Christmas Specials/Episodes

Just watched The Snowman last night. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it's a shame it's not very well known in the US.

edited 1st Dec '17 9:48:42 AM by megaeliz

I'm an American and I have that movie on VHS. It's really good.

I remember watching Annabelle's Wish on tv once or twice as a kid. I haven't seen it in years so maybe it's melodramatic garbage, but I remember it being so sad and cute. It's a shame it doesn't get aired anymore.

How could I have forgotten this one?

Oh, yes, and though it technically shouldn't count, here's one I saw not too long ago. Sanrio's obscure stopmotion film, Nutcracker Fantasy, perhaps the best film based on Hoffmann's tale ever; as good as anything Rankin Bass ever did:

edited 10th Dec '17 6:27:55 PM by Aldo930

I remember watching that when I was a kid. :)

I remember my grandparents showed me The Snowman once when I was younger. That song as they're all flying still gets stuck in my head sometimes, and that ending...

And I remember Annabelle's Wish, too. Heck, I still have it recorded on a VHS from when it first aired on TV. I watched it again fairly recently, and I think it still holds up okay IMO.

Emmet Otters Jugband Christmas FTW.

does any one remember the TV show the secret world of santa claus it was always on TV in Canada.

Is it perhaps too early to revive this thread?

If we’re talking about the more modern Christmas specials, I have a certain fondness for Mickey Mouse (2013) Christmas Special. It gleefully skewers every Christmas cliché and instead embraces a more grotesque and out there, Loony Toons-esque style of humor, that you rarely see from Disney.

I mean, just look at this! (Sorry I wasn’t able to find a better recording.) Everything about this is absolutely outrageous, and incredibly Non-Disney-like.

Edited by megaeliz on Nov 23rd 2018 at 11:41:44 AM

Of interest to this thread:

AMC will be showing the Rankin Bass The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus tomorrow at noon.

This is probably the first time it’s been on in a while so catch it if you can.

I have a thing for obscure and forgotten Christmas specials and cartoons. To this day, I still love the Rankin-Bass Rudolph special. But when it comes to lesser-known ones. I will have to go with the 1944/1948 cartoon "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" by Max Fleischer which adapted the original story and even pre-dated the song itself. I really love how expressive the reindeer are in this cartoon. Especially on Rudolph, plus it's the very first animated adaptation of Rudolph.

As for a really obscure adaptation, I would have to go with "Rudolph's Lessons for Life" from 1996. For those that never heard of it. It's a direct-to-video adaptation of the original story that was exclusively sold at Montgomery Ward Department stores during the Christmas season. The video is extremely rare to find but only a couple video we're uploaded to youtube of that version.

Part one of this video shows an opening narration in live-action and showed behind the scenes footage for a brief moment. Part 2 the rest of the cartoon.

The Fleischer cartoon came before the song itself in fact, which the 1948 rerelease tacked on afterwards.

Apparently Disney even liked the short enough to use it in some of their Christmas VHS, despite the project not even being connected to them. (Though I admit I can't look at the short's take on Rudolph without Bambi immediately springing to mind.)

EDIT: I've only just remembered that I linked to the short just on the last page (though the video's taken down, strange because it's public domain). Well in fairness it has been a year.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 2nd 2018 at 12:56:28 PM

I also love how "Rudolph's Lessons For Life" kept the rhyming that was part of the original story mainly with the character dialogue.

Here's an obscure special: Ralph Bakshi's Christmas In Tattertown, produced for Nickelodeon in 1989.

And, speaking of Nick, how many of you know that starting next week the Splat will be showing classic Nick Christmas specials? They'll show the Rugrats, Rockos Modern Life, Hey Arnold and Cat Dog Xmas specials - plus both Ren And Stimpy specials. (Unfortunately, no Doug.)

I never knew about these changes, but it's unsurprising the special has been edited over time.

I feel bad that I don't like the Rankin/Bass special, or any Rankin/Bass special. I first watched their adaptation of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in my teens and it left me with a bad impression. If I had watched it as a little kid, I probably would like it, but it was my third adaptation of Rudolph: I saw the 1998 film and Fleischer short first. Those are my preferred versions. I just don't care about the Misfits plot, I found the characters (especially Santa and Rudolph's father) to be unlikable in the Rankin/Bass special, and Clarice feels like a two-bit Zoey even though she's the original.

I do however appreciate the animation of Rankin/Bass specials. The stories don't click with me but good stop-motion is always precious to watch.

Edited by Pichu-kun on Dec 23rd 2018 at 5:33:49 AM

Prep and Landing has a really well done concept and storyline.

The whole story of the Rankin Bass special came off as So Bad, It's Good for me. It's barely sensical and the cast that set off Rudolph's arc are one dimensionally unlikeable, but it's full of whimsy and the rest of the cast consists of funny original characters. Apparently the people who made it were at least invested enough to try and correct some of the most egregious bits of bad writing like the forgotten toys in later airings.

It's a cute special, but I admit aside from the animation, I'm not sure how it ended up so much more iconic than the other adaptations.

I just see Bambi and Faline with Rudolph and Clarice though.

Edited by Psi001 on Dec 20th 2018 at 3:36:30 PM

I’d say the best Rankin/Bass special is Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.

I also have a fondness for The Night Before Christmas, and The Year Without a Santa Claus gave the world the unforgettable Miser Brothers.

Edited by megaeliz on Dec 21st 2018 at 9:20:06 AM

It's not technically a Christmas special, but does anyone else know about the 1934 Jack Frost cartoon by Ub Iwerks? I remember seeing it years ago on a DVD with a bunch of other public domain Christmas shorts (there was one with Hansel and Gretel I think and another where a bunch of little kids from around the world help Santa or something). It's available on You Tube if you aren't aware of it.

Those are the best Rankin Bass specials, no doubt about it. Don't forget the underseen The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus, the last special they produced, which combines the high-fantasy feel of their early 80s theatrical films with their regular old Christmas specials.

On another note, anyone have any ideas on what they consider to be underrated Christmas specials?

Edited by Aldo930 on Dec 23rd 2018 at 5:22:09 AM

I always assumed they're iconic simply because they're on every year and have been so since the 1960s. It has less to do with actual quality and more to do with childhood nostalgia and tradition.

However, compared to other Christmas specials like How A Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas, I can't really see the charm in watching the Rankin-Bass specials yearly. The 1948 short is much shorter and cuter. It's a shame it doesn't get played much, if ever.

Edited by Pichu-kun on Dec 23rd 2018 at 4:12:34 AM

I kinda like you mean Xmas stories more. If done well they can add a lot of world building.

I have a soft spot for Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Oddly the most well written if the stop motion specials.

Like I said, it's one of Rankin-Bass's best because everything comes together in that one. The songs are all great, Paul Coker's character designs never looked better, the voice work is top-notch (no one could ever beat Paul Frees as the Burgermeister Meisterburger)...