari realizes that the dig has unearthed the evil Santa Claus of local lore – who no one wants coming to town. Pietari’s father rounds up a posse and captures the nightmarish creature in an attempt to sell him to the misguided leader sponsoring the dig. But Santa’s freakish elves will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader, and what ensues is a fantastically bizarre holiday adventure testing the bond of father and son and pitting man against mythology.

11.22.2011 – Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

This direct-to-video sequel to “Beauty and the Beast” takes place in the middle of the original animated film, while Belle is still a prisoner in the castle. She is determined to celebrate Christmas with traditional holiday cheer, a prospect that does not appeal to the Beast.

Undetermined Release Date – The Muppet Christmas Carol

Academy Award® winner Michael Caine gives a performance that’s anything but “Bah, humbug!” as greedy, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge. One fateful Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Together with kind, humble Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) and his family, the Spirits open Scrooge’s eyes – and his heart – to the true meaning of Christmas.