History Main / TwasTheNightBeforeChristmas

* EarWorm: Applies to most of the musical numbers, but especially [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kRt1gbUXJg "Even a Miracle Needs A Hand"]].

* UnfortunateImplications: Santa Claus comes off as passive-aggressive and a believer in DisproportionateRetribution, while the song "Give Your Heart a Try" has a definite DumbIsGood[=/=]ScienceIsBad vibe.

* HaveAGayOldTime: ABC Family removed the "Give Your Heart a Try" number for having the word "gay" in it when it re-aired the special.

2) A 1974 animated ChristmasSpecial from RankinBassProductions starts when the town of Junctionville has all of its letters returned from Santa Claus -- because a letter proclaiming Santa and his reindeer are fakes has appeared in the local paper and offended the jolly old elf. Father Mouse (George Gobel) investigates, and realizes his know-it-all son Albert has written the letter. Meanwhile, clockmaker Joshua Trundle (Joel Gray) tries to makes a singing clock in hopes of bringing Santa back. Things go from bad to worse when the clock publicly malfunctions -- but in the end, with the help of a HeelFaceTurn on Albert's part, a happy Christmas ensues. Unlike most R/B productions, this featured 2D animation, rather than the usual StopMotion puppet animation (called "Animagic").

* TropeCodifier: as stated above this little poem etched in stone a lot of the core image we have of SantaClaus

2) A 1974 animated ChristmasSpecial from RankinBassProductions starts when the town of Junctionville has all of its letters returned from Santa Claus -- because a letter proclaiming Santa and his reindeer are fakes has appeared in the local paper and offended the jolly old elf. Father Mouse (George Gobel) investigates, and realizes his know-it-all son Albert has written the letter. Meanwhile, clockmaker Joshua Trundle (Joel Gray) tries to makes a singing clock in hopes of bringing Santa back. Things go from bad to worse when the clock publicly malfunctions -- but in the end, with the help of a HeelFaceTurn on Albert's part, a happy Christmas ensues. Unlike most R/B productions, this featured 2D animation, rather than the usual StopMotion puppet {{animation}} (called "Animagic").

* BeamMeUpScotty: "On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!" Only it isn't--the original poem retained the ''Dutch'' names ''Donder'' and ''Blixen'', as was suitable to the old Dutch settlers of New York who introduced [[strike:Sinterklaas]] Santa Claus to America. Later re-printings RetConned the names into their more familiar German forms.
** Also is the phrase "[[strike:Merry]] Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

2) A 1974 {{animated}} ChristmasSpecial from RankinBassProductions starts when the town of Junctionville has all of its letters returned from Santa Claus -- because a letter proclaiming Santa and his reindeer are fakes has appeared in the local paper and offended the jolly old elf. Father Mouse (George Gobel) investigates, and realizes his know-it-all son Albert has written the letter. Meanwhile, clockmaker Joshua Trundle (Joel Gray) tries to makes a singing clock in hopes of bringing Santa back. Things go from bad to worse when the clock publicly malfunctions -- but in the end, with the help of a HeelFaceTurn on Albert's part, a happy Christmas ensues. Unlike most R/B productions, this featured 2D animation, rather than the usual StopMotion puppet {{animation}} (called "Animagic").

1) An 1823 poem by Clement Clarke Moore about a visit from [[SantaClaus St. Nick]]. Originally titled and also known as "A Visit from St. Nicholas".

* [[{{Ptitle2me3m8d0}} Don't Touch It, You Idiot!]]: Really, Albert's fascination with the model should have been a warning to Father Mouse to keep him away from the real clock.

* TheKingOfTown: The Mayor has shades of this.

'''The poem contains the following tropes:'''

!!This special contains:

* FridgeLogic: So the nicest man in the world is going to punish an entire town based on one letter to the editor? How did he even have time to read their newspaper?
** Know-it-all Albert declares that Santa isn't real...in a world where he not only DOES exist, but there's ''physical evidence'' that Santa exists, and he makes no secret of it. Albert was the only one who ''was'' acting on blind faith!
*** Father Mouse calls the North Pole on the '''phone''' to confirm why Santa is skipping Junctionville.
** For that matter, what exactly was the point of sending the letter to the editor of the local paper? It's never explained what Albert and his friends were trying to accomplish, apart from showing off their vocabularies.

**** Since the special looks as if it were set some time in the past, [[FridgeBrilliance maybe]] this incident is what led him to start making his "naughty or nice" lists to prevent this in the future...

* [[HeyItsThatVoice Hey, It's That Voice!]]: The mayor was voiced by John [=McGiver=], a character actor who specialized in playing "stuffed shirt" roles, perhaps most familiar as the Tiffany's salesman in ''[[BreakfastAtTiffanys BreakfastAtTiffany's]]''.

** Well, the special says that the offending letter was written by Albert ''and his friends'', who then signed the letter "All of Us", the implication being that Santa interpreted "All of Us" as not meaning "Albert and his Know-It-All Friends" but "The entire population of Junctionville, U.S.A."

**** Since the special looks set some time in the past, maybe this incident is what led him to start making his "naughty or nice" lists to prevent this in the future...

* HeyItsThatVoice: The mayor was voiced by John [=McGiver=], a character actor who specialized in playing "stuffed shirt" roles, perhaps most familiar as the Tiffany's salesman in ''BreakfastAtTiffanys''.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: All the mail is addressed to the residents of "Junctionville, U.S.A."

** Well, the special says that the offending letter was written by Albert ''and his friends'', who then signed the letter "All of Us", the implication being that Santa interpreted "All of Us" as not meaning "Albert and is Know-It-All Friends" but "The entire population of Junctionville, U.S.A."

** Well, the special says that the offending letter was written by Albert ''and his friends'', who then signed the letter "All of Us", the implication being that Santa interpreted "All of Us" as not meaning "Albert and is Know-It-All Friends" but "The entire population of Junctionville, U.S.A."

* [[YesVirginia Yes, Virginia]]: There is a SantaClaus -- and he apparently believes strongly in DisproportionateRetribution.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: All the mail is addressed to the residents of "Junctionville, U.S.A."

* ChristmasSpecial: SoYeah.

* EarWorm: Applys to most of the catchy numbers, but especially [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kRt1gbUXJg "Even a Miracle Needs A Hand"]]

* HaveAGayOldTime: ABC Family removed a song for having the word gay in it.