Last year about this time I wrote a piece on the best
Christmas films from the Golden Age of Hollywood (Golden Holiday Bestees Dec. 4, 2014). And when I say best, I of course mean my
favorite. All objective analysis of
these choices was avoided with the utmost diligence.
This year, I will grace your holiday season with my opinion
as regards the best animated television specials of Christmas. I have set a self-imposed limit of five
programs, quite arbitrarily. If your
favorite did not warrant inclusion on my list, it is either because your taste
is horrible or you are so much younger than I that our experiences do not overlap. If you don’t care for my choices, shut up and
start your own blog. Now, in the true
spirit of the season, the best animated television programs of the Christmas
Holiday:
No. 5 – A Charlie
Brown Christmas (first aired Dec. 9, 1965 – CBS) Directed by Bill
Melendez. You are Probably asking, “How
can a beloved icon like A Charlie Brown
Christmas rank so low?” Because the
main vehicle for humor in this timeless classic is pathos (look it up!). The whole plot
revolves around a kid who is sad because nobody can tell him the true meaning
of Christmas. It is all introspective
crap! Please understand me. I grew up on Charles M. Schultz’ comic
strip. It is probably the best newspaper
comic ever. If you want to laugh
yourself silly get hold of one of the retrospective volumes that contain the
strips from the first ten years. The
kids lived in a kid’s universe, dealing with the challenges of understanding their
world. Then all of a sudden (maybe it
was part of the Viet Nam syndrome) about this time, Schultz turned philosophic
and the beagle (Snoopy) became the only funny character. Still, you (or at least, I) cannot watch
this, or even hear the ubiquitous theme music, without getting a bit nostalgic
for those years between Santa Claus and gift certificates.
No. 4 – Rudolph the
Red Nosed Reindeer (first aired Dec. 6, 1964 – NBC) A stop-motion animation
(if you don’t know what that means, think Gumby)
special produced by Rankin-Bass, this tale of potential unrecognized is the
longest running Christmas special of all time, marking fifty years in
2014. We all know the song, but who
among us can name (without help) the eight tiny reindeer whose careers were
minimized by the upstart with the electric nose? What really sets this story apart from most
song-based cartoons is the introduction of characters unique to the teleplay:
Hermey the elf who wants to trade in his toy-making tools for a dentist’s
drill; Yukon Cornelius, a prospector who tutors Rudolph on the value of
self-esteem; and the Abominable Snow Monster of the North who adds absolutely
nothing to the fabric of the story but elicits laughs from children and
me. I, like most children of blue collar
parents, was forced to imagine Rudolph’s nose of red, as we were all still
sucking at the teat of the black & white Philco. Remember, “Bumbles bounce!”
No. 3 – Mister Magoo’s
Christmas Carol (first aired Dec. 18, 1962 – NBC) This was the first
animated holiday special specifically produced for television. It is a musical version of the Charles
Dickens’ Christmas tale of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Yeah, we all know the story now (there must be some reason so many
versions of this parable have been produced, like greatness) but for my
generation, this was our introduction to Victorian Era literature. And in my case it worked… caught like a fish
on a hook. I will forgo this opportunity to bore you with my opinions of
nineteenth century literature. What made it work for us baby-boomer tykes, of
course, was the talent of Mr. Jim Backus, voice of Mr. Magoo. Add to that easily memorized song lyrics like,
“La, la… la, la, la, la, laah!” and “Ringle, ringle, coins when they jingle
make such a lovely noise!” …well, it was destined to be a classic. The downside was the poor production quality
resultant of the cost of animation. But
for its role in raising our cultural I.Q., it rates a high position on my list.
No. 2 – How the Grinch
Stole Christmas! (first aired Dec. 18, 1966 – CBS) Mix authorship by Dr.
Seuss, direction by Chuck Jones (Warner Bros. animation) and narration (plus
the voice of the Grinch) by Boris Karloff; how can you lose? Well, seems you can’t. This gem from the days of hand-drawn
animation has every element of a classic.
I will not labor your emotions by repeating the plot here, ‘cause
everybody knows it from the top of Mt. Crumpit to the streets of Whoville. The best part is the Grinch’s sleigh ride
with his dog Max disguised as a reindeer; I still nearly bust a gut laughing
and I’ve been watching this thing since I was twelve years old. Now, every one, with your best voce di basso, “You’re a mean one, Mr.
Grinch…” |
| Wallace and Gromit |
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