"Santa, say the word and X will destroy it."
The Christmas Light is a very obscure 1995 Direct-to-Video Christmas special produced by Deos Video Inc. and distributed on home video by Simitar Entertainment.
Billing itself as the first-ever CGI animated Christmas movie, the movie details what happens after a mishap with a broken toy-making machine at Santa's workshop turns an Insufferable Genius elf named Burton Lemon into an evil magic snowman bent on destroying Christmas. Santa, another elf named Isaac, and a girl named Jennifer join forces to go after him in Isaac's fancy new rocket sleigh Sleigh 2.0 and save Christmas. Will they succeed in saving Christmas (and possibly Burton as well)?
The movie was followed by a sequel in 1997 called The Christmas Brigade. Having formed an alliance of heroes dedicated to protecting Christmas, Santa and the others continue to spread Christmas cheer, celebrate the season with friends and family, and butt heads with the evil eccentric Dr. D. This video was a feature-length film rather than the 22-minute movie that Light was.
The Christmas Light provides examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Burton Lemon is stated to be very unpopular with the other elves early on, and often just called "The Lemon" by them. Even Santa doesn't seem to really care about him.
- Big Bad: The Snowman/Burton.
- Blatant Lies: Meta example: The VHS boxart has a logo saying "If you liked Toy Story, you'll love The Christmas Light!". The Christmas Light was released before Toy Story was even in theaters.
- Cool Big Sis: Jennifer seems to be this toward her little brother from what little interaction between the two that we are shown.
- Dull Surprise: Santa and Isaac's voice actors sound downright bored.
- The Heart: Jennifer most of the time. She prevents Santa and Isaac from destroying Burton when the chance arises and believes that there is still good in him.
- Heel–Face Turn: Burton turns good (somehow) at the end of Light.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Jennifer is convinced there is still good in Snowman Burton, and has a singing duet with him about how there is still the "light" inside him.
- I'm Melting!: The Snowman melts away after feeling the Christmas Light, reforming as Burton soon after.
- Informed Flaw: We're not told why exactly everybody dislikes Burton. He seems to have a bit of an ego about himself, but the worst thing he's ever shown doing is being somewhat rude to people we're told regularly mock him behind his back.
- Insufferable Genius: Burton starts out this way. He gets better.
- Jerkass: Burton's the most obvious case (in Light, anyway), but even Santa and Isaac aren't exactly saints themselves, bullying Burton and actively trying to put him down after his transformation into a snowman (only being stopped by Jennifer).
- Literally Shattered Lives: When Burton pops out of his toy-making machine now as an ice statue, Isaac touches him and Burton suddenly breaks into a thousand pieces.
- Made of Explodium: A toy train created by Burton's toy machine in Light spontaneously combusts after being deposited out of the machine.
- Manchild: Burton comes off like this at times, especially during his rant/Villain Song.
- Minimalist Cast: There are only five characters in the story: Santa, Isaac, Burton, Jennifer, and Jennifer's brother.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: Jennifer. She's even still wearing them in Brigade despite having no real reason to at that point.
- Reused Character Design: Isaac and Burton have basically the same design, just with various cosmetic differences. The models of Jennifer and her little brother are also reused for different characters in Brigade.
- Rival Turned Evil: Burton is implied to be a rival to Isaac and he goes from (supposedly) unpleasant to outright malevolent after being transformed into a snowman.
- Snowlems: Light sees Burton somehow get turned into a living snowman after he falls into his toy-making machine. He's an overlap between Versions II and III.
- Taken for Granite: Burton's toy machine inexplicably turns Burton into an ice statue when he falls into it. He shatters to pieces (and reforms as the snowman villain) when Isaac touches him.
- Villain Song: Burton "sings" about how he will make others regret for not respecting his genius, before he falls into the machine. You only know he is "singing" because what he says kinda rhymes, and there is dark ominous music going along with it. It is almost Spoken Word in Music.
- You Fool!: Said verbatim by Burton.
The sequel The Christmas Brigade provides examples of:
- Anti-Climax: After a long drawn out chase around the North Pole, the heroes freeze Dr. D's airship with a freeze-ray and the story comes to a rather abrupt end, with Santa briefly summarizing what happened afterward.
- Art Evolution: This movie features colored lighting, something the original film doesn't have.
- Big Bad: Dr. D, who intends to steal all the things that are important to the people of Earth by shrinking them, so he can build a "Wonders of the World" collection.
- Black Comedy: The beetles in Brigade have an entire song about how they only live 21 days before expiring.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Isaac by Dr. D in Brigade.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Dr. D freely admits to living for making people miserable instead of happy like the Brigade does.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Jennifer's little brother Jeffrey completely vanishes in Brigade with no explanation. Making it more glaring is that Jennifer now instead has a sister named Amy and Jeffrey's character design was reused for several randos on the Brigade.
- Department of Redundancy Department: "Doctor D is the name, and I'm Doctor D!"
- Flanderization: Isaac seems far more obsessed with "practicality" and being profitable than he was in the first movie.
- Hurricane of Puns: Lots of puns are thrown around during Brigade. Burton seems to favor ones relating to hamburgers.
- Monumental Theft: Brigade has Dr. D try to steal the world's landmarks by shrinking them down so he can sell them as trinkets.
- Motor Mouth: The lead beetle talks entirely too much and even she seems to know it.
- Remember the New Guy?: Jennifer's twin sister Amy appears in this movie, but there wasn't any indication she existed in its predecessor.
- Shrink Ray: Both Isaac and Dr. D have their own in Brigade, with both seeing wide use over the main plot. Burton, in particular, spends much of it the size of a Cabbage Patch Kid after Isaac tests his out. Later, Dr. D and the brainwashed Isaac ambush Santa and shrink him to the size of a bug.
- Spinning Paper: As Burton imagines the chaos that could ensue from Santa being missing, two newspapers reading "Where's Santa?!" and "No Christmas This Year!" are shown on the screen (along with unrelated quotes purportedly from Isaac and Jennifer).
- Utility Belt: All Christmas Brigade members sans Santa have one that enable the wearer to do anything from...er, phasing through solid objects and walls to teleporting to shrinking objects (or people!).
- Whole Episode Flashback: The second act of Brigade is mostly dedicated to a retelling of Light with Santa and Burton narrating at different points.
