Wal-Mart has teamed with Madison Road Entertainment to produce a series of animated holiday specials for the direct-to-DVD market, according to Daily Variety. The first title, Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen, is an hour-long stop-motion production being animated by Bix Pix Ent.

Based in Chicago, Bix Pix is currently in Los Angeles shooting Holidaze and has completed approximately 11 minutes. The special will introduce family audiences to Rusty the Reindeer, who doesn’t quite get the meaning of Christmas. Wal-Mart and Madison Road plan to follow the project with three additional titles starring Rusty.

Slated to arrive at retail in early November, Holidaze follows in a strong tradition of stop-motion holiday specials that includes Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which remains a ratings powerhouse after fifty years. Chiodo Bros. Studio in Burbank, Calif. plans to add to that heritage as well. Brothers Stephen, Charlie and Edward Chiodo recently published a children’s book titled Alien X-mas, which they plan to adapt as a stop-motion holiday feature.

Bix Pix previously tackled the Yule Tide theme with a satirical animated comedy short titled Christmastime for the Jews, which aired during the last season of Saturday Night Live. Headed by Kelly Bixler, the studio also animated an adaptation of Dorothea Warren Fox’s classic book, Miss Twigley’s Tree, which is available on home video. Other projects on the current production slate include two TV shows and three sequels to its award-winning short, Red Planet Blues, which will premiere later this year. More information is available at www.bixpix.com.