December 7, 2023

Dec. 7 – Fox’s Peter Pan & the Pirates – “Hook’s Christmas”

By Joe
Original air date October 29, 1990.

When two billion dollar organizations butt heads, it can be hard to know who to root for. Take Disney, somewhat of an “evil” overlord when it comes to content, which seemingly owns everything these days and likes to throw its weight around when it comes to copyright claims. And then there’s Fox, owned by the legitimately evil Rupert Murdoch, which bares responsibility for a lot of the political discourse and genuine cesspool that is right-wing media. Back in the late 80s though, perceptions were a little different. Disney had been scorned by years of bad box office returns on its animation only recently dusting itself off with the likes of The Little Mermaid. And Fox, that was the plucky, underdog, network trying to compete in an arena that was seemingly built only for three, but they were determined to make it one built for four! Few gave them a chance, but the Fox network carved out a niche for itself by targeting a younger demographic than the likes of CBS and NBC and they weren’t afraid to try new things or get a little blue.

We know today that Fox was pretty successful in creating a fourth major network for broadcast television. A lot of that success is attributed to The Simpsons and the teen dramas that followed like Beverly Hills 90210 and Fox Sports, which is still a titan in the sports world thanks to its contracts with the NFL and Major League Baseball. I would argue another important part of the rise of Fox was cornering the younger demographic via the Fox Kids Network. In some respects, it’s said the Fox Kids brand was born out of Disney pulling back DuckTales, a popular show for Fox affiliates to carry, in order to sell its new syndicated Disney Afternoon programming block. Rather than shell out a bunch of money to Disney for the right to air its shows, Fox went out and sought other programs. Some it would simply license, others it would fund, and the Fox Kids Network would eventually become the must see block of programming in the kid world every Saturday morning and week day afternoon. Why would I, an adolescent boy, want to spend my afternoons with the cutesy Disney characters when I could be watching Batman?! Fox definitely got my eyeballs and I basically only tuned to what Disney had to offer if Fox had nothing on which made it hard to keep up with shows like Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles, shows I admittedly liked, but not always enough to ignore what Fox was showing.

I guess you won’t forget what network you’re on.

One of Fox’s earliest cartoons was Fox’s Peter Pan & the Pirates. The show was originally going to be a CBS program, but once Disney got wind that another network was preparing a show based on Peter Pan they got litigious. Or at least, they threatened litigation since they had previously made the film Peter Pan and seemed to view the character as Disney property, despite never actually buying the work of author J.M. Barrie who purposely made sure to never sell the rights to a major corporation like Disney. Still, the mere threat of the House of Mouse lawyering up gave CBS pause ultimately deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to pursue. Enter Fox, who was still stinging by the removal of DuckTales from its networks and seemed to welcome Disney’s wrath. Oh they still tried to convince Fox it was a bad idea to pursue, but Fox essentially told them to pound sand. They would file suit, but eventually they withdrew it. Part of the suit was the accusation that Fox wasn’t allowing its affiliates to purchase the Disney Afternoon for air and was having the Fox Kids Network forced upon them. To try and save face, Disney would claim when withdrawing the suit that the Disney Afternoon had worked out fine for them and Fox had found similar success with its programming so both parties needn’t feel animosity towards the other. In reality, Peter Pan had fallen into the public domain and Disney didn’t have a leg to stand on. Just because many people associated the character with Disney and it’s 1953 film didn’t mean they owned it. And since the Fox cartoon contained characters that bore no resemblance to their counterparts in the Disney film, they were pretty safe.

Fox added it’s name to the title of the show either to exert its own dominance or to further make sure no one would think this show was a work of Disney’s. The Pan of this program (voiced by Jason Marsden) was decked out in earthy browns and sported a cape. Tinker Bell (Debi Derryberry) had butterfly wings and wasn’t a blond jerk like the Disney version and the Darling characters were different enough. Also sporting a much different look was the villainous Captain James Hook, voiced by the incomparable Tim Curry. Hook’s design was quite different from the slender, mustached, villain from the Disney film as he was now a barrel-chested, clean-shaven, powdered wig wearing behemoth of an antagonist for Pan. And just to keep things even more different, his hook was moved from his left hand to his right. As far as tellings of the same story go, the show couldn’t have been more different from Disney’s film and it received a 65 episode order and was a foundational piece for the Fox Kids Network.

It’s like a Charlie Brown tree, but for pirates.

I had little interaction with the show in my youth. Something about Peter Pan struck me as a bit lame and not something I had much interest in seeking out. It’s entirely possible the show ran up against a show I was already invested in, and while I was firmly in camp Fox Kids come the fall of 1992, I wasn’t quite there in 1990. I was definitely watching the Disney Afternoon and Peter Pan wasn’t going to pull me away at that point. I also have memories of the show airing weekday mornings when I didn’t watch television as I had to get ready for school, and since I wasn’t much of a morning person, I couldn’t even flirt with the idea of watching cartoons while eating breakfast. Most of my memories of this show are just ads for it. I likely also saw it as an imposter version of Peter Pan since Disney had convinced me and millions of other kids that their Pan was the real Pan. It was also around the same time that my parents had me watch a stage play re-telling of the story that aired on television and was just dreadful and something I hated every moment of. I had given Pan a shot outside of Disney once and felt burned, I wasn’t going to do it again. Well, not until the likes of Robin Williams and Steven Spielberg, anyway.

In the quest for more Christmas though, I was reminded that this show existed. During that lone run of 65 episodes was the episode “Hook’s Christmas.” Generally speaking, direct-to-syndication shows like this try to avoid holiday episodes since networks like to be able to just throw them on at anytime without consideration for something as annoying as a season. Fox apparently didn’t care though as many of their shows would delight in doing Halloween and Christmas episodes. I feel like I’ve looked at almost all of them at this point. A show that’s all about kids wanting to remain kids seems like a show that could do Christmas. Then again, I don’t know that Peter and his fellow lost boys are necessarily “Nice List” candidates, and there are no parents to play Santa in Neverland. I guess the staff on the show agreed since this episode centers on Captain Hook and is an adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I tend to avoid such fare like the plague, but my curiosity for this show outweighed my hatred for the trope. Did I miss out on a hidden gem? The possibility was there given the voice cast and the fact that TMS contributed animation to this show. It was not a cheap cartoon and I suppose that makes sense since Fox likely wanted to impress out of the gate. Plus, Disney was spending a lot of money on its animated programs and no one at Fox wanted to look inferior next to Disney, so let’s see what Fox’s Peter Pan & the Pirates has to offer.

Just a bunch of pirates having a festive sing-a-long.

The opening title for this one is a lyric-less piece set to clips from the show, the most boring of intros a cartoon can have, but the score isn’t bad. It sounds like a poor man’s John Williams. When the episode begins, we’re on the ship of one Captain Hook and the pirates are making merry. It’s Christmas Eve so there’s cause to be jolly. Unfortunately, they’re singing a rendition of the worst Christmas song ever written: “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Now, since I didn’t watch this show growing up, I have to try to figure out who’s who among the gang of pirates. It would seem Gentlemen Ignatious P. Starkey (David Shaughnessy) is the one leading the crew in song. He has repurposed the song to make the captain the generous one handing out gifts on Christmas. It would seem he wants a new ship that’s bilge free? All of the versions of this episode that exist online have some audio degradation and deciphering song lyrics is not easy. Eucrates Cookson (Jack Angel) is playing an accordian while Smee (Ed Gilbert) is decorating a rather pathetic looking tree. They’re all chiming in with gifts for the other days, but they only manage to get to day 4 before Starkey has trouble remembering the lines.

No one is allowed to be merry when this guy is around.

It’s at that point Captain Hook makes his entrance. He towers over the lot as he heads down into the brig to reprimand his men for their joyful demeanors. Tim Curry practically snarls his lines, but maintains his rather dignified accent, making for a rather compelling character. His vocabulary is also impeccable and I rather like this depiction of the famed captain quite a bit. Starkey is literally shaking in his boots as Hook enters demanding to know why an irredeemable twit like him would have reason to be merry. When it’s suggested to him by the men that Christmas is the reason, Hook rejects the notion that the holiday is an excuse to behave like fools. I would say he’s angered by the suggestion, but he just seems plain angry all of the time so it’s hard to say just what ticks him off the most. He’s definitely channeling his inner Scrooge as he refers to Christmas as a “humbug,” which causes Smee to reply with, “But I thought it was a holiday?” He further illustrates his feelings on the matter by suggesting those who celebrate should be boiled in their own pudding and have a stake of holly shoved through their heart! This dude is vicious.

That’s not going to work, man.

Smee can’t take a hint as he asks if this means they won’t be exchanging gifts. Scrooge, I mean Hook, looks almost pained by this question, but rather than respond verbally he kicks over their makeshift tree and stomps on the reindeer ornament one of the pirates made. Hook storms off into his own quarters still seething at the fact that his men are just trying to use Christmas as a way to get out of a dishonest day’s work! He takes a seat at his harpsichord and goes to play something, apparently this is how he settles down when the world angers him, only the instrument begins to play by itself! And it’s playing “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” which has Hook looking all kinds of angry (it’s basically his only facial expression). A voice then calls out to him using his first name. It’s a woman’s voice, and Hook looks startled as he whirls around and even asks “Mother?” How sweet? An apparition comes floating in baring the resemblance of Wendy Darling (Christina Lange) which actually excites Hook. He declares he’ll capture her which is surely to rile up that Peter Pan fellow. Unfortunately for Hook, this is basically not-Wendy, but the Ghost of Christmas Past. You know how this is going to go from here. Hook tries to dismiss her as some sort of product of indigestion and even declares he doesn’t believe in her, like that will make her go away.

Never ask a man to choose between love and being a pirate.

It won’t. The Wendy ghost takes Hook back in time to another version of the Jolly Roger. Or maybe just a ship that looks like it. A gang of pirates has recently overtaken this UK vessel and hoisted their own flag. Their leader? A pirate named Jasper – Jasper Hook! A voice calls out to him from offscreen and we see it belongs to a young James Hook. The two brothers clasp hands to draw attention to the lack of a hook as Jasper pulls him aboard and they’re positively giddy about this score. At least that is, until James sees who this ship belonged to. It’s a woman named Cecilia (sounds like Lange) whom James is betrothed to. Present Hook seems a bit wary of watching how this plays out. Through their conversation we find out she was under the impression that James was a merchant, but it’s the life of a buccaneer that he’s chosen instead. He thinks this changes nothing between the two, but Cecilia begs to differ with tears in her eyes. James can’t be bothered and has the men haul her away like a prisoner. Captain James Hook, who has been watching alongside the Ghost of Christmas Past, questions why she means to torment him so? He demands she take him back to his ship, but she informs him they have one more “shadow” to visit first.

You dare pay the future Captain Hook as much as the rest of the crew?!

Past snaps her fingers and we’re whisked away to the interior of a pirate ship. If it’s the same one, I don’t know, but it is following a score as Jasper is handing out gold from a chest to each crew member. When he goes to give James his cut, the younger Hook balks for his brother is giving him the same as everyone else. Jasper reminds him who the captain is, but James declares that maybe it’s time for a new captain. Drawing his sword, with his right hand mind you, he challenges his brother who seems angered by this disloyalty. The two start clanging swords and end up back on the deck. The elder Hook, fighting with sword and dagger, disarms his brother and his sword winds up stuck near the top of the mast. He tells James to surrender and he’ll spare his life, but James refuses and instead climbs up the mast to retrieve his sword.

Sword fights seem to always end up way up here when it comes to pirates.

Now the two brothers are battling atop the sail, which seems like the most dangerous place to have a sword fight on a pirate ship. It looks cool though, and now it’s James’ turn to disarm his brother. He informs the captain that, unfortunately, he does not believe in taking prisoners and declines to extend the same offer to his brother that he just made him. Jasper isn’t about to let himself be cut down and instead makes a jump for it by grabbing on one of the ropes affixed to the sail. He is able to get down to the deck and retrieve his sword, but James is in hot pursuit. He takes a mighty cut at his brother which shatters his sword. Jasper, backpedaling, gets his feet tangled in some rope left on the deck and falls onto his rear. As James approaches, he has a wicked grin upon his face and his sword held high as his brother looks up at him with a terrified expression.

Time for ghost #2.

Before we can see the gruesome aftermath of this confrontation, Hook demands the spirit cease this vision. He then wakes up in his chair in a sweat with a look of distress upon his face that is soon replaced with his usual, grumpy, demeanor. He apparently believes that he did indeed see the past via the magic of some sort of spectre for he calls out to her in defiance. He taunts her by asking aloud if she thought she could really stir feelings of guilt and remorse within him over, as he terms it, relieving his brother of his eye. Apparently, he did not kill his brother that day, only maimed him. He takes a seat at his desk and begins to question if he really did see what he saw. As he settles down to read from a book, the voice of Smee calls out to him. This only further irritates Hook, who turns his head and sees a ghost version of his first mate. He correctly deduces that this is not really Smee, but another apparition, and the ghost confirms that he is indeed the Ghost of Christmas Present causing Hook to question if he is forever to be bedeviled by Christmas. Smee, which we’ll just refer to the ghost as such to make it easier, tells Hook that Christmas normally doesn’t concern itself with a villain such as he which enrages Hook for some reason as he shouts “blast your incorporeal hide!” The writing for Hook is just phenomenol. I normally am far too charmed by old VHS recordings to care much for quality, but in this case, I wish the audio quality were better on my source so I could properly make out every word this show has Tim Curry spit out. He is fantastic.

Hey! Did you know this is a show about Peter Pan?!

Smee informs the captain that he’ll be coming with him and blows a whistle of some kind to whisk the pair away. They’re in a lovely glen and in the center of which is an enormous Christmas tree. Children are singing “Deck the Halls” and it’s quickly revealed that this tree belongs to Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. The children finish their song and we see Tinker Bell come flying in to apparently take on the role of a star atop the tree which will surely get old fast for the fairy. Smee and Hook then come into view and Hook seems more than a little irritated to have been brought here by this “woebegone wraith.” Smee tells him that he just wanted to show Hook how the Neverland-lubbers celebrate Christmas. Hook is positively annoyed and basically calls Smee an idiot declaring he has no appetite for seeing how the unwashed celebrate the holiday. His utter disdain for everything is truly impressive.

I wasn’t expecting snow in this one.

Hook expresses his irritations with ghost Smee, and while the two converse I noticed a curiosity. I watched multiple versions of this episode, and in some the background changes to what’s coming in the next scene while in others it remains consistent. It would seem they had an issue and must have actually paid to have it fixed for rebroadcast. Anyway, we pivot to Wendy and Peter having a conversation about the decor. She thinks something is missing and Peter soon realizes it’s snow, but he also seems to have forgotten what snow is (this forgetfulness is foreshadowing something to come). Tinker Bell (Debi Derryberry) remarks how humans have such short memories before tossing some pixie dust all over the place which makes it snow. The top of the tree also still features a glowing orb so maybe Tink just cast some sort of spell to create a makeshift star? Snow soon collects on the tree and the kids are happy. Pan even nails John with a snowball who is happy to fight back. Hook has seen enough and demands that Smee evacuate him from the area, but not before he gets his bearings so that he may return to the lair of Pan and raze it to the ground! Smee informs him he will be doing no such thing and instead toots his whistle again.

A toast to Captain Hook!

Now we’re in the lair of Pan and The Lost Boys and they’re all preparing for a Christmas feast. A platter appears via Tinker Bell’s magic upon the table and the kids are all excited. It looks like they eat real food and not junk food as seen in the film Hook. When Wendy lifts the lid on the dish the kids are dismayed to find a single acorn. If you think this is a Tiny Tim situation you would be mistaken as Tinker Bell informs them it was just a little holiday jest and quickly magics up a turkey. Before the kids can dig in though, Wendy says they should offer up a toast. Peter is in agreement and toasts to…himself. He quickly adds “And everyone else,” rather awkwardly, but the others seem to pay it no mind. I’m guessing they’re used to this sort of thing out of Pan. Michael (Whit Hertford) then questions if he really means everyone and specifically mentions Captain Hook. Wendy comes over to confirm that even Hook is deserving of such a toast. Pan snorts and remarks that if Hook were there he’d cut off his other hand and give it to him as a Christmas present. How violent! Wendy scolds him for his boast and Pan reluctantly concedes that she’s right. He stands up and gives a somewhat half-hearted toast to Captain Hook which the other kids share in.

No matter who is Captain Hook, it would seem Smee always gets the worst of it.

Hook then questions what’s the point of all this? Smee informs him that he just wants to show him that even bitter enemies lay down their arms on Christmas. Hook indicates he has no stomach for this “sentimental tripe,” which Smee says is unfortunate because he has more to show him. We’re then taken to the bowels of the Jolly Roger where the rest of the crew resides. The pirates are still sore from how Hook treated them and they seem to be ready to mutiny over it. As they draw their weapons, it’s Smee who pops in to declare they’ll be doing it over his dead body. He starts clashing swords with Mullins (Jack Angel) and tries to defend his captain’s honor. Hook remarks to the ghost Smee that he intends to put these jackanapes in their place, but the ghost tells him that’s not why he chose to show him this. Suddenly, the material version of Hook comes swaddling in demanding to know what’s going on. Smee informs him it’s a mutiny and Hook misunderstands him and seemingly thinks that Smee is declaring a mutiny, not trying to stop one. He picks Smee up by his shirt utilizing his hook while the little guy tries to tell him he had his best interests at heart. Hook puts him down seemingly understanding, only to double-down on his accusations by demanding Mullins chain Smee and toss him in the brig. As the first mate is hauled away he tells him this will be his last Christmas! This is really clumsy considering this is supposed to be the present, but it features Hook! Why didn’t we see this earlier?

“So brother, you’re looking well these days.”

Hook, the viewing Hook, is politely reprimanded by ghost Smee for his misjudgement. Hook seems unphased and remarks that Smee should basically be killed on principal anyway. The ghost, seemingly admitting defeat, informs Hook he’ll be returning him to his ship now. Hook then materializes outside his cabin door and is immediately sent into a rage for he can hear someone playing his harpsichord inside his chambers! He smashes down the door, which was a really lovely piece that will now have to be replaced, and barges in demanding to know who possesses the temerity to play the harpsichord of Captain James Hook! Why, it’s his brother Jasper now acting as the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. Hook has apparently still not grasped the situation for he mistakes the ghost for his actual brother and attempts to cut him down with his blade only for it to pass harmlessly right through him. The ghost, sporting an eye patch as the real Jasper must, smiles wickedly at Hook and informs him who he really is, and isn’t. Hook sarcastically asks him of what concern is all of this to him only for the spirit to float above him and angrily call out his misdeeds. He’s lied to his loved ones, betrayed his own flesh and blood, and condemned the one man who showed him loyalty. Flipping up the patch over his eye, the spirit promises to show Hook the bitter harvest yet to come.

Upon seeing his ship in ruins, Hook reacts like a dad who just found out his kid snuck out in his sports car and nailed a fire hydrant.

We’re taken to the wreckage of a ship I assume to be Hook’s Jolly Roger. It is indeed his as he immediately starts ranting and raving about the condition of his ship. We then see Mullins stealing food from Cookson as the two emerge from a cave with the captain nowhere to be found. Hook is displeased by this showing, but the spirit has more to share. He flips up his patch and we’re transported to a swampy lagoon. A disheveled and seemingly delirious Smee is walking through the ankle deep water carrying something under his arm and shouting out to his captain not to worry for he’s coming. He approaches a large, hollowed out tree and declares “There ya be captain, a fresh covering of moss for yee,” revealing that the garbage under his arm is apparently a bunch of moss. The ghostly Hook is confused by this and declares he’d retire to Bedlam before he’d let someone like Smee take care of him. Still refusing to realize what story he’s in, we watch as Smee goes to enter the tree only for the shadow of Peter Pan to pass over him. He runs calling out a warning to his captain as he disappears into the tree, but the somewhat sullen Pan doesn’t seem like he’s here for a fight.

Aww, Peter misses Captain Hook.

It’s at this point that Hook utters a version of the famous line asking the spirit “Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they the shadows of the things that maybe?” The spirit ignores the question and instead points out to Hook to gaze upon his final resting place. The captain looks a tad frightened as he beholds his unmarked grave which Peter Pan has knelt beside. The spirit refers to it as unmarked, but the grave is indeed marked by the presence of his famous hook on a stick of some sort, he just doesn’t get a tombstone. Peter then pulls out his dagger and remarks he has no need of it now. He seems a bit sad as he’s clearly lost his purpose in life without his adversary and ponders if he should finally grow up and leave Neverland. Now this puts a smile on Hook’s face as he declares this perfect! He laughs heartily and declares that in death he has finally defeated Peter Pan! The spirit then cautions him not to act so hastily and flips up his eyepatch once again.

Here comes the meltdown.

Now we’re transported to a more colorful and bright setting. The Lost Boys are seated by the edge of some trees until Peter Pan comes soaring in. He excitedly calls out to them to “Look what I found!” It’s the hook of one Captain Hook, and Peter acts like he has no idea where it came from, but now they can play pirates! The boys fly off with Peter Pan declaring that he’ll be the pirate leader: Captain Claw! Hook is bewildered at the sight and the spirit is happily able to inform him that the kids quickly forgot all about him once he was dead. This basically destroys Hook who falls to his knees and starts raking the earth with his hook hand. Crying out, “Hear me brother: I am not the man I was! I will change! I swear it! I swear it!”

It’s celebration time, men! Debauchery, murder, looting, you name it!

As he cries out, we transition back to Hook’s quarters and find him raking his hook hand over his mattress essentially destroying it in the process. He soon realizes that he’s back in his room, and even his door is intact! He calls out for Mullins who enters immediately for the captain to ask him to confirm what day is it? “Why, it’s Christmas, sir!” he replies on cue. Hook declares this excellent and orders him to assemble the men on the deck immediately. This also comes with an order to release Smee from the brig. Once everyone is gathered on the deck, Hook informs the men that he’s changed his mind that they will observe the Christmas holiday after all. The men are dumbstruck with Starkey remarking the captain has lost his senses. Hook corrects him to say he has not lost his senses, but rather found them. He then orders the men to arm themselves as he dumps a pile of weapons on the deck and informs them that they will be going ashore to celebrate Christmas with a raid on Peter Pan!

Merry Christmas, indeed.

Hook, with his arms outstretched, then clarifies what has taken place. He says he swore he’d change, and he will, for the worse! “I’ll redouble my attacks on Pan. I’ll triple them!” It’s hard to make out precisely what he says following that, but he basically declares that Peter Pan will never forget the name of Captain James Hook! He then cries out “Merry Christmas, Peter Pan,” as his cape bellows menacingly in the wind, “and prepare to meet thy doom!” He then walks off laughing his evil laugh which is the lasting image for this holiday affair.

“Hook’s Christmas” is not a very interesting episode as it relates to Christmas. It adapts what some may call a tried-and-true Christmas staple, but what many would also just call a tired plot. A Christmas Carol is beyond overdone and it was in the early 90s just as it was today. This one does have a bit of a wrinkle in that it’s Scrooge character, one Captain James Hook, is truly irredeemable. There’s no changing who he is. Sure, many a villainous character have had their Christmases interrupted by a gang of spirits and it was enough for them to at least do one nice thing, but not Hook! It has the opposite effect, which is really the only outcome that could have come of this since he’s quite clearly an evil man and there are many more episodes to follow. They could have had him just be a little nice to his crew and let that be it, but I do like that the writers on this one wanted none of that and fully held onto this characterization of Hook.

For regular viewers, it was probably fun to see a young Hook and his brother in this one.

That’s not enough to rescue the plot from this droll retelling, but the depiction of Captain Hook just might be. I was totally smitten with this take on the character by Tim Curry. He is wonderfully written with just a delicious vocabulary. This is not some rough and tough pirate covered in grime and ill-spoken. This Hook is dignified and above everyone else in his mind. He carries himself like royalty and he’s clearly well-educated. He’s just vile and despicable and he loves that about himself. Curry is just absolutely wonderful in the role and I hung on every word he said. Adapting A Christmas Carol may not have been the soundest decision this show made, but putting an entire episode on Hook’s shoulders absolutely was. Combining the performance with the twist ending basically does the impossible: I was entertained by A Christmas Carol. I mean, the classic story is fine and entertaining on its own, but I can’t think of many episodes of television that went in this direction and actually succeeded. Years ago, I somewhat praised The Real Ghostbusters for putting their own spin on the tale, but I still wouldn’t call that episode good and it’s not something I ever return to. And I’m not saying I’m ever going to return to “Hook’s Christmas” either, but I may consider it. If I had any nostalgic attachment to the show it’s from then I probably would, but lacking that, it’s more just a fun little diamond in the rough one discovers when doing such an exercise as this and I’m feeling satisfied. Usually, most of the uncovered Christmas episodes I come across leave me feeling the opposite.

It’s a shame this performance isn’t more celebrated than it is. Tim Curry is my Captain Hook.

If you wish to view Fox’s Peter Pan & the Pirates you sadly have few options. Remember that whole story to begin this about Disney not wanting this show to exist? Yeah, well, now they own it. Disney acquired this alongside a whole bunch of other Fox properties years ago with the acquisition of Fox Kids Worldwide. Disney has released some of those shows on DVD and licensed others for streaming, but not this one (aside from a select few episodes in the UK) and they likely never will. They would fear that consumers would think this ties into their own take on Peter Pan even with the title being what it is. And it’s a shame, because if nothing else the show appears to have some solid animation. This particular episode wasn’t impressive in that regard, but other clips I’ve seen look quite nice. And people are missing out on this fantastic version of Captain Hook. I don’t know if the show itself is really worth watching, but it would be nice if it were available for those who did grow up watching it or who are just curious. The only good thing is that Disney doesn’t seem at all interested in enforcing its trademark here so the show can be found scattered across the internet in varying states of quality. You don’t have to look hard, though you will if you want to find the best quality version possible. As you can tell by the images in this post, I had trouble doing just that (the best I found was on the channel Cartoon Archive), but what I did find was certainly watchable. It’s just a shame most cut out the commercials.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 7 – Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970)

In 1964, Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass unleashed a Christmas Classic upon the world in the form of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The special basically put the company on the map and put it on the path to holiday domination for decades to come. Despite that, few of the specials that followed Rudolph truly hit…

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Dec. 7 – Bedtime for Sniffles

Not every Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies star had to be inherently funny. Sure, most of them were and that’s often what many cartoon enthusiasts will point to the Warner catalog of cartoons as having over Disney, but it wasn’t some hard and fast rule. That’s why when a guy by the name of Chuck…

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Dec. 7 – SuperTed Meets Father Christmas

When it comes to British imports and the subject of bears is brought up, most probably immediately think of Paddington or Winnie the Pooh. Few probably recall SuperTed, the Welsh teddy bear brought to life by a spotted alien and given super powers by Mother Nature. SuperTed is similar to Mighty Mouse in that he…

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December 6, 2023

Figura Obscura – The Ghost of Jacob Marley

By Joe
“Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits…”

Four Horsemen Studios is back with another holiday release in its Figura Obscura line of action figures. This sister line of their more famous Mythic Legions property launched two years ago with Krampus and continued with last year’s Father Christmas. Many fans, myself included, expected another holiday figure this year, though if you had asked me a week ago what that figure would be I would have been pretty stumped. The line seemed to target characters of folklore, and while there are certainly some more out there for Christmas, none seemed as obvious as Krampus or a version of Santa Claus. I probably would have guessed some kind of yeti, or maybe Jack Frost, but Four Horsemen Studios surprised me with an action figure of the ghostly Jacob Marley.

He comes sans chains, but he’s not likely to stay that way for long.
I love how the feet just disappear.

Marley comes from the pages of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. If you have never read the original source you have almost certainly encountered the story as told by someone else be it Mickey Mouse or Gonzo. Marley doesn’t immediately strike me as a folklore type of character, but then again, we’re talking about a story that’s been ingrained in Christmas since 1843 so perhaps I may need to rethink my personal definition of folklore. Regardless, a spectral figure draped in chains with its jaw held in place by a knot sure sounds like something that would lend itself well to what Four Horsemen does. The character was teased with an image of chains and locks, a dead give-away, and then finally unveiled and put up for order on December 2nd. I thought it looked cool enough to warrant a purchase, and it was in my hands a mere three days later so now I’m going to interrupt the Christmas special posts to tell you what I think.

The detail on this figure is incredible, though I wish this harness had a better way to fasten.

Marley arrives in the standard window box for the line with a wrap-around backdrop held in place by magnets. It’s a terrific way to include a backdrop as the cardstock is nice and heavy. On the front is an image of Marley as a doorknocker from the novella and on the reverse is an interior painting of Scrooge’s bed chambers (the artwork is credited to Nate Baerstch) complete with a terrified Scrooge by the fire. Scrooge being present in the image makes me wonder if that means he’s not a candidate for a figure of his own down the line, but I guess we’ll see in the years to come. There’s a description of Marley on the back as well and Four Horsemen even included a small (4.125″ x 5.25″) copy of Stave 1 of the story with more illustrations inside. The actual box depicts various specters from the story from when Scrooge looks out his window initially. I’m assuming some are based on the descriptions Dickens provides, though I haven’t read the original text in probably 25 years to recall specifics. I do plan on reading this first stave before the season departs.

There’s a lot going on here.

Marley himself stands 7″ tall and out of the box he does not have his chains affixed to him. This design is credited to Eric Treadaway, one of the three founders of Four Horsemen Studios (I’m guessing there is a reason why there are three, but the name implies four), and Marley certainly looks the part of a dead 1840s rich guy. He has an aged and weathered face with long hair and thick sideburns. He’s sporting a long coat and a rather fancy looking vest beneath that with a kerchief around his neck. The figure is basically all done in tones of blue and gray. His skin is painted in a shade similar to periwinkle and shaded with cyan blue. The hair and interior of the coat are more of a gray blue and the buttons on his coat are a faint silver. I have always considered the strength of Mythic Legions to be the sculpt and paint combo and Marley does not do anything to dissuade me from that manner of thinking. There’s some great texture on the coat, he’s got a missing chunk of flesh on his rather large forehead, and all of the buttons and pockets look real. The coat is a pliable plastic as opposed to soft goods and I think that was the correct route to go. It hangs well, has a good form to it, and could fool someone from the shelf.

To fly, or not to fly?

Marley looks, in a word, awesome. This figure is phenomenal when it comes to the presentation, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. The coat appears to be a clear plastic that’s been painted. It must be, since the hem of the coat is where the paint starts to fade out so we can get a translucent effect. I’m amazed at how well the paint looks on this thing given the amount needed to pull this off. The boots below the cuffs are also done in transparent plastic and the paint fades out on them as well as it moves down leaving the actual foot portion completely transparent. I don’t think it takes much imagination to come up with such a paint scheme, but it takes talent and skill to pull it off and man does this figure ever pull it off. He looks great standing, but I’m really tempted to put him on a flight stand to draw attention to the transparent parts.

You’re in some serious shit, Scrooge.

Of course, Marley wouldn’t be Marley without his many shackles and chains. Even Goofy was forced to drag those things around. The chains are all connected to a soft, plastic, harness that is designed to go over Marley’s torso. The harness looks nice, has a big lock on the front, but is a challenge to get on. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do so and thought I may need to pop the arms off in order to get it in place. Instead, the bottom rear came apart as I examined it and I think it’s supposed to do that? There’s no tab, nor is their any glues residue to imply it came apart by accident, but it did allow me to get the harness on. It, like the belt that came with last year’s Father Christmas, doesn’t fasten well though which makes me wonder if it was supposed to come apart. I wish it had a tab to hold it in place, because it will repeatedly come apart when handling the figure and might even do so when not. I secured it with a tiny amount of gray mounting putty since it was driving me nuts.

Anything that looks like it should open, can. Well, except the books. And the locks…
Keys for days!

That annoyance aside, the harness and chains really bring some added drama to the presentation of this one. He has quite a few chains of varying lengths and design. They’re all a muted copper or a dingy brushed nickel and there’s padlocks and skeleton keys throughout. Three chains end in a lockbox while two in a ledger and they’re all unique designs so not one box is the same as the other. The boxes also all open from the top in case you want to hide anything inside. There’s also a large safe at the end of another chain and that can open as well. Inside you’ll find a bonus, unadvertised, accessory that does fit the mood of this figure, but could also be used with another Mythic Legions release. Since it’s a surprise, I’ve declined to take a picture of it, but know that it is pretty cool and I like it better than the surprise inclusions with Father Christmas.

“If you’re gonna scream, scream with me!”

The chains are not Marley’s only accessories as he does also come with various hands and a second portrait. He has gripping hands out of the box, but also has a set of gripping hands with a vertical hinge, style pose gesture hands, and a set of clawing hands. The second portrait depicts Marley with his headwrap removed which causes his jaw to droop and hang slightly askew. It’s appropriately unpleasant to look at, but the large mouth opening does sometimes come off as a bit cartoony. It’s really well painted and looks amazing, but I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use it. Marley also has a pair of door knockers featuring his visage, one shows him in a stoic fashion while the other has him wailing. There’s a slot on the back if you want to hang them on a nail, though they’re not so heavy that mounting putty wouldn’t work. The knocker portion also moves and the paint job and sculpt are terrific. Lastly, there’s also a small pouch of extra skeleton keys. There are multiple designs, though I have not bothered to count how many actual keys are in there, but know that it’s a lot. You will never have need of more. Four Horsemen also tossed in a greeting card featuring the cover art, as they did for the past two releases which is cool.

Even these door knockers are impressive as they have little, flecks, of green to show age and weathering.

The Ghost of Jacob Marley is an action figure, so it stands to reason that he should articulate rather well. Mythic Legions strikes me as a line that is focused on the aesthetic at the expense of articulation. That doesn’t mean the articulation is bad, but certain styles of joints are basically off the table. For the head, we have a simple ball joint. There’s no hinge or double-ball, but it seems adequate for the figure. Marley’s hair prevents him from looking up anyway, and the scarf has to be worked around to look down, but he gets some range in doing so. There’s a little tilt as well, and it seems suitable enough. The shoulders are hinged ball-pegs, and on my figure they were pretty stuck. The figure was delivered to the northeast in December, so it was quite cold to begin with. I let it warm up for an hour or so, but still needed to apply hot water to get the hinge to work. Once free, the arms raised out to the side to pretty much a full horizontal position. Rotation is fine, but there’s no bicep swivel. Instead, we get single-hinged elbows that can also swivel. We see this a lot with Super7 (and Four Horsemen Studios designed a lot of their early figures), but with this figure the cut is better so the range on the swivel is fine and it also looks pretty good. Hands rotate and hinge and we have gripping hands with both a horizontal and vertical hinge – perfect!

In the torso, there’s no joint except for the waist. There we have a ball joint, and it allows for a reasonable amount of forward and back with plenty of tilt and rotation. Obviously, once you put the harness on the figure it’s a little trickier to work with, but nothing is truly hindered. The hips are hinged ball-pegs and Marley can hit a split reasonably well. He can’t kick forward quite all the way, nor can he kick back very far. There is a thigh twist which is well-hidden, and the knee is a single hinge with twist like the elbows and it’s well cut. There is a boot swivel below the boot cuff, while the ankle also swivels. There’s a hinge which lets the foot go forward and back basically as far as you’d ever want it to go, and there’s also an ankle rocker. The peg that goes into the shin, likely due to the nature of transparent plastic, is a little loose and the foot may pop off on occasion. The figure doesn’t have any issue standing and all of the other joints are suitably tight. Only the shoulders were overtight for me, and swapping hands and heads wasn’t an issue.

Marley may not pair all that well with what’s come before him, but it sure sounds like he will with what’s to follow.

If you have any of the Figura Obscura figures released up until now, then you’re likely not surprised to find out that this one is fantastic. It’s not going to articulate as well as some other figures out there, but it can do everything it needs to and the articulation choices feel well thought out. The presentation is what sells this guy, and while the harness isn’t the tidiest thing to work with, there’s no denying how terrific it looks in practice. My only real gripe is with how said harness fastens to the figure as I feel like almost anything would have been better, but it’s something I can work around. I’m never going to take it off so I could even glue it if I want to, though I typically refrain from permanently modifying any of my figures. The end of the included Stave 1 booklet includes the message, “You will be haunted again. The ghosts of Christmas shall return,” which sure seems to imply that we’ll be getting more from A Christmas Carol next year and beyond. Will they stick with Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, or maybe some of the other, unnamed, ghosts on the packaging will get figures? And what about Scrooge? He’s on the backdrop, so maybe Four Horsemen Studios thinks that will be enough, but I bet fans would like to see an actual Scrooge as well. Only time will tell, but I bet whatever comes next will look awesome.

If you would like to add The Ghost of Jacob Marley to your collection then I’m afraid I have some bad news. The initial stock has sold out, so right now the figure is only available on the secondhand market. The MSRP was $60, but expect to pay considerably more if buying from a reseller. Both Krampus and Father Christmas had variant releases, so it seems likely that Marley will as well. Maybe with more of a spectral green coloring? Or something closer to fully transparent? Four Horsemen also had the original version of Father Christmas available for purchase this year, so perhaps this version of Marley could even come back next December. If you missed out and absolutely have to have it, then by all means do as you please, but I do think the patient will be rewarded at some point.

Missed out on some other past Christmas releases? Check these out:

Figura Obscura – Krampus

Over the years, I’ve acquired quite a few action figures designed by the good people over at Four Horsemen LLC. They’ve been designing figures for companies for awhile now. My first exposure to the company was via NECA’s inaugural line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on their appearance in the Mirage Studios comics. Lately,…

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by Joe

Figura Obscura – Father Christmas

It was just last year that Four Horsemen launched a subline of its popular Mythic Legions brand of action figures called Figura Obscura. Practically speaking, there’s little difference between the two lines as Mythic Legions seeks to serve as a modular line of toys based on myth and legend and that doesn’t feature licensed characters.…

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by Joe

Naughty or Nice Classic Santa and Cyborg Santa

It was looking like we were in for a photo finish this year. Last year, toymaker Fresh Monkey Fiction partnered with online retailer Big Bad Toy Store to launch the Naughty or Nice collection. Structured similar to a Kickstarter campaign, FMF posted several action figures for preorder with a minimum order quantity needed for the…

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by Joe

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December 6, 2023

Dec. 6 – The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries – “It Happened One Night Before Christmas”

By Joe
Original air date December 16, 1995.

We touched on it a bit just a few days ago when we talked about The Justice League, and we’re going to do it again! What is “it?” Why, the launch of The WB, of course! The network fronted by Warner Bros. was a newcomer in the mid 90s and was here to challenge the other broadcast channels, mostly Fox. Unfortunately for Warner, a lot of their intellectual property was unavailable to start because they had signed agreements with other networks. Again, mostly Fox. In order to launch some original programming aimed at kids, they basically had to come up with some new ideas for some old characters which is how we ended up with The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. This show would pair the often adversarial characters of Sylvester and Tweety (both voiced by Joe Alasky) in a mystery solving plot, something that felt more Hanna-Barbera than Warner Bros. With them was Granny (June Foray) who was in charge of basically steering the whole ship and also along for the ride was Hector (Frank Welker) the bull dog, because you need a dog apparently. Plus, it’s reminiscent of Gift Wrapped to have him along.

The show got its 52 episode order and occupied some air space in the 90s without sucking. It did its job.

This isn’t our first dance with the show as we covered the episode “Feather Christmas” a few years back. For that reason, I don’t feel a long preamble is needed this time around. We’ll just jump right into today’s episode which is a parody of It’s a Wonderful Life, but not in the way you think. Many shows have gone that route over the years and they almost exclusively run with the plot of George Bailey who has to learn a lesson about how much the world would suck without him. Or suck more, anyway. This time, we’re rolling with the Uncle Billy character. You remember him, right? He’s the idiot who mistakenly lost two thousand dollars when trying to one-up old man Potter. It was his screw-up that nearly drove George to suicide since losing that amount of money back then could cripple a business like a savings and loan. Now, I’m not a huge fan of the film. It’s fine and a genuine classic, I just don’t feel the need to watch it on an annual basis like my parents and probably most boomers. One thing though that always bothered me when I did watch it is that Potter never gets his comeuppance. Uncle Billy mistakenly hands over that two grand to the old man and he just pockets it, basically. This episode of a cartoon starring a canary and a cat is going to try to make Potter answer for his deceit by solving the mystery of what happened to the money.

He’s the spitting image of Thomas Mitchell’s Uncle Billy.

The episode begins with a cold open. Sylvester is narrating the story and it takes us to the town of Bedspread Falls, instead of Bedford Falls. Sylvester begins his narration as-if he’s going to tell us about Paul Revere’s midnight ride, but corrects himself and switches to a ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas styled rhyme. A gray-haired man of generous proportions is currently fretting about a missing sum of money in the Daily Bros. Loan & Building Building. It was established in 1946, which even if you were unaware could probably guess is the year It’s a Wonderful Life was released. This older fellow has apparently misplaced eight thousand dollars, because we need to up the amount here to make it a little more painful. While he tosses papers aside from the floor a familiar duo looks on. That would be the mice Hubie (Jim Cummings) and Bertie (Jeff Bennett). They feel for the poor guy who is just throwing himself on the floor in despair and want to do something to help him. A Christmas card gets their attention and it would appear it has an answer for them. The old man has since taken a seat at his desk with his head in his arms and the mice place the card in front of him. When he looks at it, we get to see it’s a card from Granny, who signs her cards Granny because that’s just her name apparently. Overjoyed, the fellow grabs his old-timey phone and makes a call!

This seems very unnecessary, Granny. And who is her hook-up for this stuff? Bruce Wayne?!

The opening title then enters and it’s underwhelming considering how good the WB shows on Fox were at the time, but not terrible. When it ends, we find Granny riding through the street in a car with giant, metal, legs. It’s like an AT-ST from The Return of the Jedi. Her animal companions are riding in the car with her and everyone is decked out in some holiday attire. Sylvester continues his narration to inform us that they’re heading to Bedspread Falls and shouts out to Donna Reed. When Granny slams on the breaks to this contraption, the occupants (except her) all go flying out of it because it’s a topless vehicle which makes so much sense to ride around in during the winter. They smash into a snowman so we get a tiered look at all three occupying one of the three segments of the snow creature while Granny admonishes them for playing in the snow and wasting time. Someone needs to narc on Granny for animal cruelty.

An early indicator that Willy isn’t too bright.

We then head into the Daily Bros. and meet the old guy again. It turns out his name is Willy (instead of Billy, naturally) and he’s Granny’s brother (his voice is also uncredited, but I think it’s Bennett). That explains why he got a Christmas card from the old gal. She happily introduces him to her pet canary, Tweety, but he slams the door on poor Sylvester and Hector. He hears the door contact them and mistakes it for a knock, opens it, and the two waddle in flat as a pancake. Granny introduces the pair and Sylvester has to blow himself back up to return to his normal shape. Willy then introduces them to his pets, Hubie and Bertie, and Sylvester is happy to meet them as he gobbles them up immediately. Seriously Willy, why are you waving your pet rodents in the face of a cat? Granny turns him upside down and smacks his bottom until the two mice are set free all the while admonishing Sylvester for trying to eat family. The mice roll over to Tweety’s cage where the little bird chirps, “Been there, done that.”

The Minah bird is a memorable gag from classic era Looney Tunes in that once you see it you’ll immediately recall seeing it before, but maybe without specifics. His routine in this episode is basically exactly the same as it was back then.

Granny wants to get down to business and asks Willy what’s wrong? He tells her he misplaced the weekly deposit, which happened to be 8 grand. He explains he put it in a yellow envelope and brought it to the bank, but when he got there, the money was gone! She basically just pats him on the shoulder to comfort him. Meanwhile, Hector is nosing around and comes to a file cabinet. It jiggles, then opens, and he barks a whole bunch until a disinterested crow pops out (Uncle Billy had a pet crow in the film). It just casually hops with its head down like it’s not paying attention to much of anything until it reaches a waste basket which it hops into. Hector barks some more and then inspects the waste basket only to find the crow is gone! I call it a crow, but it’s actually the Minah bird and this routine is straight out of classic Looney Tunes. The character first appeared in the short The Little Lion Hunter. Elsewhere, Hubie and Bertie question Tweety about the intelligence of Sylvester. Tweety shares his very low opinion of Sylvester, which just riles the cat up. He charges, but the mice jump out of the way and onto a window sill. When Sylvester pounces again, he goes out the window. Poor, stupid, kitty. He lands in the street and leaves behind a Sylvester-shaped crater in the snow. When he pops out, Granny and Willy are there to praise him for finding Willy’s tracks in the snow. Sylvester doesn’t seem to feel much pride in his “discovery.”

This guy hates Willy, and I’m kind of the same mind.

We then cut to the gang following the footprints and Sylvester narrates some more to inform us that old Willy’s memory is apparently failing him in his old age. Despite telling Granny he went straight to the bank, the footsteps lead them to a drug store. Bower is the name, and he’s not happy to see Willy. Mr. Bower (Cummings) complains (in what sounds like a drunken stupor) that Willy came in and ruffled through all of his magazines getting subscription cards all over his floor. He didn’t buy any of them, but he did buy a sasparilla and a newspaper which Bower notes he placed a yellow envelope inside. Granny thanks him for the info while he continues to just rant wildly. Upon leaving the store, the shopkeep follows them to tell Willy he has his keys which he apparently forgot earlier. During the rant, we are also treated to Hector teaming up with Hubie and Bertie to pulverize Sylvester. When Willy and Granny walk off, the others follow with Sylvester taking up the rear in a clearly concussed state. Bower also lets us know he hates keys for some reason. That’s sort of his thing, he hates everything. He’s also loosely based on the alcoholic drug store clerk from It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Gower, hence why he sounds vaguely intoxicated.

It’s a slightly off-model Cool Cat that arguably more resembles the Pink Panther. I’m going to stick with the assumption it’s Cool Cat, though it’s a bit odd that anyone would make the effort to try to find the lamest of the Looney Tunes characters.

Sylvester stumbles in the street and informs us the search continued “While visions of burly dogs danced in my head.” He slips on an icy sidewalk and finally goes down. Meanwhile, Willy is shown walking directly into a pole and it would appear a missing person sign on the pole contains an image of Cool Cat. It’s been there awhile, which makes sense since no one would actually look for Cool Cat. Granny tells her brother he needs to watch where he’s going. Sylvester chimes in to tell us that Granny’s patience is wearing thin while Willy dusts himself off. Out from his coat floats a piece of paper. It’s a ticket for a movie theater and Granny waves it in his face since he never mentioned anything about seeing a movie before the bank. Willy corrects her to say it wasn’t just a movie he saw, but a whole film festival! The subject of which was apparently Curly of The Three Stooges and Willy does his best Curly impression. Granny seems to be growing tired and demands to know if he went to the bank next or not. He didn’t. Instead, he mailed out his Christmas cards and gets mildly defensive about it when Granny shoots an angry glare his way as if it’s the cards she’s mad about.

Why does Granny insist on bringing her pets everywhere? It’s clear that Sylvester only cares about eating Tweety. Seems like it would just be easier to leave the cat at home.

The gang then heads to the mailbox that Willy apparently utilized to send out his cards. A mailman is there and is opening the base of the mailbox and out pops the Minah bird from earlier. He does his little walk-hop-shuffle once again and Hector follows. The bird disappears behind a lamp post leaving Hector more confused than ever. Willy and Granny were apparently granted permission to sort through the mail and Willy gets excited for a moment. Did he find his missing yellow envelope? No, he just found the Christmas card intended for Granny. She seems disappointed, but before she can say anything a passing cab stops to say “Hi” to Willy. The driver (sounds like Bennett again) thanks Willy for the tip he gave him this morning. Granny is once again angry with her brother for leaving out more important information and then asks the cabbie if it happened to be an eight-thousand dollar tip? He laughs and says “More like 8 cents,” before sharing with Granny that he drove Willy over to Rossi’s.

This horse thinks its hilarious.

We then cut to Rossi’s (I guess a play on Martini’s from the film) after Granny angrily demands they get in the cab. This time, the driver gets a twenty cent tip and sarcastically remarks how these two are going to spoil him. The fare was only $1.80 so twenty cents is honestly not that bad. I wouldn’t know what to tip on such a fare, though I can’t imagine $1.80 would get you very far in 2023. The cabbie then tells Willy he nearly forgot to remind him that he left something in his cab earlier. Willy is hopeful it’s his missing money, but it’s actually his horse. Yes, you read that right, he forgot a horse. And to add a little extra comedy to the whole thing, no one apparently noticed the horse during their most recent ride. The horse just a gives us all a good laugh and apparently no one has any reaction to this gag because we’re heading inside. Now let’s never speak of the horse again.

At least those feet are clean.

Rossi’s is an italian restaurant and Willy and Granny are greeted by the manager. He’s a tiny, italian, stereotype voiced by Jim Cummings and he asks Willy if he’s back for another hot chocolate. He’s not, but while the humans chat, Sylvester sets his sights on revenge. Hubie and Bertie see it coming though and they fling some sugar cubes at the cat which get lodged in his eyes. Rossi then remarks that Willy left something there earlier and gestures to it: a full, hot, steaming, bath tub. This guy has some tremendously deep pockets. The bath tub also has a rubber ducky floating in it and Hector pops up to get a closer look. The ducky then pops out of the water to reveal that the Minah bird was in there taking a bath. Hector finds this rather shocking and just sits there looking dumb-struck as the bird hops onto the edge of the tub, walks over Hector’s head, and off the screen to the right.

Stupid cat.

We now finally find ourselves at the bank where Willy supposedly lost his money. Again, no one is apparently going to address the crazy fact that this guy misplaced both a horse and a bath tub as well. They head into Totter Bank (instead of Potter Bank) while Granny insists that Willy tell her he’s sure that this was his last stop of the day. The two head inside and we’re introduced to old man Totter. He, rather predictably, resembles Potter from the movie. He’s small, bald, and wheelchair bound. Totter (Welker) races over to Willy, running over the foot of his handler in the process, to taunt Willy when he enters and asks if he’s back to try and score a free coaster without opening an account. Granny just declares he’s not a nice man which Totter seems to relish in. Outside, Sylvester goes back to chasing Hubie, Bertie, and Tweety referring to them as his little sugar plums. They duck into an alley and Sylvester races in to find snow depictions of the three. The stupid cat thinks the three are frozen with fear and gobbles them up, only to realize he was wrong. He looks at the camera with a pained expression, then reveals that all of his teeth have shattered. I’m not really sure why eating three snow versions of two mice and a canary would shatter his teeth, but okay. The camera pans up to show Tweety and the two mice enjoying Sylvester’s pain allowing Tweety to remark, “See? This is what happens when you don’t floss every day!”

Gasp! Totter had the money the whole time!

Back inside the bank, Willy shares with Totter the reason for their visit. If they think this man is truly one of wicked nature, I’m not sure telling him that eight-thousand dollars have been misplaced is really a good move. Totter just reacts angrily at the thought of Willy being in his bank to make a deposit with no money. He tells him it’s against the law and orders the two to leave immediately! Back outside, Sylvester is freezing while his foils look on. They apparently aren’t very interested in Sylvester’s misery and instead turn their attention to what’s behind the window they’re in front of. It’s an office, and Tweety notes a newspaper on the desk. In comes Totter being pushed in his wheelchair by some oversized goon even though we saw in the last scene that his wheelchair is motorized. He comes to the desk and opens the paper to reveal Willy’s missing envelope. He flashes the contents of it – a big wad of cash, then cheerfully places it in a desk drawer. Tweety and the others note that they have to do something about this and Tweety gives the camera a concerned look to serve as the act break. I’m assuming the animals can communicate with themselves, but not the humans. I didn’t watch enough of this show to know if it had rules or not, but those are pretty much the same rules as the classic shorts.

Totter is either not very bright or needs to see an optometrist.

We then cut to a rooftop at night and some individuals are making some serious grunting noises. It’s Tweety, Hubie, and Bertie and they’re holding onto a rope. The other end of which is in a chimney. At the end of that rope is Sylvester, and if you’re wondering where Hector is, he soon appears from between Sylvester’s robes. Robes? Yeah, they’re dressed as Santa Claus and Sylvester wonders aloud how they let the others talk them into this. The expression on Hector’s face would seem to indicate he feels the same way (he doesn’t talk, for some reason). The two get rather close to the fireplace, before the mice and canary predictably lose their grip. They crash to the ground in a heap of smoke, which gets the attention of old man Totter who is seated at his desk. He demands to know who is there, but upon seeing Sylvester’s disguise takes the bait. He asks “Santa” what he brought him and Sylvester looks a bit puzzled before apparently getting an idea. He reaches into his coat and comes out with a fitting gift: a dog collar. Totter is quite pleased with the kinky gift and even remarks that it matches his eyes. While he oggles the item, Hector reaches his hand out from the coat and grabs a stamp on the desk. The newspaper from earlier is still there, and the dog stamps it to indicate it came from the desk of Totter.

I had a feeling this bit would show up eventually.

Hector then grabs the paper and Sylvester gives out a “Ho ho ho” and a tug on the rope to indicate it’s time to go. On the roof, we see that the diminutive creatures have a plan for getting them back up the chimney: they’ve tied the rope to an anvil. They push it off the side of the building and it gets the job done, painfully so for Sylvester. As for Hector, he’s left behind in the office. He just smiles sheepishly at Totter, grabs his collar, and runs out the door. On the ground, Sylvester is shown with visions of Santa Claus flying circles around his head as he calls out the names of the reindeer, eventually getting them wrong because he’s suffered a pretty severe head injury. Hubie, Bertie, and Tweety come to check on him and when they open an eyelid we get the predictable “Do Not Open Till X-Mas” gag printed inside his eye. Tweety then scolds Sylvester for laying down on the job for they need to get that paper over to Granny and Willy. Hector then comes running by and grabs Sylvester by the tail and keeps on running forcing the little guys to chase after them. For such a big, beastly, dog, Hector sure seems scared of an old man in a wheelchair.

Well, I guess it is good that she brings all of the animals along since they’re the ones who cracked the case.

We find ourselves in the park where Willy and Granny are seated on a bench. Willy thinks the money is a lost cause while Granny tries to keep his spirits up telling him the answer isn’t going to just hit him in the face. It then does when Hector smacks him with the paper. Granny is happy to see them while Willy is confused since he’s looking at a story about aliens or something. Granny grabs it and notes a sarsaparilla stain, followed by cab grease, and more indicators that this paper belonged to Willy. They think they’re onto something, but when Willy spots the stamp with Totter’s name he just gets mopey again and assumes it’s not his paper. Granny, thankfully, isn’t so dumb.

And let us not forget the importance of the bird in all of this.

We then cut to Totter’s office and Granny is waving the paper in his face and accusing him of knowingly taking her brother’s money. Totter plays dumb at first, but then his desk bounces and shakes and a drawer opens. I bet you can guess who pops out: the Minah bird! He does his little walking routine as he hops onto the desk and marches over to Willy with an envelope in his beak. He hops onto Willy’s shoulder and he takes the envelope, the whole time everyone looks perplexed to see this bird. They then turn their angry gazes on Totter, who again tries to play dumb. Granny accuses him of taking the money to put Willy out of business and Totter cracks. Declaring “So what if I took the money?” He then goes into a rant about starting his own Totter-Ville and he’ll own everything. The cop that Granny and Willy apparently convinced to come along then starts wheeling the old man out as he starts wishing “Merry Christmas!” to everything he sees, George Bailey style, including the fireplace and Sylvester.

The second instance of something circling Sylvester’s head in this one. The gags just lack imagination.

With the old man wheeled off to jail, Willy goes to put the money away, only for Granny to wisely snatch it and promise to hold it for him. He then notices they still have time to make Christmas dinner at his nephew’s house, so he deposits the Minah bird under his hat and they make haste. Sylvester notes he’d like a drumstick or two and eyes Tweety who takes on the form of a roasted turkey to better illustrate what the cat is thinking. He takes off and Sylvester gives chase and the pair end up back in the alley. Sylvester dives and grabs ahold of the bird as they slide through the snow and end up in a pile of the white stuff. Sylvester pops his head out, then produces Tweety and goes to drop the bird in his mouth only to be met with a boulder-sized snowball. Somehow, Hubie managed to throw that thing at Sylvester and it looks like he added some bricks too since the dazed cat has one in his mouth. Tweety comes over with a tiny, silver, bell and rings it delivering the famous line “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.” Sylvester sits up and angel versions of himself are circling his head. He remarks, “Look at me, I’m giving out wings!” in a punch-drunk manner before collapsing once again as we close with an iris shot. Before the credits roll there’s an “In memory of Isadore “Friz” Freleng” which I believe appeared at the end of every episode in the show’s first season. Freleng was the originator of the Sylvester and Tweety shorts and passed away shortly before the premiere of the show at the ripe, old, age of 88. A fitting tribute for the animation legend.

If you really like the characters pictured above, then have at it. There’s a lot worse out there, but there’s also a lot better.

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries is a bit of an unremarkable series. The animation is okay for the era, though not as good as Animaniacs or Tiny Toon Adventures. It’s fluid though, it just lacks some of the flourishes of those shows and the gags aren’t especially novel. There’s basically no shading on the characters and it looks especially bad when Totter gets wheeled off to jail as he passes by a lightsource, but nothing on his character model changes. The premise still strikes me as a bit forced, but it works okay and was used as a means of getting in some cameos as we saw here with Hubie and Bertie and the Minah bird. It’s a show that’s not bad enough to be memorable as some abomination brought to television, but it’s also not really good enough to be remembered fondly as a classic from the 90s. And as a Christmas special, it’s kind of the same. I do think it’s an interesting premise and a useful way to work in It’s a Wonderful Life. Other applications are basically hack at this point and this one manages to be unique nearly 30 years later. It just doesn’t do anything special beyond that. There were no laugh-out-loud moments, no truly witty remark from any of the characters, and there’s also no heart to make up for the lack of comedy. It just exists and in this day and age it’s the type of Christmas special one comes to after they’ve exhausted all of their favorites. I suppose the real question is do I prefer this one to the show’s other holiday episode? I guess so? I don’t know. They’re both rather unremarkable, but I suppose the parody nature of this one makes it slightly more enjoyable. They work in plenty of references to the film, including snippets from the soundtrack, so if you really love that movie there’s some added enjoyment here. If not, then it just becomes a pretty haphazard mystery that doesn’t ask much of its audience. I don’t think this was the type of show that tried to be thoughtful with the mystery component. It’s just sort of “there” as a framing device and nothing more.

You could obviously do far worse with your time this year than spend it with Sylvester and Tweety. I would say if you only need one holiday themed short from the duo then you’re better off seeking out Gift Wrapped. If you have more fond memories of this show from the 90s then sure, go for it. I didn’t watch this one as a kid so I don’t have any attachment to it which is definitely something that’s working against it. I just never found the show interesting and often there was something better on. The show can be streamed on Max, whatever is left of it come publication of this piece, and I think it’s a part of Boomerang as well. The first season was also released on DVD way back in 2008 so it’s no longer in print, but can be found secondhand. The prices are fairly reasonable should you want to go that route, but if Warner dumps this from Max then it could see a bump.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 6 – Silly Symphony – “Santa’s Workshop” (1932)

Back in 1929 Walt Disney launched the Silly Symphonies series of cartoon shorts. Unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts that were growing popular at the time, Silly Symphonies did not center on just one character or even a group of characters, but rather were fairly self-contained. Some shorts that became popular, like The Three Little Pigs,…

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by Joe

Dec. 6 – Christmas in Tattertown

Nickelodeon in the late 1980s was a network on the rise. Cable was expanding to more and more households each and every day and Nick was able to seize the youth market almost from the get-go. Prior to that, broadcast networks dominated children’s programming, but restricted it to certain parts of the broadcast schedule. And…

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by Joe

Dec. 6 – Christmas Flintstone

The Flintstones have a well-established relationship with Christmas at this point. There have been a few specials, some even prime time, and plenty of home video releases. For that reason it’s a bit interesting that the show actually waited until its fifth season for its first Christmas episode. At that point, the show had been…

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by Joe

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December 5, 2023

Dec. 5 – A Flintstone Christmas

By Joe
Original air date December 7, 1977

It’s the fifth of December so that means we are returning to one of the 25 Greatest Christmas Specials (as decided by me because it’s my blog) to take a deeper look than what was done some 8 years ago. When I re-evaluated my Top 25, one of the biggest fallers was A Flintstone Christmas. It dropped from number 9 all the way down to 25! I attribute that drop to some of the shine waring off. When I did that countdown in 2015, I had probably only had the DVD for A Flintstone Christmas a short while. Prior to that, it was a thing I felt like I had to get lucky to catch on TV as a kid. It was the sort of special I only saw once a year, if that, so it never had a chance to ware out its welcome. Now that I own it, I’ve easily more than doubled my viewings over the years from when I was a kid, and while I still enjoy it, I do see more of the flaws. And at approximately 48 minutes, it gets a bit long. Had I known I was going to revisit all of these specials in the future in more detail, maybe I would have dropped it all together? Doing these write-ups for a broadcast hour-long special is pretty tiresome. I could have saved myself a whole lot of time if I just kept Morel Orel, but that would also be cheating! I think this one still belongs, even if just barely, so lets get to it.

A Flintstone Christmas was released in 1977 by Hanna-Barbera as one of the first post The Flintstones television specials. For all of the comparisons that we used to see between The Flintstones and The Simpsons, The Flintstones never had nearly the kind of run The Simpsons is still having. That’s true of a lot of shows, but I can still recall when passing The Flintstones was an important milestone for The Simpsons so it’s always a bit surprising to be reminded that The Flintstones aired from 1960 to 1966. This special came out more than ten years after the show had ceased production. It obviously aired seemingly endlessly in re-runs and there were spin-offs, but the show proper had a somewhat short existence. This special was apparently pretty successful though and the franchise gained new life via a series of specials in the early 80s. These cave people refused to die, though now they’re mostly cereal and vitamin pitchmen.

During the show’s run, there was the episode “Christmas Flintstone.” We’ve already covered that one extensively here, but to summarize, Fred ends up taking on the role of Santa Claus to basically save Christmas. For A Flintstone Christmas, the same plot is recycled and expanded upon with some differences. Perhaps most notably, Barney is now along for the ride. And since this was a television special, the running time is doubled and we get some songs tossed in. Perhaps most notably these days, is the circumstances for Fred taking on the Santa role have been altered. In “Christmas Flintstone,” Santa has a cold and has his elves track down the guy he thinks is best at playing him which turns out to be Fred. In this special, Santa falls off of Fred’s roof and gets hurt so he needs Fred to take over. It’s a plot that’s pretty damn close to a certain movie starring Tim Allen. Of course, in The Santa Clause old Saint Nick actually kicks the bucket. That movie was more interested in showing how some jerk can basically turn into Santa Claus and assume that identity permanently. A Flintstone Christmas just wants to put Fred in a sled.

The Flintstones are probably a safer bet than this drugged-out dog and mouse.

Something I did not talk about when first covering A Flintstone Christmas was its relation to another Hanna-Barbera Christmas special: A Christmas Story. That special about a mouse and a dog trying to deliver a letter to Santa doesn’t share any plot details with this one. It doesn’t even feature any popular characters. The only thing it does share with this special is the music. Multiple songs from the 1972 special are recycled and repurposed for this one. It’s pretty odd, and I can’t find any account for why that took place, but I have some thoughts. A Christmas Story, not featuring any recognizable Hanna-Barbera characters, may have been viewed as a dud. It’s a lot easier to market Fred and Scooby-Doo than it is Goober and Gumdrop. That special was also written by Ken Spears and Jack Ruby, the former top duo at Hanna-Barbera who would leave to form Ruby-Spears animation. That duo is credited with creating Scooby-Doo and they left Hanna-Barbera in 1977. Ruby-Spears was created to compete directly with Hanna-Barbera, so maybe burying their Christmas special and using some of the assets to create this new one was a shot at them? Considering the timing, that seems unlikely, but it is more juicy to think of this one as born out of a grudge between the aging duo of Hanna and Barbera waging war with their former proteges.

I suppose it’s time we just dive into this one since this is going to be a rather lengthy write-up. For A Flintstone Christmas, most of the case of The Flintstones was able to return. One person who was not was Alan Reed, the original voice of Fred Flintstone. He passed away in 1977 opening the door for Henry Corden to assume the role. This was not Corden’s first time voicing Fred, but it was probably the most exposure his Fred voice had received as previously he was doing things like records and wrap-arounds on package shows as the character. He had also already been Fred’s singing voice in The Man Called Flintstone as singing was something Reed either couldn’t do or disliked doing. As for the rest of the cast, both Mel Blanc and Jean Vander Pyl were back as Barney and Wilma. Gay Hartwig voices Betty Rubble and she had been doing the character since 1970, though she had never voiced Betty on the actual series. Also returning is John Stephenson as Mr. Slate and Hal Smith as Santa Claus. Smith was basically the Hanna-Barbera Santa. Making her debut as Bamm-Bamm Rubble, is Lucille Bliss, a prolific voice actor who, to my surprise, didn’t voice Bamm-Bamm much. He and Pebbles (voiced by Vander Pyl) are basically kids in this one and I don’t think there is a ton of Flintstones productions where they are at this age so that might explain things.

Betty and Bamm-Bamm are just along for the ride, I guess.

The special begins with a snowy setting. Dinosaurs are peering around and some serene music fills the air. The song is “Sounds of Christmas Day,” our first piece of recycled music from A Christmas Story. After we’re shown the title, a sleigh comes into frame. It’s being driven by Wilma and she’s joined by her daughter Pebbles, friend Betty, and her son Bamm-Bamm. The sleigh is being pulled by a blue mastodon and they’ve just picked out their tree for Christmas. Curiously, only Wilma and Pebbles have selected a tree and it would seem the Rubbles are just along for the ride. They’re rather content with their selection though as they head towards Bedrock.

I’m a little jealous of Fred and Barney’s relationship. I wouldn’t mind having a buddy to do my Christmas shopping with.

In the snowy town below, Fred and Barney are roaming the streets. They’re dressed as they always are, but they’ve added a scarf to fight the cold. They still have not invented shoes, apparently, so they’re just walking through the snow in bare feet. Barney remarks how another Christmas is upon them which allows the two to reminisce a bit as they look at toys through a shop window. Already, the special has committed a sin against The Flintstones brand by depicting a toy train that’s just moving on its own without any explanation for how it could be powered. I’ll overlook the lighting in the street, but come on, at least have it being pulled by a mouse or something!

A lot of people get in on the Santa act this time of year, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen this many in one spot.

As the two walk through town, Barney keeps casually tossing coins into the collection buckets manned by bell-ringing Santas all about town. Fred makes a crack about Barney going Bro-bro-broke this holiday season if he keeps this up, but Barney confesses he has a weakness for Santa. And since there are so many, he has to keep donating just in case one of them happens to be the real Santa! This leads us into our first song break of the special, “Which One is the Real Santa Claus?” This is another of the recycled songs from A Christmas Story and it’s basically the same, only now Fred and Barney get to interject here and there as they look over these Santas. The premise of the song is just to show us a bunch of different people playing Santa, and Fred and Barney get to point out the inaccuracies like the one with his whiskers tied to his head or the one with a belly full of straw. The recording sounds like its exactly the same from A Christmas Story, and even Fred and Barney’s comments are the same as Gumdrop’s remarks. It’s amusing to me that they apparently didn’t bother to re-record it, but I guess they liked it as-is. I will say, the animation is more lively for A Flintstone Christmas and not as repetitive. And it’s a good observation for a Christmas special to base a song on.

When the song is finished, Fred and Barney resume this town crawl they’re on. I assume they’re Christmas shopping since Fred does have a gift under his arm. Their meandering leads them to a pet shop where the two look at a bunch of little dinosaurs that look in Dino. Fred thinks one looks like his boss, I guess because it’s small? Barney ponders the thought of getting Bamm-Bamm a pet for Christmas (I thought they had Hoppy?) and theorizes that one could double as a guard dog. When Fred laughs and points out how little the pup is, he gets bitten on the finger for underestimating the runt.

Since it’s the morning of Christmas Eve I guess they didn’t wait until the last minute.

The next morning, the Rubbles approach the Flintstone’s house. Barney is apparently giving Fred a ride to work while inside Fred is decorating the tree Wilma and Pebbles picked out the night before. It seems an odd time to decorate a tree, but maybe it’s an ancient cave man custom? Barney yanks the door bell, which is a monkey’s tail. He’s alerted to ding some bells which are colored red and green for the holidays. When done, he just goes back to sleep. What? No sarcastic remark?!

Fred must have one hell of a tree stand under that tree skirt.

Fred, who is on top of a ladder in a precarious position, seems excited that Barney is here to take him to work. Dino is excited too and his running by caused Fred to teeter. Eventually, the ladder will fall leaving Fred dangling from the tree like an oversized, grumpy, ornament. As the Rubbles enter and admire the tree, Betty quietly asks Wilma if she had a chance to ask Fred about something. She has, twice, and he’s said “No” to whatever this secret request is. Barney and Fred need to have a contest of ornament placement for some reason, with Barney selecting a spot for the final one (they all look like painted rocks) that Fred disagrees with just because they’re men and everything has to be a competition. He then places it in the spot he declares is perfect with predictable results. The tree falls on him pinning him to the floor, but good thing Barney is here to remind us that Bamm-Bamm is the strongest kid in the world and he effortlessly picks the tree up with one hand to free his Uncle Fred.

You know Wilma, he’d probably be willing to play Santa if you stuck up for him every once and awhile when someone calls him fat.

Wilma thanks the lad for his assistance then tells Pebbles to take Bamm-Bamm to go listen to some records because she needs to talk to her father. When the kids are gone, Wilma and Betty try to bring up the topic again. It seems that a local women’s group is hosting a gathering tonight, on Christmas Eve, for the town kids and they want Fred to play Santa. Fred refuses on account of the guys at work will poke fun at him and right on cue Barney wonders where they could find a suit big enough to fit Fred. Fred uses that as proof of what he’s talking about and refuses to discuss it further. Barney kisses his wife goodbye while Fred storms off. He then pops back into frame to give Wilma a kiss as well (on the cheek, these guys are still prudes) which softens her demeanor. They don’t seem too discouraged by Fred’s refusal, likely because they have an ace up their sleeves. Or they would if they wore sleeves.

You have to be close friends to be willing to ride in that together.

We next find Barney dropping Fred off for work. Barney’s car appears to be a hollowed out log on wheels. We only see it from the side, but it sure doesn’t look like a two-seater. That must have been a very uncomfortable ride (or perhaps extremely comfortable, depending on how they feel about each other). Fred heads into work and is immediately told by the foreman, Ed (Don Messick), that Mr. Slate wants to see him. This immediately unnerves Fred, but Ed doesn’t care and cheerfully tells him that he’ll help Fred look for a new job. Nice guy.

The dinosaur being named Otis is a smart touch.

Fred heads inside to the elevator and pulls the lever to take it down. As he does so, he’s just muttering to himself trying to reason why Mr. Slate would want to see him. It’s a reassuring exercise as he’s trying to convince himself there’s no way he should be fired. Once the elevator is engaged, we see it’s operated by a brontosaurus like dinosaur. He’s green and he operates the elevator via a rope in his mouth. When Fred pulls the lever, the guy on his back (voiced by Hal Smith) gives the command to start moving which lets the elevator go down. He then complains the dinosaur is moving too slow and that this is supposed to be an express elevator (it’s only one, maybe two stories at most). The dinosaur just looks at the guy and says “Huh?” and as he does he lets go of the rope causing the elevator to plummet to the bottom. Fred is in such a daze though that he doesn’t even notice and continues walking like nothing happened.

I probably don’t need to tell you what he’s saying. You know.

Outside Mr. Slate’s office, Fred tells the secretary he’s here. She speaks into an intercom telling Mr. Slate that Flintstone has arrived and a little purple bird makes a stereotypical parrot sound and flies off. It lands in another intercom box in Mr. Slate’s office and repeats what the secretary said. Mr. Slate calls for Fred to enter, and the bird flies off and relays the message. After doing so, he mugs for the camera and remarks, “Eh, it’s a living.” I feel like anytime someone makes a joke about The Flintstones in such a way that’s the line they always parrot, pun intended. Family Guy has definitely done this, right? I wonder how many times that line has been delivered by a creature on the show in a similar manner?

Oh Fred, have some dignity.

Fred enters the office and asks Mr. Slate what he wanted to see him about. Mr. Slate starts talking about a new job for Fred which immediately causes him to start groveling. He dives under Mr. Slate’s desk so he can grab his ankles and beg which just annoys the guy. He requests Fred to grovel standing up and Fred does as he’s told. This is so pathetic, Fred. Mr. Slate then tells him that the Women’s Auxiliary Club is hosting an event for underprivileged children and that Mrs. Slate wants Fred to play Santa Claus. This is the exact same gig Wilma and Betty were trying to get him to take, but since it’s now coming from his boss, Fred is more than happy to accept. He shakes Mr. Slate’s hand so hard that it won’t stop shaking. Fred happily scoops up the box containing the Santa suit and assures Mr. Slate he won’t regret this. As he heads out, he exits through a door that is clearly not the one he entered through. He closes it behind him, but then reemerges to wish Mr. Slate a “Merry Christmas!” Slate then orders Fred to get out of his closet and he sheepishly pokes his head out and apologizes referring to him as “Boss” in the process. Pathetic.

Always a popular move to have your main character build a snowman.

With that settled, Fred can now merrily exit the office. He punches in, and we see a tired, worn out, little bird has to chisel the time cards each time someone punches in and out. He’s too tired to offer a quip of any kind. There’s then a time skip and Fred is leaving work much happier than he entered. He tosses a coin to the first Santa he sees before going into his solo song – “It’s My Favorite Time of the Year.” This is Fred just galivanting about town telling us how Christmas is his favorite time of the year. Similar to “Which One is the Real Santa Claus?” Fred will sing a part then interject a comment of some kind like “Every house wears a blanket of snow!” This breaks up the melody, which is a bit jarring and an odd choice. We also get another shot of a toy train, different from before, and for some reason Fred indicates it will soon be his? I may have missed a detail in the song. It ends with him putting his turtle shell helmet on a snowman some kids made before stepping on a sleigh that sends him hurtling towards the neighborhood.

I can’t decide if Dino is being sweet or weird. This goes on for minutes.

When Fred arrives, his helmet has returned to his head and he eagerly heads into the house calling for Wilma. Dino (Blanc) has other plans as the dinosaur practically mauls his beloved master and Wilma has to get him off. She points out that Dino just loves him, and as Fred stands and tells Wilma the now good news Dino has a hand on his shoulder like a supportive lover. It’s both adorable and a little weird. Fred then tells Wilma how Mrs. Slate wants him to play Santa Claus at the party tonight. When Wilma asks what changed his mind, Fred starts to go over the events from earlier, but he retells them in a very different manner. In his version, Mr. Slate called him into the office and started buttering him up and told him he was selected for his fantastic acting ability (Fred already asked Mr. Slate if that was the reason, and the bird from the office confirmed it was because he’s fat). He’s excited now though and Wilma, who likely sees through her husband’s ruse, just lets him have this small victory.

You would think Mr. Slate could afford a better suit.

With Pebbles across the street at the Rubbles’ house, Fred is free to try on the suit Mr. Slate gave him. He’s a bit dismayed to see it’s pretty rugged looking. Wilma assures him he’ll look better with the hat on which seems to work to cheer him up once he places it upon his head. Strangely, there’s no beard with this suit which seems like a pretty serious omission. Barney then arrives and he’s able to get in a bunch of fat jokes at Fred’s expense. Seriously, is Fred really that big? He looks pretty normal for a character on this show. Anyway, Fred even tries to just go along with him this time claiming he’s dedicated to the role, but Barney just keeps going and Fred has to basically threaten him with violence, in a subtle manner, to get him to stop. Fred’s actually a decent guy for not going low with return insults. Barney is both short and also struggled with infertility, those are some easy targets. Wilma then announces she’s leaving to help set up for the party. She blows her husband a kiss and heaps a ton of praise on him for doing what he’s doing. It’s actually really sweet.

Maybe the presence of footwear on Santa indicates that he exists outside of time?

As Fred and Barney muse about what a great “gal” Wilma is, they hear a crashing sound coming from the roof. They race outside and see what should be two unfamiliar objects poking out of a snow bank. They’re boots, and apparently they do know what boots are despite never wearing any. Fred and Barney both give a tug which just causes the boots to come off. When they wonder who they belong to, a voice from offscreen says “They’re mine!” It’s Santa, and he has completely emerged from the snow bank with not a flake upon him. He’s been redesigned since “Christmas Flintstone” and looks far less ragged. Fred is wondering what this guy is doing so far from his street corner while Barney immediately recognizes the guy for who he is. He then complains to Fred about his roof and describes it as an obstacle course up there. The guy’s hurt too, so Fred decides they better bring him inside.

Not many mall Santas have one of those.

Once in the house, Santa requests the use of Fred’s telephone. Fred says okay, but tells him no long distance calls! Santa then flops on the surely comfortable stone couch and asks the operator to connect him with The North Pole. Hey, he said no long distance! Fred hears this and surprisingly doesn’t get mad, instead he tells Barney to go alert the asylum that one of their boys got out. Barney reluctantly does as he’s told, but once outside he hears something which directs his gaze to the roof. Sure enough, upon that roof sits Santa’s sleigh and eight reindeer. Surprisingly, we’re playing it straight with the reindeer and not going with some sort of dinosaur hybrid. Barney shouts out for Fred to come and see this and initially Fred tries to silence him so as not to alarm the neighbors. Fred then finally looks at the roof and sees what Barney sees. Finally, he’s convinced this is the real Santa which excites the crap out of him! He jumps up and does his running in place gag and yanks Barney backs inside the house.

Now they’re starting to look the part.

Now that Fred has been made a believer, the three of them can get down to the matter at hand. Not only is Santa injured, he’s also caught a cold. Fred points out the obvious that Santa is in no condition to deliver presents tonight and Santa is forced to admit that sad truth. He can’t take a day off though, not on Christmas Eve! He then wonders how he could possibly find someone jolly enough, and fat enough, to replace him. Barney is happy to point out that his chubby friend is the perfect fill-in and even volunteers to be Fred’s elf helper. Santa thinks this is a great idea and uses some Christmas magic to outfit Barney with a green tunic with orange stockings and a hat. Fred, in his rather sad excuse for a Santa suit, can’t be seen in public like that so Santa uses his magic to bestow his suit on Fred instead complete with a big, white, beard. Fred is pretty smitten with his new threads, and after Santa thoroughly confuses him with instructions for piloting the sleigh, Fred vows to not let Santa down! He then immediately trips over Santa’s legs and falls flat on his face. Santa seems less than confident about what’s about to take place, but I say cut the guy some slack. This is likely his first time ever wearing boots!

There aren’t a lot of effects shots in this one, but the glittering sleigh is at least a nice touch.

Up on the roof, Fred tries to remember how to start the sleigh. Barney reminds him that he has to call out the reindeer by name and we soon find out that Fred has no idea what their names are. As he embarrasses himself, Barney is left to chuckle and then correct him. He calls out the reindeer’s names and as he does we pan to each one like the animators are showing off that they did indeed draw eight of them. The sleigh rockets into the sky and Fred congratulates himself for remembering. The animation of the flying sleigh isn’t super ambitious, but it is nice looking as there’s a lot of sparkle effects added like it’s running atop a glittering road.

This is going about as well as expected.

Fred and Barney arrive at the first house and Fred dives into the chimney with his customary “Yabba dabba do!” and has a fairly harsh landing. At least the fireplace wasn’t lit. Barney calls down to see if he’s okay and Fred sarcastically tells him he loves falling down chimneys. He then calls for the presents and Barney just dumps them down the chimney burying his friend below. Some helper. We then cut quickly to the party that Fred is supposed to show up at. Mr. Slate is wondering where Fred is while Wilma is there to assure him that Fred will be along soon. We’ll be checking in on this situation a lot tonight. Back at the house, Barney asks Fred if he’s done yet only for Fred to reply that he’s been done for awhile, he just can’t get back up the chimney. Barney suggests the front door and Fred agrees that’s a sensible solution to his problem. He quietly exits the house, but as he does he fails to notice the “Beware of Dog” sign. A little triceratops style dinosaur sneaks up on Fred and bites his foot. He howls, but the pain caused him to jump up onto the roof so I’d say mission accomplished!

Apparently, things have to get worse before they can get better.

At the next house, Fred has decided that it’s Barney who should go down the chimney instead. He has Barney standing on the chimney with a rope around his waist that Fred is holding onto at ground level. He’s wrapped it around the mailbox for added security. Barney has to ask why it’s he who is going down the chimney now and I assume he just wants to hear Fred admit that he’s too fat. With a chuckle, Barney jumps down the chimney, but he does so before Fred can yell “Go!” His descent catches Fred by surprise pulling him up onto the roof and into the chimney as well where he gets stuck with his feet sticking out. I wonder how many more fat jokes we have to endure?

It’s now time for a montage! Clearly, if we were to follow Fred and Barney to every house this thing would last way longer than 48 minutes so instead we just see them fly past obvious, global, landmarks while presents rain down from the sky. It’s set to the main theme of the special in an instrumental fashion, but soon some lyrics come in. “Sounds of Christmas Day” is performed as we see kids receive their presents which fall from the sky. They celebrate Christmas by ice skating, sledding, and doing what kids love to do most on Christmas Day – open presents!

And things were starting to turn around too.

When the song is over we check in with Fred and Barney. They’re feeling mighty good about the job they’ve done and Fred informs us they’re halfway through. Unfortunately, we have about 20 minutes left in this thing still to go so we need some conflict. Enter: The Storm! Turbulence causes things to get pretty bumpy in the sleigh. Fred tries to fly over it, but it’s no good. We see the pair bounce around and then cut to a close-up shot of the sleigh to see that there are no presents in the sleigh! This is a true Christmas emergency, but we back out for a longer shot and see the presents are returned. Phew, it was just an animation error. Wait a minute! They’re bouncing around again, and now the presents have bounced out! Oh, woe be to Christmas, presents for half of the kids in the world just fell out of the sleigh to land who knows where. This is a problem.

Falling off the roof probably wasn’t fun, but this is still a pretty sweet gig for Santa.

Barney soon takes note of a CB radio in the sleigh. He suggests they see if they can contact Santa via that device and Fred jumps onto it calling out for Santa. Barney tells him he can’t talk like that on a CB radio, you have to use CB talk! Barney takes over and calls out “Sky Sled to Big Red, do you have a copy?” which allows Fred to ask “A copy of what?” I’ve definitely never heard that one before. Eventually, Santa does answer and we see him back at Fred’s house where he just pulls the radio out of…lets not speculate. He doesn’t even let Barney explain and tells him he knows that they blew it. Fred then jumps on and tells Santa about the storm and, to Santa’s credit, he sounds concerned for their well-being upon hearing that detail. Fred tells him what happened, and Santa declares there’s only one thing they can do: head back to the work shop for more toys.

If I were William Hanna or Joseph Barbera I would have this background hanging on my wall. I’d also be dead, so maybe it’s not so bad that I’m not one of them.

This is the point of the special where things start to feel a little long. This is clearly a detour that exists to just pad this one out, but it is what it is. Santa phones ahead to alert the shop to expect the two and we soon see Fred and Barney arrive. The exterior of Santa’s place is lovingly painted with the northern lights hovering in the sky overhead. The two head inside and are greeted by Mrs. Claus (Virginia Gregg) who tells the two the work shop is already working hard to fill the order. Barney and Fred take some time to admire the toys and when Mrs. Claus remarks they have the biggest Christmas list in the world, Fred gives her a “Yeah” that sounds so unimpressed, but I think it’s unintentional.

Maybe this sequence exists because someone felt we had to see the work shop?

The two offer to assist in the work shop and Mrs. Claus, either humoring them or admitting they need all the help they can get, leads the pair in. They have to take a tram of sorts to get there and in no time at all Fred and Barney find themselves accidentally on the assembly line. Fred gets painted blue and the two get stuffed in a box by an automatic wrapper. They poke their heads out to take in the sights and see the elves hard at work. At this point, another song has kicked in and it’s called “A Brand New Kind of Christmas Song,” which sounds like the type of song one would write when padding out a Christmas special. It’s fairly unremarkable, but also not offensive or anything, and it has this horn gimmick it returns to frequently. Fred and Barney, predictably, are of no help as they act like kids might if they happened upon a magic toy shop. About the most help they provide is singing the final verse of the song.

Thank goodness these kids aren’t armed.

When the song is over the pair thank the elves and Mrs. Claus and say their goodbyes. Fred tries to recall the names of the reindeer, but can’t get past Dasher without the aid of Barney. He only calls out four names, but the reindeer get the idea and take off anyway. As the two remark what a great lady Mrs. Claus is, we cut back to the Bedrock Hall where Fred is supposed to make an appearance as Santa Claus. At this point the kids are all loudly demanding that Santa show his face and the adults don’t know what to do. Mr. Slate is more than a little irritated and threats of someone getting fired have begun. Wilma wonders where they could be and checks her watch. It’s digital, but it displays time in Roman numerals so…eh? Betty tries to reassure her that they’re probably planning a dramatic entrance, but Wilma is unconvinced and walks off wondering if Fred will lose his job. This leaves Betty to break the fourth wall by telling us that will be a great Christmas present – a pink slip. It’s a common style of delivery for jokes on The Flintstones, but it feels weird without a laugh track.

When the realization hits that you’ve ruined Christmas by saving Christmas.

We then rejoin Fred and Barney as they deliver toys. They’ve solved their chimney problem by having Fred just drop presents from the sleigh down the chimney -that’s convenient! Barney remarks this is like having a party which causes Fred to remember the actual party. He immediately gets knocked off his game since he is sure that Mr. Slate will fire him for being a no-show tonight. With no other thing they can do, they call Santa once again. This time we’re not privy to the conversation and instead we jump forward in time so Fred can tell us that Santa told them to push the super speed button in the sleigh. Now that we’ve deus ex machina’d this little problem it’s time to return to Bedrock Hall.

There’s going to be a lot of stale cookies in the morning out there.

And at the hall, the kids have not let up and Mr. Slate is implying there will be violence the next time he sees Fred. If you thought that meant he and Barney were about to show up then you’d be wrong. The special instead feels it’s important that we jump back to Fred and Barney just to see them make the last delivery. The super speed button is the biggest cheat code in any Christmas special as it allows them to zoom over a village and the presents just fall from the sky like homing missiles. They know where to go apparently, and so does Fred as he commands the reindeer to head for Bedrock!

Pebbles’ idyllic Christmas.

In Bedrock Hall, Mr. Slate is now apparently hiding from this agitated mob of children behind a curtain. He tells Wilma that if Fred doesn’t show up in one minute he need not show up at all – here or at work! Wilma looks rather concerned, understandably, but has to put on a happy face as Pebbles approaches and declares that Santa isn’t coming. Wilma tells her she needs to have hope, which is when another recycled song from A Christmas Story enters – “Hope.” It’s a melancholy little song and it’s really not bad if you’re into that sort of thing. As it’s played, we see images of Pebbles waking up on Christmas morning and heading for the tree. We see Fred and Wilma looking on and exchanging gifts as well. I like the closing line of “Hope believes in Santa Claus,” and it’s a sequence I really want to love, but at this point in the special it’s arriving when we’re firmly in “Get to the fireworks!” mode.

Welcome, Santa!

And we are finally there as we cut to Fred and Barney flying over Bedrock. They basically crash land on the roof of the hall which throws them from the sleigh and down the chimney. They land on their butts, but the kids don’t care about style points tonight as they immediately start cheering for Santa! Mr. Slate looks rather bewildered at the entrance, maybe he’s a bit shocked to see how well the ratty old suit he gave Fred earlier looks on him, and he soon approaches the pair. Betty and Wilma embrace in relief that the two arrived while Mr. Slate angrily gets in Fred’s face. “Ten seconds more and you would have been fired Flintstone!” His face then immediately switches to a smile as he adds, “But not after an entrance like that! Welcome Santa Claus, welcome to Bedrock!”

If Santa can just magic-up presents when he needs them then why did they have to go back to the work shop after losing all of the presents? Why have a work shop at all?!

Unfortunately for Fred, he doesn’t have time to bask in the praise he just received from his boss because these kids are demanding presents. Fred reaches into his sack to retrieve them, only to find it empty. It’s at this point he realizes they got rid of all the presents in the sleigh and have none left. The kids are practically frothing at the mouth as Barney encourages Fred to try and see if he has any of that Christmas magic in him. He concedes that he can try, while Mr. Slate is thoroughly confused at what they’re talking about and demands they produce presents! Fred points his mittens at the bag and it explodes with presents! They land on the floor around them and the kids stampede on over. In yet another sign that we’re stalling for time, the animation cycles twice of the kids running so we see Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, along with the other random kids, run past the camera twice despite said camera remaining in a fixed spot.

He makes it look so easy.

Fred and Barney bask in the glow of a job well done, but only for a moment as they soon realize they left Santa back at the house. They run out of there and race back to Fred’s house where the jolly old elf has apparently made a full recovery. He thanks the boys for a job well done and even offers that, should he ever find himself in another pinch, he’ll be calling. Santa then takes back his suit and he needs to get out of there because Wilma, Betty, and the kids are approaching. The women are also pretty salty at Fred and Barney for not staying to help clean up so they will have some explaining to do. Before Santa can leave though, Fred has to ask him one thing: how to get back up the chimney? Santa gives a chuckle and apologizes for not telling him how. He then demonstrates by placing a finger beside his nose, and then up the chimney he goes in a cloud of sparkles.

Time for the boys to come clean.

The gang then enters and Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are still excited from their visit from Santa Claus and his elf. Fred and Barney give a little chuckle as Wilma and Betty storm over and demand to know what happened with them tonight. There’s no sense in hiding it, so they tell the truth: Santa fell off the roof and they had to pitch in and help with the presents. Wilma and Betty laugh and when Fred suggests they don’t believe them Wilma adds “Of course I don’t!” However, they’re still pretty smitten as well following that grand entrance and just can’t stay mad at their boys.

Fred getting bailed out by Christmas Magic yet again!

It’s then proposed that they exchange presents. Betty starts off by giving Barney his and he, in turn, pulls a present out from behind his back. Just where was he hiding that thing? Wilma hands Fred his and Fred reaches into his pocket to find…a hole. It’s implied he forgot, but lucky for him a certain magic man in a red suit owes him a favor. A wrapped present comes floating out of the fireplace and lands in Wilma’s hands. She laughs and remarks what a thoughtful way to deliver her gift completely ignoring the implausible nature of it all. She then does exactly what parents tell their children not to do -she openly speculates that it’s the present she wants most as she opens it. Seriously Wilma? That’s a real dick move! Fred can only cross his fingers that Santa got her the earrings she apparently wanted, but since this is Santa we’re talking about, Fred has nothing to fear. The gaudy sabretooth earrings are indeed in the box and both Betty and Wilma admire them. We don’t get to see what anyone else got.

Safe to say that these two will never lose the Christmas Spirit.

Wilma thanks Fred, and he apparently learned something tonight to not take credit for other people’s work (like he did with Barney all night) and tells Wilma she should really be thanking Santa. The kids then start calling out that they see Santa flying in the sky from the window. Wilma and Betty have a giggle at the imaginations of children while Fred and Barney race over to the window and start waving bye themselves. The women seem stunned a moment, but then laugh again. Wilma remarks that they certainly have the Christmas Spirit and Fred and Barney confirm to her that they sure do. We cut to the sky and are treated to a moon shot as Santa flies by. It’s he who gets the customary last line as he calls out “Merry Christmas to all!” and we close on a shot of Bedrock from sky level.

They sure know how to end a Christmas special.

That is definitely a long one, but a charming one. I wasn’t shy about sharing my thoughts on when things started to feel like they were overstaying their welcome, but I enjoy the final pay-off at Bedrock Hall. Mr. Slate essentially does a Scrooge routine where he acts like he’s about to make life miserable for the protagonist, only to turn the tables on him. It’s effective and I love it here. The overall plot is also a good one. It’s easy to lose sight of that since it is so similar to “Christmas Flintstone,” but having your main characters take over for Santa on Christmas Eve is a good premise. Certainly far better than a parody, which The Flintstones will resort to in the future.

This being Hanna-Barbera, the animation isn’t anything to write home about. It’s better than a typical TV show and at least we get new character models with Fred and Barney in their Santa and elf costumes. They did do all eight reindeer, so I’ll give credit there since so many shows skimp on that detail, and the shots from the sleigh look rather nice. There’s just little to no attempt at special effect shots. Dino tackles Fred offscreen, Santa emerges from the snowbank offscreen, shortcuts like that permeate this one. There’s also a liberal use of recycled animation throughout. The train set from the beginning of the special is the same train set we see at Santa’s work shop, for example. It adds to the padded nature of this one. It definitely didn’t need to be 48 minutes, though I do think having a little extra than a typical episode of The Flintstones helps. A recut would certainly benefit the special. Or, if instead of making it shorter we just got to see more Fred and Barney delivering presents hijinks instead of the North Pole that might have been better. We basically see them deliver gifts at just two houses.

The train set so great we had to see it twice.

The music is rather pleasant throughout. “Sounds of Christmas Day” is essentially the theme of the special and it’s lovely as an instrumental. The special didn’t rely on public domain music, though it did recycle songs from that other Christmas special. It’s kind of funny that they did because those songs weren’t remarkable by any means, but again, it’s probably better than hearing “Jingle Bells” once again. The only song I could have done without is the one from the work shop, but that whole sequence could be dropped, as far as I’m concerned. And even though I said it was weird for Betty’s joke to lack a laugh track, that doesn’t mean I miss one. It’s actually really refreshing to watch The Flintstones and not have to hear one every 10 seconds.

I’m happy with where I have this ranked, but it could have been higher without this needless detour.

Is A Flintstone Christmas one of the top 25 Christmas Specials of all time? For me it is. I’m not really a fan of The Flintstones, but I did watch the show a fair amount growing up. I’ve always liked the premise more than the execution when it comes to the show. I can’t really remember any specific episodes in great detail from my youth as it was one of those shows that was just on. As such, I don’t think nostalgia is playing a huge role in my enjoyment here. I suppose it is in the sense that I did get a little excited when I would come across this special as a kid just because it was something I didn’t see a lot. As someone who watched the same specials over and over year in and year out you can probably see how anything that felt “new” to me could be appealing. And yet, aside from the over reliance on fat jokes, this one charms the hell out of me. If it was just a little tidier it would be better, but as is, I still enjoy it quite a bit and I think you will too.

If you would like to make A Flintstone Christmas part of your Christmas viewing this year, it’s both easy and a little difficult. The DVD is one of those burn-on-demand releases and can still be found for fairly cheap and it comes with A Flintstone Family Christmas, a decent 90s addition to The Flintstone world. The special is available to rent on Prime video and Vudu, but is not presently on a streaming service. It is available for free on The Internet Archive and in great quality at that. It’s also available in other corners of the internet for free, but maybe at a lesser quality and likely with a Cartoon Network or Boomerang logo in the corner.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 5 – A Garfield Christmas

This year, I’m bringing back a feature from last year where I take another look at, what I consider to be, the greatest Christmas specials ever made. I explained my reasoning for doing this in prior posts, but in short, the first time I looked at some of these specials I did just a short…

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by Joe

Dec. 5 – Pluto’s Christmas Tree

Today we’re doing the second look-back to one of the best Christmas specials ever conceived, as chosen by yours truly, and it’s one of my all-time favorites: Pluto’s Christmas Tree. Despite being titled Pluto’s Christmas Tree, this Jack Hannah-directed cartoon short from 1952 is actually considered a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Mickey apparently had it written…

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by Joe

Dec. 5 – The Captain’s Christmas

Did you ever wonder where those speech balloons in comic books came from? Maybe you just assumed they were always there, but they actually originate from a comic strip titled The Katzenjammer Kids. The strip was created by cartoonist Rudolph Dirks and it debuted in newspapers in December of 1897. It was incredibly popular for…

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by Joe

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December 4, 2023

Dec. 4 – Doug – “Doug’s Christmas Story”

By Joe
Original air date December 12, 1993.

Last year, we covered in depth the inaugural Christmas episodes of Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show, two of the three original Nicktoons that premiered in 1991. Now, we’re going to look at the Christmas episode for the other original Nicktoon: Doug. Doug was created by Jim Jinkins and was one of the first of the Nicktoons to go into production. Back when Nickelodeon set out to commission its own animation, the studio didn’t actually have an in-house animation studio, or at least not one capable of producing three shows. This meant the original three Nicktoons were all animated independent of Nickelodeon which would in turn make them more expensive than the shows that followed. Rocko’s Modern Life was the first Nicktoon produced by Nick’s own internal studio, Games Animation, which also took over The Ren & Stimpy Show following the firing of John Kricfalusi. I think it’s because of that aspect of the show’s production that Nickelodeon was always reluctant to order more. The original contract with Jinkins was for 65 episodes which were ordered in chunks and spread out as seasons, a common tactic unique to animation where one production season is treated as multiples by a network. Nick ended up stopping at 52 episodes though as Doug wasn’t the hit they had envisioned. Not that it was a failure, it just wasn’t on the same level as the other two original Nicktoons. Combine that with it being more expensive to produce than some of the Nicktoons to follow meant Jinkins got to take his project elsewhere. Nickelodeon had agreed to let Jinkins retain ownership of the property from the onset which is how it ended up in the hands of Disney where it would be revived in 1997 and run for a few more years.

It’s easy to see why Doug may not have been the success that Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show were. Rugrats was fairly unique in its depiction of toddler life which was ripe for comedy while The Ren & Stimpy Show was just off-the-wall zaniness. Doug was a gentler show that was basically a coming-of-age story about a kid who was actually older than the show’s target demographic. Doug was roughly 11 and a half and said to be in the 7th grade and most of the episodes dealt with Doug facing pretty ordinary problems: allowance, rumors, popularity, peer pressure, etc. The show was able to flex its animation muscle a bit with Doug’s imagination. Doug acted as both main character and narrator for each episode and would often fantasize about a way out of his problems where a superhero, secret agent, or some other product of his imagination would save the day. In the end, Doug would have to figure things out on his own that didn’t involve superpowers or fancy spy gear. Alongside him was always his trusty canine sidekick, Porkchop, who is basically on the level of Scooby Doo or Astro as far as intelligence goes. He’s way beyond a normal dog and he’s a character that helps remind the viewer that they’re watching a cartoon and not something set in the real world.

Jim Jinkins created Doug to not be an education show, but he did want each episode to have a moral of some kind which gave it a decidedly different flavor from the other Nicktoons.

Unlike the other two debut Nicktoons, Doug saved his Christmas episode for what Nickelodeon dubbed Season 4 of the show. Airing in 1993 was “Doug’s Christmas Story,” one of the last episodes of the show to premiere on Nickelodeon. Only three episodes remained from the Nick production run after it with Doug wrapping up on New Year’s Day 1994. And like a great many Christmas episodes from shows that customarily split their half hour block in two, “Doug’s Christmas Story” takes up the full 23 minute runtime for the episode so it can tell a more complete story. It’s one of tragedy and triumph and I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say Doug will have an okay Christmas when all is said and done.

Pictured: the kids actually able to afford hockey sticks.

Following the standard opening credits (boo!), we find Doug and his friends doing something familiar for the opening of a Christmas episode: skating. More precisely, they’re playing hockey on a frozen pond, but it’s impossible not to get some A Charlie Brown Christmas vibes from the scene. Doug chimes in as narrator to tell us that basically the worst possible thing that could happen in the lead-up to Christmas is about to happen. He doesn’t actually tell us what that something is, we have to watch and find out. Once he’s done setting the stage, we see the town kids playing hockey. You get a sense of which kids come from money and which don’t. Some have nice gear and actual hockey sticks, while Doug (Billy West) and his buddy Skeeter (Fred Newman) are using a rake and broom, respectively. Apparently, no one owns a hockey puck though as the kids are playing with a pine cone.

This isn’t going to go over well.

Porkchop (Newman) is also present and sliding around on the ice, but he comes to a section marked as a hazard for thin ice and freaks out a bit. As he backs off of the ice, it breaks, and the sign sinks below the surface of the water. A scrum around the not-puck results in the pine cone sliding over in the direction of the area Porkchop just vacated. Beebe (Alice Playten) skates over to retrieve it completely unaware of the thin ice. Despite the pine cone being located near open water, Beebe still heads in the direction to retrieve something that literally grows on trees while Porkchop tries to warn her. Now, I said Porkchop possessed intelligence far beyond a normal dog and compared him to the likes of Scooby Doo, but one thing Scoob can do that Porkchop cannot is actually talk. He communicates with pantomime mostly, and it’s pretty hard to figure out how to get the message of “thin ice” across in such a fashion. Especially when time is a factor, so he does the only thing a dog can do: he bites Beebe. By locking his jaws on her leg, he’s able to pull her away from danger, but to Beebe and any onlooker, it just looks like he attacked her (well, that’s how we’re supposed to read it and thereby ignore the actual open water she was skating towards). Beebe screams and the other kids gather around. As Doug approaches to find out what happened he’s given the bad news: Porkchop attacked Beebe. Doug is rather flabbergasted, but does the normal thing of reprimanding his dog as he has to go off of what the eyewitnesses saw, even if it makes no sense.

Following a quick break to introduce the title card, we find Doug and Porkchop at home. Doug is reprimanding Porkchop for what he did by telling him that you don’t bite people, even if it is Beebe. Beebe is basically the spoiled rich girl of the show that is hard to like, so if the viewer was going to enjoy seeing any of the characters in the show have pain inflicted upon them, chances are it would have been Beebe. Or the school bully, Roger, who is surprisingly absent from this one. Anyway, Porkchop tries to pantomime what happened for Doug, but his message isn’t getting across. Doug just tells him to quit goofing off and sends him into his igloo, which is his dog house. After Porkchop sullenly heads inside, Doug’s sister Judy (Becca Lish) pulls into the driveway and beckons Doug to come with her so they can get Christmas presents for their parents while they’re out. Doug seems a bit reluctant to leave Porkchop, but hops into the car anyway.

The former mayor turned disc jockey.

We then cut to a radio station where the former mayor of Bluffington, Bob White (Greg Lee), is hosting a talk show. He’s relaying some recipe that involves cocktail weiners soaked in grape jelly, which just sounds terrible. We also find out that he’s a bit of a sore loser as he lost his re-election bid in an earlier episode to Doug’s neighbor, Mrs. Dink, but he points out on his show that she’s out of town which practically makes him the acting mayor for the holidays (I don’t think that’s how it works, Bob, but whatever). Some of his terminology is eerily similar to some of the stolen election rhetoric that’s become all too common in our current society. Anyway, his caller brings up the incident at the pond and Beebe getting attacked by a dog. Seems like a weird thing to gossip about, but okay, it’s a small town. White is understandably just hearing about this for the first time, but he seems to view this incident as an opportunity to get some much needed publicity.

This seems a little over-the-top for a dog.

Doug and Judy are shown shopping and apparently Judy wants to get their father a new golf club. He needs a 9 iron and she mistakenly thinks getting him a 7 and a 2 iron would be better than just getting him one club! Doug, for his part, has his mind still on what happened earlier and can’t really focus on the task at hand. He does see a hat that he thinks would look great on Porkchop and decides to buy that for him for Christmas. This seems to cheer him up a bit as we find the two driving home, but when they get there they find a huge crowd assembled. White has apparently summoned the media and the police and demands that Porkchop be arrested for what happened earlier. He even brought his back-up singers from his radio show to punctuate everything he says. Referring to Porkchop as a trained killing machine, he orders the dog be taken away where he’ll be put away forever. This is all done in the name of keeping the children of Bluffington safe. Doug is understandably confused and a bit distraught, but there’s nothing he or his family can do to stop the cops from tossing Porkchop in a paddy wagon and hauling him off to the pound.

It’s not visible in this shot, but I like how the animators decided to put pants on Doug instead of his customary shorts considering it’s winter and all. For some reason, he’ll be back in shorts though before this one ends.

We then find the Funnie family in their nicely decorated family room. Doug’s dad, Phil (Doug Preis), is trying to cheer his son up by saying how the spirit of the season should help everyone come to their senses. Judy, on the other hand, is ranting about how unbelievable it is they had a killer in their midst this whole time which earns her a reprimand from their mother, Theda (Lish). Doug’s mom then asks him if he’s sure Porkchop was just trying to play with Beebe and that’s the story Doug is running with as he can’t fathom Porkchop ever actually hurting someone. They’re interrupted by the doorbell and it’s a letter for Doug. He opens it to find out it’s from Beebe’s father, Mr. Bluff, and he’s pressing charges against Porkchop. The family is pretty surprised by this development, but they cheer up when Phil suggests they start a petition that has every signer declare that Porkchop is in fact a good dog. Doug thinks it’s a great idea, but also one that he should undertake by himself since Porkchop is his responsibility. I get the sentiment on Doug’s part, but maybe he’s not taking this as seriously as he should? Four people canvassing the town would cover a lot more ground than one, but his parents don’t object and Doug sets off to do right by his pal.

She is just the worst.

Doug gets started right away on gathering signatures for his petition. He starts with his neighbor, Mr. Dink (Newman), who is happy to provide his name for Doug’s cause. He finds other neighbors in a similar position, but soon runs into trouble. When one person finds out he’s trying to help the dog they saw on the news, he declines to sign it. Others seem to follow suit and one older lady even reprimands Doug for spreading such negativity at Christmas time. The fact that Doug just stands there and lets her lecture him makes him a better person than I for I would have gone off on the woman. Defeated, Doug walks off and ends up downtown. A store display has a television running and Doug happens to catch a news report on what the media is calling the incident at Lucky Duck Lake. A re-enactment is shown which features a particularly vicious looking dog basically maul a young girl which gets Doug’s dander up. Realizing this is all getting out of hand, he decides he needs to talk to Beebe to try to put things in perspective.

Mr. Bluff is almost cartoonishly evil given his indifference, or disgust, towards dogs.

And Beebe is currently in the hospital. Doug races over there and tries to enter her room, only he runs into her father, Mr. Bluff just outside it. When he tells Mr. Bluff who he is the man refuses to grant him access to Beebe. In doing so, we also find out that the Bluffs don’t just want Porkchop put away, they want him killed, though he uses the kid friendly term of “put to sleep.” As Doug tries to reason with him, the man just walks away forcing Doug to follow. When he offers up the excuse that Porkchop was just playing, Mr. Bluff just reiterates that they’ll let the court decide if putting an innocent girl in the hospital is just playing. Doug follows him to his limo where the old man finally states it plainly that it’s no use, he doesn’t like dogs on account that they don’t have any money or even understand the concept of money. Now that we’ve established that this man is cartoonishly evil, we can remove any sympathy we might have felt for him as the father of a girl wounded by a dog. Doug tries to appeal to him once more by stating Porkchop is his best friend, but Mr. Bluff just tells him to get a new best friend. As he drives off, Doug suggests he knows just who to turn to in order to solve this crisis.

You know it’s a special episode when Doug’s personas have to get together to formulate a plan.

If you’ve watched an episode of Doug before then you probably know what’s coming. Doug is going to dip into his imagination and consult with one of his personas. Only since this is the biggest crisis we’ve seen Doug face to date, one persona just isn’t enough. We’re taken to a Hall of Justice like building where Doug’s Indiana Jones rip-off, Race Canyon, comes sliding down a firepole. He’s surprised to find the superhero, Quailman (who is just Funnie with a belt on his head and his underwear over his pants), is there already. He thinks Quailman summoned him, but he did not, and soon enters the James Bond wannabe Smash Adams. He’s brandishing a pair of non-alcoholic drinks that he hands to the others and notes they were all summoned here by someone else over a missing dog or something. And that someone else is: Doug! He spins around in a chair dramatically to announce he’s the one who assembled this collection of the world’s greatest heroes (his definition, not mine) because it’s going to take their combined might to get Porkchop back!

Apparently none of them are wise enough to tell Doug that breaking his dog out of prison is probably a bad idea.

Doug shows the assembled heroes a map of the pound where Porkchop is being held. He solicits a plan from each hero and it goes about as well as you might expect. Quailman suggests flying in and using his super powers to subdue the guards, which Doug can’t do. Next is Race who just suggests beating everyone up, but Doug isn’t about to do that. Smash suggests using high tech gadgetry (as he puts it) which Doug actually thinks is a good idea. He then seeks out the real world help of the Sleech twins (Eddie Korbich), the class nerds capable of inventing stuff, to see if they have a solution. They’re eager to help Doug since he’s likely one of the few kids at school who doesn’t make fun of them for their nerdy ways. And since their dad is a donut maker (a plot of a prior episode), they suggest Doug use subterfuge by hiding a smoke bomb in a cupcake. Apparently, these boys have been spending their Christmas break devising weapons that combine with holiday desserts which is a bit alarming. Doug is right to treat these future school shooters kindly.

Poor Porkchop.

Doug sets off with Skeeter and his cupcake bomb to execute his horrible plan to spring Porkchop from the pound. Only upon entering the premises, they find a No Cupcakes sign waiting for them. I guess the plan was to give the cupcake to Porkchop who would then use the cover of the smoke to escape? Seems like the actual cell is an obstacle Doug didn’t account for. Well, with that obstacle in place, Doug still decides to push ahead and alerts Skeeter that he’s up. Skeeter does as he’s told and fakes an illness, only the cop doesn’t really care. He takes a phone call, and it’s about Porkchop too, and that’s the distraction that allows Doug to slip inside to find Porkchop. At first, Doug can’t find him, but he calls out for Porkchop and a helpful dog points him in the direction of a door labeled Very Bad Dogs. In there, he finds a spiral staircase that leads deep into a dungeon-like setting where Porkchop still can’t be found and that’s because he’s in the section for Very Very Bad Dogs. Meanwhile, the cop tries eating the cupcake despite Skeeter’s warning not to and activates the smoke bomb, which will surely reflect poorly on Doug. He soon finds Porkchop who is basically in solitary confinement. He’s locked in a box which in turn is locked in another room separate from the others. Or not locked, as Doug is able to enter, but he sets off an alarm in the process and is hauled away. We briefly get a glimpse of a teary-eyed Porkchop waving goodbye to his best friend. It’s the saddest shot in the episode.

Aww, look how cute they are!

The guards at the pound must have felt some pity for Doug as he apparently avoided his own arrest. We next find him standing outside of Porkchop’s igloo which is covered in police tape. He’s at a loss as to what he can do next and starts to reflect on his past with his dog. We see a toddler Doug opening a present on Christmas which just so happened to contain Porkchop. We also get a shot of last Christmas when Porkchop gifted Doug the very journal he’s writing in as he narrates this story. We then see a vision of the future and a Doug draped in a black coat standing beside Porkchop’s grave. It’s at this point that Doug finally allows himself to cry for how could he not feel helpless knowing that if he fails his dog is as good as dead?

If things weren’t serious before, they are now.

The next day is the trial, and it starts with Mr. Bluff speaking casually to the judge and refers to him by his first name, Dave (West), and informs him he wants this over with quick so he can get to his office Christmas party. The judge tries to discourage him from being so casual, but lets him know he’s of the same mind, essentially. Porkchop is then brought in, muzzled and tied-up, and apparently Doug will be representing him. I guess the Funnie family couldn’t afford a lawyer? I’m also guessing that since this is essentially a civil matter that they’re not entitled to representation. Bluff’s attorney presents an expert on dog psychology who has predictably decided Porkchop is predisposed to being a killer. While he’s giving his testimony, Porkchop is trying to communicate something about the lake to Doug which the expert just uses against him as further proof the dog is nuts. Then they drop the hammer by bringing in their last witness: Beebe. She’s confined to a wheelchair with her leg wrapped and Doug is legitimately alarmed to see the state she’s in. She looks rather sad, like she doesn’t want to be there, but takes the stand, nonetheless.

With how cavalier everyone is towards Porkchop in this one, I’m guessing dog ownership isn’t that high in Bluffington.

Upon seeing the state Beebe is in, Doug does what he always does when overwhelmed: he retreats into his imagination. This is just further proof that someone else should be representing Porkchop here, but clearly he’s ride or die with Doug. In his head, Doug imagines his three heroes proposing suggestions on what to do next, which Race thinks should be to plead guilty. The three then get into a physical altercation which just forces Doug to realize that the only one who can get he and Porkchop out of this mess is himself. Beebe is then shown finishing her testimony and it’s now made clear she’s not really fully onboard with this charade. As she says what happened she tells the court that Porkchop did bite her leg, but tries to clarify that it didn’t hurt, which her father’s attorney tries to gloss over. When Doug asks if he can cross-examine the witness, Mr. Bluff objects declaring the girl has been put through too much already. The judge apparently agrees as he asks the people present “Isn’t she a brave girl, ladies and gentlemen?” Again, we’re talking about a dog here so apparently the same rules don’t apply. Doug then approaches the bench to try to plead his case that Porkchop should be allowed to tell his side of the story. He explains that Porkchop has been trying to tell him something about the lake and proposes going there, but the judge finds this suggestion ridiculous. He points out that a dog can’t tell it’s side of the story, and since it’s Christmas Eve, they all have families they need to return to.

Finally! Porkchop has a reason to smile! Though I don’t understand why he would suddenly be permitted to remove the muzzle.

Doug takes that as an opening and declares that Porkchop is a part of his family just as Beebe is to the Bluffs. The judge still seems unconvinced, which is when Doug addresses the assembled crowd to point out how Porkchop is a part of the community. It’s at this point the episode goes off the rails a bit for me as we hear about all of the good deeds Porkchop has done. Doug calls out one woman and points out that Porkchop babysat her kids when she had to go out of town to see an aunt. Another family had their house burn down, and Porkchop showed up the next day to help them rebuild. Another person chimes in that he lent them money and a woman stands up to declare that Porkchop fixed her transmission. The capper is that even the judge has encountered Porkchop in his day-to-day life. It seems his daughter suffered an accident and Porkchop actually taught her how to walk again. The judge probably should have recused himself from the case given that, but even so, the dog taught his kid how to walk! This is one absurdly amazing animal. This judge is ready to execute him after that experience?! This dog should be world famous and Bluffington’s number one citizen!

Old Killer is at it again!

After Doug pleads his case, the judge finally allows for Porkchop to do the same and orders everyone to reconvene at Lucky Duck Lake. Once there, Beebe explains what happened to the judge once more and points out where she thought she was at the time of the attack. Doug asks her to point out exactly where she was, but she’s not sure. Patti (Constance Shulman) spots the pine cone they were using as a puck and determines that she must have been there. Of course, there’s open water still present and even the Thin Ice sign is visible floating on it. As Beebe heads over there, Porkchop once again goes into a panic as he tries to warn everyone about the ice. To the onlookers, this just makes Porkchop look like he wants to maul her again and the judge even suggests that he’s seen enough. Doug assures them that Porkchop is just trying to tell them something and he gets on one knee to consult with the dog. It’s too late though as Beebe falls through the ice!

If you want a rich person to care about a poor dog, you basically have to save their life or the life of a loved one. And they better witness you doing it too!

Mr. Bluff immediately cries out for someone to help his daughter, but Doug shouts out a warning about the ice (finally, someone gets it!). Porkchop is able to break free of the guards and runs after Beebe diving into the water as Beebe goes under. He’s able to pull her up and onto the ice and drag her to safety. We then cut to everyone gathered in a hut of some kind as Patti declares that Porkchop was trying to keep Beebe away from the thin ice. Finally, the last horse, or horses, cross the finish line and the people gathered rightly acknowledge that Porkchop is a hero, not a devil. Porkchop is set free and we cut to Christmas morning and Doug looking at a newspaper which declares Porkchop a hero for saving Beebe. Porkchop is gifted the hat Doug bought for him and he seems to like it, though he also has a cold. Doug also narrates that people kept coming by all morning to see Porkchop, including Mr. Bluff and Beebe, whose leg is suddenly all better. Mr. Bluff, who clearly has had a change of heart, wants to know if there’s something he can do for Porkchop as a showing of thanks for saving the life of his daughter. Doug doesn’t know of anything, but Porkchop apparently does.

There’s the happy reunion we’ve been waiting for!

Porkchop is somehow able to communicate that what he would like most is for Mr. Bluff to put on a feast for all of the dog’s at the pound. We then get to see how it all unfolded as it took place in the center of town. The former mayor attended and Doug informs us that he was able to use his radio show to find homes for all of the dog’s in attendance. Mr. Bluff, who apparently has a different outlook on dogs now, offers a toast to all in attendance and a special toast for The Hero of Bluffington – Porkchop! Porkchop is there as well dressed as Santa Claus and he joins the Funnie family for a toast. The camera pans out as the assembled crowd break into “Deck the Halls” which takes us into the credits. As a parting gift, we’re treated to an image of a Christmas card from the Funnie family.

Doug even channels The Grinch with a “He himself,” line in reference to Mr. Bluff.

And that’s how Porkchop went from villain to hero one Christmas. It’s a solid approach to tug at the heart strings, have a dog wrongfully accused of being a bad dog and toy with the emotions of the viewer by suggesting the life of the mutt is over. And while the premise is a bit preposterous, it fits with the setting of the show since Porkchop is a bit preposterous himself. It just takes things too far by making the people of Bluffington look incredibly stupid by not realizing what is obvious to anyone who looks at that lake. And they also look like lunatics for wanting to terminate Porkchop from the start. The dog is amazing! Too amazing as it undermines the situation because no one would assume the worst of Porkchop given what he’s demonstrated in the past. It’s to the point where it’s absurd. Am I taking this cartoon too literally? Possibly, but it did it to itself by going way too far in characterizing Porkchop as a force in the community. We didn’t need all of those incredible examples of the dog’s good nature in the courtroom to be on his side. And if the show didn’t portray the people of Bluffington as being so readily out for blood then it wouldn’t have taken such a speech to grant Porkchop a defense. Sure, heading to the scene of the crime to let a dog tell its side of the story is a bit odd, but the judge was literally denying Doug any kind of defense for his dog. He couldn’t even cross-examine a witness!

Looks like it was a merry Christmas after all, just as I predicted it would be.

This one is clunky, but don’t assume that means I wasn’t still moved by it. Of course I was! I get a little choked up each time I watch that silly dog pull Beebe from the water and I do feel good for Doug and his dog when all is said and done. It’s still a heartwarming story, it just pushes things too far. It tries way too hard to be that kind of story when it didn’t really have to. That’s why a much better Christmas Nicktoon is “Arnold’s Christmas.” That plot needed some pretty crazy things to fall into place as well, but it doesn’t feel like it’s reaching to the degree that “Doug’s Christmas Story” is. Does that make this one bad? No, but I can totally understand someone having more of an eye roll reaction here than feeling truly moved.

Season’s greetings from the Funnie family!

If you would like to see this one for yourself, your best option is to stream it on Paramount+. Doug, being a less celebrated Nicktoon, isn’t assured of finding airplay on cable this year. It’s also a little messy in that Disney owns the character now so Nickelodeon might not be eager to promote this one, even though the company retains ownership of this era of Doug. The episode was released on both VHS and DVD if that’s your fancy, and it can be rented on other streaming services. I give it a bit of a tepid recommend. While I think anyone can enjoy it, it’s probably best enjoyed by those who watched the show as a kid. Anyone else might just find it too ridiculous to take seriously.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 4 – The Pups’ Christmas

Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were among the first stars of cartoon creation to burst onto the scene. Together, the duo would work for Disney, Warner, and MGM (among others) creating and overseeing some of animation’s most memorable characters from the golden age. After working with Leon Schlesinger’s studio to produce Looney Tunes shorts, the…

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Dec. 4 – Family Guy – “Christmas Guy”

In the fall of 2013, beloved family dog, Brian, met his demise. Brian was an extraordinary dog capable of communicating in English with his family members who was often seen walking on two feet. Despite that though, he met a rather ordinary end for a dog when he was unceremoniously struck by an automobile. Life…

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Dec. 4 – A Christmas Story (1972)

For today’s Christmas post, we’re going to take a look at A Christmas Story. No, not that Christmas Story, the first one. Way before Ralphie started obsessing over a BB gun, the duo of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera brought us a story about a mouse and a dog trying to get a last-minute letter…

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December 3, 2023

Dec. 3 – Animaniacs – ‘Twas the Day Before Christmas

By Joe
Original air date November 29, 1993.

Children’s cartoons often take to Christmas when the season rolls around. The holiday is usually ripe for parody or just direct adaptations so it’s easy for the writers to kind of phone it in. What’s not customary is for a cartoon series to feature two dedicated Christmas episodes in a single season! That’s what Animaniacs did in 1993 airing the episode we’re about to talk about one week, followed by the episode which featured “A Christmas Plotz” the next week. I’m not sure why this approach was undertaken. Maybe they had too many ideas to settle on? “A Christmas Plotz” is the sort of special I dread as it’s just a re-telling of A Christmas Carol. It’s not bad, but it’s a bit that was stale even come 1993 unless the writers found a way to really upend it, which the show did not. This episode, which features “‘Twas the Day Before Christmas” and is the segment I consider the meat of the episode, is more a scatter-shot type of episode. None of the segments are particularly long, but most tie into Christmas in some way. And they’re a bit more original than a parody of A Christmas Carol, though there’s some DNA from other Christmas specials to speak of.

It doesn’t take much effort, but just adding falling snow to the opening credits really adds to the Christmas feeling.

The episode begins with a short segment called “Slippin’ on the Ice.” The Warners, Yakko (Rob Paulsen), Wakko (Jess Harnell) and Dot (Tress MacNeille) are literally slipping on some ice as they sing about it. It’s very brief and feels like a time-filler, but it’s well animated. It takes us into the opening credits which are the standard ones, only they’ve added falling snow over them. It’s a simple, but effective, way to make the episode feel more special. When the credits end (the credit joke is Yakko singing “Citizen Kaney”) we launch right into the intro for Slappy the Squirrel, only this time, there are no Christmas accents. We then get a title card for the main attraction “‘Twas the Day Before Christmas.”

This framing device is just a way to include Slappy and Skippy as there seemed to be a desire to fit in all of the regulars.

When the cartoon begins we find Skippy (Nate Ruegger) in his room by the window when his aunt Slappy (Sherri Stoner) enters. Skippy is in his pajamas, and Slappy too, and she’s wondering why he isn’t asleep. It’s Christmas Eve, and the kid keeps hearing the sound of Santa’s sleigh bells outside and can’t sleep (Oh, do I know the feeling). Slappy tells him he’s just hearing the LAPD choppers and throws him over her shoulder to dump into bed. Skippy then tells her he can’t sleep and would welcome a story. Slappy remarks “For the love of Al Gore,” which certainly dates this one a bit (the main failing of this show and Tiny Toon Adventures is they both relied on topical references that don’t always age well), but then agrees to provide one story to send Skippy off into Dreamland. He agrees to the proposal, which is followed up with Slappy asking if he wants to hear about the time she stuffed live piranhas down the pants of Sonny Tufts? I had to look up who Sonny Tufts was. Apparently, he’s an actor who did most of his work for Paramount and starred in the film Cat-Women of the Moon. Also, by the time this episode aired he had been dead for 33 years.

Ladies and gentlemen: Sonny Tufts!

Skippy is not interested in hearing about some dead actor’s piranha troubles and insists on Slappy telling him a Christmas story. She still tries to sell him on the Tufts story by saying he was drinking eggnog at the time, but Skippy just hands her a book. Slappy agrees and takes the book, but before she can start reading she has to noisily clear her throat which Skippy responds to with his catchphrase, “spew!” The title of the book is The Day Before Christmas and it’s basically A Visit from Saint Nicholas, or ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, only it’s going to be about some characters we all know and love: the Warners!

The pattern on those giant ornaments just makes me think of Easter eggs.

Slappy begins reading it, but her narration is only going to be used to get us into the story. From there, the characters present will speak their own lines without the aid of a narrator, but they’ll speak in a cadence reminiscent of the source book. It’s a little annoying, but not overly so. As the story begins, it’s the day before Christmas (as the title implied) and it’s 90 degrees in Burbank, CA. The Warners are busy decorating their water tower so Santa knows just where to deliver the presents. Elsewhere, some characters are fretting though. And those characters are Mr. Plotz (Frank Welker), Dr. Scratchensniff (Paulsen), and Hello Nurse (MacNeille). Plotz is fretting because he needs to find someone to deliver presents to the Warners, but he doesn’t know who is stupid enough to do so. He turns to the doctor first, who refuses on account that he did it last year. They drove him bonkers and kissed him a lot then made him stay up late singing carols and he apparently got creamed in a pillow fight.

I bet the artists loved working on Hello Nurse.

Hello Nurse, and I forgot just how absurdly curvaceous this character was drawn until now, asks Plotz why bother when they can just leave the job for Santa? He informs her it’s because they have a clause in their contract that mandates it and if they don’t they can sue. Plotz understandably doesn’t want to deal with that, but wonders aloud where he can find someone stupid enough to do it? Right on cue, he spins in his chair and spies the security guard, Ralph (Welker), who certainly qualifies as stupid enough. Ralph is one of those characters that I don’t think children’s shows do anymore as he’s one of those “Dahh, okie dokie,” kind of morons that could be read as being an insensitive take on someone with an actual genetic condition.

Come on! It’s Christmas! Can’t we give Buttons a reprieve from crippling pain?

When we’re taken to Ralph, he’s basically closing down the Warner lot and saying goodbye to celebrities as they drive on out. The first to go is apparently Kevin Costner in a limo. The next is a station wagon and when Ralph wishes the vehicle a “Merry Christmas” the window rolls down to reveal it’s Buttons (Welker) and Mindy (Nancy Cartwright). She gets to utter her catchphrase, “Okay, I love you buh bye!” while Buttons has pain inflicted upon him when the car window goes up and catches his snout. It feels almost too cruel and looks especially painful for the poor dog. The hippo characters then walk out with Flavio (Welker) shown following his wife while carrying a mountain of wrapped gifts. He looks exhausted, but his wife Marita (MacNeille) calls out for him to come along as they have more shopping to do. Behind them is the mime character and as Flavio moves along an anvil tumbles out of a gift box from his pile and crushes the hapless mime.

Of course I’m getting in this image of the Batmobile.

Off to the side, Rita (Bernadette Peters) and Runt (Welker) are lurking and seeking a way onto the lot as Rita reasons they may be able to find some unguarded dumpsters. Runt is just along for the ride and by pairing him with the Ralph character it becomes quite apparent that Frank Welker’s voice for each character is essentially the same. Only Runt is doing a Rain Man impression to Ralph’s moron voice. Anyway, they slip in undetected as Ralph waves bye to the next guy to pull up, Michael Keaton, who is driving the ’89 Batmobile which Ralph refers to as a “lovely sedan.” Plotz, from his office, is able to build off of this rhyme by declaring “Give him a Santa suit, Ralph is our man!” as he and Dr. Scratchensniff shake on it.

They would get their own classic Christmas special years after this, but I feel like the show really should have given Pinky and The Brain their own Christmas cartoon.

We cut to later that night and the Warner tower is plastered with signs welcoming Santa and instructing him where to deposit their gifts. Yakko’s voice then comes in reading the start of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” with Dot picking up the line about creatures stirring, only she points out there was a mouse stirring. This is our cue for Pinky (Paulsen) and The Brain (Maurice LaMarche) to enter. Brain is dressed as Santa and Pinky an elf and they apparently have a Christmassy plan to take over the world tonight which involves stealing Santa’s sleigh. Pinky responds by saying “Brain, you’re a genius, you simply astound me,” and as he does he whirls around and knocks Brain off of the water tower. As he goes screaming towards the ground, Pinky looks down and exclaims, “Narf! Brain’s gonna pound me!”

I have to hand it to the Warners, they keep a tidy home.

With Brain a pile of goo on the ground, we head inside the water tower. It’s looking rather festive including a giant tree in the middle. The Warners are gathered at the fireplace hanging their stockings and Wakko’s is the one that’s unusually large. Dot explains, “The stockings all hung so our name’s clearly showed,” and Wakko finishes the line by saying, “In hopes that old Santa would leave a big load.” That sounds gross. Yakko then blows us a kiss and says “Goodnight everybody!” as the three hop into bed. They continue with the poem and Wakko gets the part about sugar plums which appear in a thought cloud that he promptly eats. Yakko continues by saying “We were all feeling tired when we turned out the light,” then clicks the light back on to admit, “Forget it! There’s no way I’m sleeping tonight!”

We can’t forget about The Goodfeathers!

We then go to the part about the kids hearing a sound. They jump from their beds, take a tumble, and throw open the door to the water tower. And lo and behold they spy…a cat and a dog in the garbage – P-yew! It’s Rita and Runt again and they’re nosing around for some grub. Then the Warners hear a different sound – a miniature sleigh and eight pigeons with antlers! It’s Ralph Claus and he’s flying through the air being pulled by, as Yakko just told us, eight pigeons with antlers! This allows the Goodfeathers to sneak in as we see Squit (LaMarche), Bobby (John Mariano) and Pesto (Chick Vennera) struggling along with the other five pigeons to keep the rather large Ralph and his sleigh airborne. Despite his appearance, the Warners still refer to him as a little old driver and we get to see Ralph call out to his pigeons, “Duh, now, Bobby. Now, Squit. Now, Pesto. Now, Vixen. On, Comet. On, Cupid. On Richard and Nixon!”

I feel like Brain isn’t usually subjected to this much abuse.

The little sleigh gets tugged up to the top of the tower where Santa is hurled with Brain (now back on the tower) declaring “As soon as it lands we’ll take over the world!” Only the sleigh lands on the two mice and it’s not a pretty sight. They yank themselves out from under the runner of the sleigh, only for Santa Ralph to step on them as he exits it. Brain remarks, “Pinky, I am in considerable pain,” but Pinky is only able to reply in nonsense words of “Narf! Zoit! Poit! Gake!” before finishing with “I’m with you, Brain.” Inside the tower, the Warners are preparing for Santa’s imminent arrival, but before he can do that Squit has to tell Pesto his antlers look cute so the hot-headed pigeon has an excuse to whack him. With that out of the way, Santa makes his grand entrance by dropping through the ceiling like a sack full of bricks. The Warners inform us he’s likely concussed, and Ralph confirms it by wishing “Happy Easter, you guys!”

Everybody is getting creamed in this one!

The Warners haul him to his feet so that Yakko can make fun of his appearance before Ralph heads over to the tree to unload all the presents. Then it’s time for him to make his exit, but since this is a 90s cartoon he can’t lay his finger beside his nose, but inside it! Yakko tells us the dear network censor finds it totally gross so we don’t actually see him go three knuckles deep and instead we just see him climb the Christmas tree and out the hole in the roof. There Ralph hops back into his sleigh to signal the flock, but when they take off they drop like a rock. Ralph and the pigeons look rather worse for ware on the ground below, but what’s this? Up in the sky! Could it be?!

It just keeps getting worse for Ralph.

Yes, it is! It’s Santa! The real Santa who bellows out “Season’s greetings to all,” as he flies by the moon with all eight reindeer. Rita and Runt are then shown shouting out their thanks as Santa apparently left them some food that didn’t come from the garbage. Santa then circles back to make another pass before the moon while shouting out, “Merry Christmas to Yakko, Wakko, and Dot!” The Warners are shown waving from their tower at the departing Saint Nick as the cover from the book we’ve been reading from closes upon them.

A picture perfect ending.

We’re back in Skippy’s room and his aunt Slappy has apparently fallen asleep. Skippy closes the book and sets it aside and says “And Merry Christmas Aunt Slappy and to you girls and boys. As for me,” he curls up under his covers and closes his eyes. Then they snap open and the little squirrel leaps high in the air to add, “I’m going downstairs to open my toys!” And the little scamp races off while an iris shot closes out the scene.

Go check out that tree, Skippy! I guess he has a tree within a tree?

That’s the end of the main cartoon I want to talk about, but it’s not the end of the episode. A “Good Idea/Bad Idea” segment follows juxtaposing singing Christmas carols at Christmas with doing the same thing on the Fourth of July. The skeleton family gets blown up for their holiday mix-up which seems rather harsh. After that, we go into another cartoon: Jingle Boo. It’s a Chicken Boo sketch with a holiday theme, though it foregoes the usual opening. If you’ve never seen one of these, Chicken Boo is just an oversized chicken masquerading as a man, only he’s really not personified at all. He’s just a chicken. Most of the people in his orbit don’t seem to notice, but sometimes there is one person who does making it feel like a goofy Twilight Zone bit sometimes, which is how this one is going to go.

Just a perfect gift from the perfect Santa Claus.

The short begins with a shot of a Christmas tree positioned on top of a building. “Oh Tannenbaum” plays in the background which is soon replaced with an instrumental version of “Jingle Bells” as the camera pans down to reveal we’re outside of a store named Marcy’s. Inside we find a mall setting and there’s a massive line of children and parents waiting to see Santa Claus. One woman (Gail Matthius) remarks he’s the most convincing Santa she’s ever seen. The other adults, another mom (MacNeille) and a dad (Paulsen) seem to agree as the first woman’s child runs up and jumps on Santa’s lap. She seems to be credited as Sabina (MacNeille) in the credits and she has a real Pistol energy from Goof Troop which makes me wish they had Nancy Cartwright voice her. Anyway, she jumps onto Santa’s lap and we see that it’s clearly Chicken Boo in the suit. Sabina wants a Baby-Go-Burp doll for Christmas and one comes down a chute beside Santa and he hands it to her. It does a very exaggerated burp which the child is happy to show off to her mother by having it belch in her face.

The only smart person in this picture.

Another kid (sounds like Nate Ruegger again) follows and he asks for a Mr. Dude action figure complete with polyester power suit and dude accessories. The kid gets handed a figure of a man in a business suit with a cell phone and he seems pleased as he cries out “He is the real Santa!” before departing. Santa’s attention then turns to the next kid, Colin (Colin Wells). He has the same design as the little boy who is used in quick-hitting segments where he comes out of his house to tell the audience a story about some kid named Randy Beemer which always ends with him saying, “K – bye.” Only here, the little kid is terrified and it’s because he’s seemingly the only one who knows that Santa is actually a chicken. The two moms, who are still lingering despite their kids running off, derisively ask the boy’s father “Isn’t he a little old to be afraid of Santa Claus?” The dad seems embarrassed by his son’s behaviour and encourages him to go see Santa, but the kid refuses. There’s a rising hysteria in his voice as he says “He’ll peck my eyes out!” which sounds great.

Chicken Boo has been outed.

The rest of the patrons in line laugh at the kid for thinking Santa is a chicken which doesn’t seem to phase his dad. The other moms remark the kid needs therapy, but the dad just takes him by the hand and leads him to Santa. I’m surprised at the gentle touch being employed by dad here as I was expecting him to get angry, grab the kid, and slam him on Santa’s lap. The kid basically goes willingly, but with some hesitation, and the dad reassures him once he’s seated on Santa’s knee that it’s just jolly old Saint Nick. The kid remarks, “More like jolly old Saint Chick,” and begins tugging on Santa’s beard. It doesn’t come off initially, but a more forceful second tug causes it to come free and the whole stage area basically collapses. When the boy pops his head out, so too does Chicken Boo. The boy screams, Chicken Boo (Welker) clucks a return scream, and the dad finally realizes that Santa was, indeed, a chicken.

I guess he can try putting those wings to work.

The dad grabs his kid and runs off while Chicken Boo emerges from the rubble and shakes off some of the holiday ornaments stuck to his leg. The manager of the store (Welker) then comes storming over while the children scream and demands to know what’s going on. The angry moms then storm off with their kids threatening to never come back to this store again leaving the manager to direct his anger towards Chicken Boo. He fires the chicken on the spot, and then takes a jab at Arkansas by suggesting they may let chickens play Santa down there, but they don’t up here in New York City. He then boots Chicken Boo like a placekicker would a football and he goes crashing through the ceiling of the store and soaring into the air.

He is one lucky clucker.

Because it’s Christmas, there’s someone flying high above to catch the soaring chicken: Santa Claus (Harnell)! Chicken Boo lands in his sleigh and the jolly old elf gives out a hearty laugh and informs Chicken Boo that since it’s Christmas, they’re going to give him a happy ending for a change. Some elves then emerge from Santa’s sack and start singing “Jingle Bells,” but they change the lyrics to better describe the present situation. They soar through the night sky and head for a full moon, and as the elves finish their “Jingle Boo” song, Chicken Boo looks at the camera and clucks before an iris shot signals the end.

If you like moon shots then this episode has you covered. I think this is our third one?

Our next segment is “The Great Wakkorotti: The Holiday Concert” and it’s Wakko just belching the melody to “Jingle Bells.” There’s not much to say about it, but my kids think it’s one of the funniest things they’ve ever seen. It’s followed by yet another “Good Idea/Bad Idea” and this time it’s finding Easter eggs on Easter compared with finding Easter eggs on Christmas. Then we get another short starring the Warners titled “Toy Shop Terror.” It’s a strictly visual short that’s also not really Christmas themed. The Warners don’t speak until the very end, but it’s basically them causing mischief in a toy shop after the old toy maker goes to sleep. They get into a chase sequence with a security robot, which they end up destroying and returning to the old man. It’s okay. Following that is one of Yakko’s song sequences, this one “Yakko’s Universe,” which had been used in a prior episode. They clearly had some time to fill and since it begins with a snowy scene it must have felt appropriate to toss it in.

The toy shop short is fine, just not very Christmassy.

Following that, the episode is over. It’s a bit interesting for a Christmas episode of Animaniacs because it starts out very centered on the holiday, and then it sort of just peters out. It’s a bit of a shame that the main cartoon, “‘Twas the Day Before Christmas,” wasn’t simply longer. It felt like there was more that could have been done with that one which may have allowed for some of the other stuff to get cut. Not that anything that follows is bad, it’s just not entirely onbrand with a Christmas episode. “Jingle Boo” is a solid edition of Chicken Boo so if you like that character you’ll probably enjoy it. I’m a sucker anytime a character that usually just has misery inflicted upon it gets a happy ending, sort of like Barney Rubble finally getting some Fruity Pebbles in the classic holiday commercial. The toy store sequence doesn’t do much for me and belching Wakko makes me feel ill to my stomach. The final segment is pleasant enough though and that line about being tiny specs the size of Mickey Rooney has been stuck in my head for almost 30 years now.

Animaniacs has its own style of humor, sort of a modernized golden age toon, and it either works for you or it does not. I’m mostly charmed by it, but I know some people just can’t get into it. If I had to pick one Christmas themed episode of the show to watch, I’d go with this one as it’s superior to yet another version of Dickens even if it’s less focused as a result. If you would like to check it out, Animaniacs has been made available on DVD over the years and I still see it in big box stores when I’m in them. The show used to be streaming on Hulu, but their agreement with Warner has since expired leaving Yakko, Wakko, and Dot without a streaming home at present. Hopefully, that won’t be forever.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 3 – Popeye the Sailor – “Mister and Mistletoe”

Last year for the Christmas Spot we took a look at the 1960’s TV series Popeye the Sailor and its Christmas episode “Spinach Greetings.” There are a lot of Popeye fans in the world and my assumption is that most would not put Popeye the Sailor above the theatrical shorts that helped catapult Popeye to…

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by Joe

Dec. 3 – The Simpsons – “The Way of the Dog”

It’s not often I get to look at a Christmas special from the same year I’m doing The Christmas Spot, but it also helps when that Christmas special premieres in May of the same of year. May?! Yeah, it’s weird, but for the 31st season finale of The Simpsons the show rolled out a Christmas…

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by Joe

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December 2, 2023

Dec. 2 – Justice League – “Comfort and Joy”

By Joe
Original air date December 13, 2003.

In 1995, Warner Bros felt it was a big enough entity that it could launch its own broadcast television network. Dubbed The WB, it would try to compete with the big four of ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, but never really achieved that level of success which is why it no longer exists. The strategy seemed to be to go for a younger demographic with its prime time shows, similar to Fox, but even younger. Maybe they felt there was a market for the kids who had outgrown Nickelodeon and were searching for something else to watch. The American household had long since evolved past the one television per home model and kids basically had as much access to TV as adults so I suppose it made some sense. Warner never did leave the little kids behind entirely though as they also programmed afternoon and Saturday mornings tailored to children. Kids WB was definitely meant to challenge Fox Kids who had become the dominant brand for broadcast children’s programming behind the strength of shows like X-Men, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Spider-Man, Batman, and Animaniacs. The interesting part about Warner’s decision to launch its network when it did is that a lot of its intellectual property was tied-up in other places, like Fox. They basically had to run out the clock on the likes of Batman and Animaniacs until they could get those rights back which meant in the meantime turning to other characters like Superman and Tweety (seriously, Tweety was somewhat inexplicably popular in the mid 90s).

Eventually, Warner did get those rights back and Batman was able to join Superman on Kids WB with his old collection of episodes from the Fox days as well as some new ones. We’ve already talked about this pretty extensively in the Batman section of this blog, so we probably don’t need to dawdle any longer. That power hour of Superman and Batman would eventually give way to Batman Beyond as the continuation of what was becoming the DC Animated Universe. Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Dan Riba, and other creators behind those shows would continue to flesh out their world. It seemed obvious to anybody keeping up that the end game was to collect all of these heroes in place for a new Justice League show. The problem with that strategy ended up coming from an unexpected place.

Something that has not aged well is the CG intro. The shoulders on these guys are absurd!

A little known cartoon outside the US called Pokémon made some headlines in the 90s due to it causing a bunch of kids in Japan to have seizures during an episode. It was basically just a peculiar story and I bet a great many folks who read it assumed they’d never hear about this show again. They would be wrong as the game would arrive in the US eventually and the show followed. While it didn’t make a huge splash at first, it would gradually rise in popularity until it became the ratings king of Saturday morning. And it was on the Kids WB Network. The success of Pokémon seemed to convince the powers that be at the network that the future lied in licensing Pokémon adjacent programming for their network essentially forcing out their homegrown stars. Those shows were costly to produce and the only revenue they saw from them was ad revenue. Luckily for fans of the DC shows, there was a new home waiting for them in Cartoon Network, which had found tremendous success on weekday afternoons with its action block Toonami. That network started airing reruns of Batman and they performed well enough that they were willing to make a deal with Warner for new content thus becoming the home of the Justice League.

Justice League premiered on November 17, 2001. It’s another animated series from Warner and DC developed by Bruce Timm with Butch Lukic and Dan Riba returning as directors. Stan Berkowitz and Rich Fogel are the credited head writers, but they received contributions from the likes of Dwayne McDuffie, Paul Dini, and a host of other writers. It would definitely seem that Dini was less involved with this show than past DC animated programs, but he is the writer of today’s episode “Comfort and Joy.” This is, obviously, a Christmas episode and it excludes Batman. Maybe because he already did two Christmas episodes? It’s the only episode of the series, which was one order of 52 episodes, that’s a stand-alone one. Every other episode is either a two-parter or more. The main team consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. It’s not a show I ever watched so I’m banking on my familiarity with these characters from outside this show to help me through this one. And even so, I mainly know Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and both Wonder Woman and Batman aren’t featured. I guess it’s time to get acquainted with Martian Manhunter!

It’s certainly a Christmassy setting.

The episode begins with Martian Manhunter (Carl Lumbly) standing in a snowy environment silently assuring some alien lifeform that they will save their world. Apparently, these aliens (who look like uglier versions of The Snorks) have entrusted the Justice League with some sort of gravitational device. I guess we’re not on Earth, even though the snowy area has evergreen trees on it, and the aliens that Martian Manhunter is communicating with are on a different planet. Superman (George Newbern) and Green Lantern (Phil LaMarr) are assembling the device which is rather massive and ugly looking. This show is digitally animated and the characters and backgrounds mostly look fine and can pass as cel-animated. The device, however, is rendered in 3D and just looks really bad. It’s the type of thing that probably looked bad even back then, but so many shows loved incorporating that sort of thing into their look.

These are the guys the Justice League are trying to save.

As the two super men do their part, we see Hawkgirl (Maria Canals-Barrera) delivering some rope and parts to The Flash (Michael Rosenbaum) who dashes about the assembled device and inserts what looks like circuit boards into a compartment. He indicates that J’onn (apparently Martian Manhunter’s real name, which just sounds like “John” but they had to make it annoying to type since he’s an alien, or whatever) is “beaming the directions” into his head as he goes along. When he’s done, he dashes over to the others who have assembled where J’onn has been standing and we see the device in action. The planet they’re on is some ice planet and it was going to collide with the planet those Snork guys are inhabiting. The device envelops the ice planet with some green beems and basically backs it off. It’s all done with some pretty bad CG. It worked though as the aliens cheer and Superman remarks that the ice planet will never threaten the other one again.

All in a day’s work, I guess.

Show’s over, right? No, because now we can get to Christmas! Flash indicates that this was the best way to start a holiday break, which apparently Green Lantern is no fan of? He immediately bails, I guess he can just fly through space, and Hawkgirl decides to join him. Flash asks J’onn what his plans are for the holidays and he responds, without a trace of emotion in his voice, that these times hold no special meaning for him. He then walks onto the device which apparently doubles as a spaceship, or the this is an unrelated spaceship. Flash remarks that his personality is rather “frosty” and then Superman, with a sly smile, indicates that they’ll have to do something to change that. And that’s our A plot – show Martian Manhunter the spirit of Christmas!

Real creative, GL.

That takes us into the usual opening credits and when they end we’re back on the ice planet. Green Lantern has created a green snowboard using his power ring and is blasting down the side of a mountain with glee. Hawkgirl is there to watch and when Green Lantern comes to a stop she remarks that she thinks it’s odd for a man who can fly through space to get so worked up by snow. Green Lantern tells her it reminds him of his grandmother and how he used to play in the snow as a kid. He offers a “See?” like he’s going to prove to her how awesome snow is and goes on to assemble a snowman with his ring. When Hawkgirl doesn’t heap praise upon him he flops to his back to show her another “secret” and makes a snow angel. He points out his “wings” and Hawkgirl is appropriately unimpressed. What is this? Are we to assume Hawkgirl has never seen snow before or the things that kids do with the snow? When she turns her back to him he nails her with a snowball and when she angrily asks what that was for, he responds with “It’s supposed to be fun.” Predictably, Hawkgirl returns the remark with a smile and uses her mace to conjure up a wave of snow herself and sends it in Green Lantern’s direction. They both then enthusiastically commence what is sure to be an epic snowball fight before we cut to another scene. That might be the worst thing Paul Dini has ever written.

You can’t have Christmas without orphans.

The next scene begins with an exterior shot of an orphanage. It would seem the structure of this episode is going to be “how each member of the Justice League (minus Batman and Wonder Woman) spends Christmas.” And for this one, it’s The Flash. Well, I suppose I ruined the surprise there as the scene begins with a woman (Kimberly Brooks) prepping a group of kids for the arrival of the man in the red suit. We’re probably supposed to think she means Santa, but The Flash comes zipping in to the delight of the kids. I was hoping they’d be bummed it wasn’t Santa, but I guess we’re playing things pretty straight. He mentions he’s there and he’s bringing gifts and questions what the kids want this year. They direct his attention to the TV where a commercial for a DJ Rubber Ducky is playing. It’s terrible, but likely intentionally so, as it’s a rapping duck who shakes his ass at the screen and makes farting noises. I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be farting noises or if they’re just a poor imitation of traditional, animated, duck noises that we see from the likes of Donald Duck or Quackers. Flash seems amused though and promises the kids he’ll get that for them while the woman cautions him about making a promise he can’t keep since the stores are apparently sold out. Flash is dismissive of her concerns setting up this plot for us as Flash needs to supply some orphans with a sought after Christmas toy. This is definitely going to be a low stakes episode.

He’s feeling just a bit out of place.

Next we check-in with Superman and Martian Manhunter. Superman has apparently decided to take his green buddy back home to the farm for a good old-fashioned Christmas. Hey, if it worked for Garfield then it can work for the Manhunter. J’onn is unsure of his presence here, but Clark insists he wasn’t leaving him alone at the Watchtower, which I assume is their headquarters. We also get our one mention of Batman as Clark remarks that he insisted on monitor duty tonight. When they enter the house we’re introduced to Martha (Shelley Fabares) and Jonathan Kent (Mike Farrell) who welcome their son in. Clark tells them he brought a friend, and J’onn introduces himself and lets them know that their son insisted on his coming. He also introduces himself as a martian which naturally doesn’t phase the Kent parents and they welcome him into their home. Once inside, Clark asks where Kara (aka Supergirl) is and we’re informed she’s skiing with Barbara (Batgirl) and won’t be home until New Years. Clark remarks that J’onn can stay in her room then we cut to the big man entering a very, girly, looking bedroom. He indicates to Clark that it’s a bit strange seeing this side of him, but Clark just lets him know that’s because here he can be himself and relax. We then hear his dad call out from the other room that he’s lighting the tree causing Clark to bolt out of the room like a child crying out “That’s my job!” Left alone, J’onn takes a seat on the bed and seems a little sad. A cat saunters in and we actually see the green guy smile and call out “kitty,” but he just gets a hiss in return which seems to wound him more than a scratch would have.

That’s better, much more creative this time around.

We next check in on the snow fight (yay). Green Lantern has magicked up a trio of glowing, green, catapults which sling a volley of massive snow balls in Hawkgirl’s direction. She maneuvers around them through the air and smashes her mace into the ground sending a shockwave in Green Lantern’s direction. He takes a direct hit which knocks him into a tree causing a mass of snow to fall from its branches and bury him. Hawkgirl lands with a cocky grin on her face that soon fades when a dozen, green, hands emerge from the snow all brandishing a snowball. They fire off an assortment of snowballs in her direction causing her to give up. Immediately after her concession a snowball hits her square in the face to add insult to injury. Green Lantern then emerges from the snow to inquire if she’s feeling more festive now. She indicates she’s not and that she just doesn’t get the holidays on Earth. She mentions that on her home world (okay, so she is an alien which makes the last scene slightly less ridiculous) they had a different sort of celebration and that she’s only encountered one other like it on another planet. She apparently can’t get home, but she could get to this other world and Green Lantern seems game. It sounds like we’re going to see an otherworldly holiday when we next check-in with this pair.

Is Flash going to meet Santa?!

Back on Earth, Flash is shown running through traffic pausing for a moment to wave to a little kid riding in a car. He whirls past a Santa on the corner and deposits a dollar into his collection box and helps himself to a candy cane. His ultimate destination though is a toy store which is surrounded by a mob of angry folks. When Flash gets there, one man urges him to do something and accuses the store owner of hoarding this DJ Rubber Ducky toy, but he insists he’s completely sold out as he tries to hold the doors closed. The crowd disperses and we’re shown Flash race from store-to-store and all have a “Sold Out” sign posted regarding the toy. Flash then grumbles how dealing with Gorilla Grodd was easier than finding this thing, but takes notice of a store display featuring Santa’s workshop. He then remarks that’s his solution – to go straight to the source! Is Flash going to visit Santa? No, apparently not. He heads to a factory in China where the toy is made and we see him walking out with the factory’s last DJ Rubber Ducky. A Mr. Hama (Robert Ito) tells him that they’re happy to pass on the last unit to someone like The Flash and we see that this silly toy is freaking huge! It’s basically the size of Flash’s torso.

“You drink from the skull of your holiday idol?”

Next we return to the home of the Kents to see how Martian Manhunter is doing. The family is gathered at the kitchen table and the Kents are telling stories about young Clark at Christmas. Jonathan remarks that they used to have to wrap his presents with lead foil so he couldn’t peek and Clark rather sternly remarks, “You mean Santa wrapped my presents,” and the Kents just go along with that. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter looks a touch confused and looks down to the steaming mug in his hand which bares the visage of Santa Claus. Martha then informs J’onn that anyone who attends Christmas at their home leaves with a present and she hands over a box to J’onn. He seems surprised, and conjures his inner little drummer boy by pointing out that he brought no gift in return. Martha insists though and J’onn opens his gift to find it contains a rather nice looking sweater, not an ugly Christmas sweater. She says she hopes it fits as he slips it on, over his cape I might add, and then tells her not to worry as he smiles and expands his body to fill the sweater. It’s actually pretty absurd that the sweater was too big in the first place since this guy is a massive man, or rather, a massive martian.

Sometimes you want to go…

We cut to a billboard of a scantily clad woman on a foreign world. I’m guessing Bruce Timm is responsible for this shot. This is the planet Hawkgirl was talking about and we spy she and Green Lantern descending to ground level. Despite that billboard containing a shot of a human looking woman, the streets are largely filled with inhumanoid aliens including one that’s just a big snake scooting about. Green Lantern asks if this is the place she goes to relax and Hawkgirl responds with a no, this is the place she heads to for fun! She leads him to a sleazy looking nightclub and the two make their way to the bar. She orders a pair of drinks that just look like frothy milk in a beer stein. She chugs one and lets out a loud belch when done remarking it’s delicious and slides the other one over to Green Lantern. He gives it a try and promptly spits it out. When he looks at the drink he spies two worms floating in it. I suppose it makes sense that a hawk girl would enjoy such a delicacy. She then turns to him and the background audio drops as she remarks only one more thing is needed to make this evening better. Green Lantern says “Yeah?” and he seems to think she’s looking for a kiss only for her to whirl around and smash this gigantic alien seated at the bar with her mace. She quickly hands the mace to Green Lantern while the monster rages and when he turns to her she gestures to Green Lantern indicating to the creature that he is the one responsible for the pain in his hand. The monster pounces on him and the two roll around the floor. A pair of aliens look at the brawl and then smile at each other before one blasts the other in the face with its mug. This sets off a bar-wide brawl leaving Hawkgirl to sip her drink with a contented smile upon her face. I thought this was the sort of carnage heroes were supposed to prevent, not start.

Finally! Some action!

We find The Flash racing towards Central City duck-in-hand. Upon arrival though he encounters an explosion at a museum and heads over there to survey the damage. As he walks inside he sets the duck down and wonders who would blow up a bunch of priceless artwork? His answer is Ultra-Humanite (Ian Buchanan), a big man-ape in suspenders with a huge cranium indicating he’s rather intelligent, though lacks fashion sense. He apparently finds the use of public money to fund art offensive so he decided to blow it up – makes sense. He’s also armed with a laser gun and starts firing off at Flash who manages to avoid it. He ends up under a suspended sculpture that the villain blasts from the ceiling and it falls on him. He even looks up to see it, but still gets nailed. I thought this guy was fast? Ultra-Humanite then approaches eager to finish him off, but he takes too long for when he blasts he finds no Flash. Worse, his gun won’t even fire as Flash brandishes the giant battery he yanked from it when he ran by and taunts him by suggesting he should have asked Santa for some more. This enrages Ultra-Humanite, but Flash just pummels him. The shot is from behind Ultra-Humanite so we don’t actually see his fists land, but it’s more than implied. Unfortunately though, he lands right on old DJ Rubber Ducky.

No! Not DJ Rubber Ducky!

Flash hears the crack and knows what happened immediately. When Ultra-Humanite gets up to reveal the broken toy, Flash runs over to, I guess, check on it. Ultra-Humanite doesn’t care and just casually strolls away remarking how it’s just plastic and crude electronics. Flash tries to appeal to him by asking him if he can recall having his hopes and dreams dashed when he doesn’t get what he wanted most and Ultra-Humanite just remarks it happens quite frequently and the Justice League are usually the ones responsible. He thinks the kids would be better off with a book, and he’s probably not wrong, though impractical. Flash is pretty heartbroken and as Ultra-Humanite reloads he even suggest he can go ahead and use that gun on him since he couldn’t possibly feel any worse than he already does. When he said this, his back was towards the villain and Ultra-Humanite is happy to oblige! As Flash turns his head he gets smashed in the face with the butt of the gun.

This is an unexpected development.

Flash is then shown waking up from his concussion laying on the floor. He’s in a lab, or work shop, of some kind and as he rubs his head he sits up and finds Ultra-Humanite at a work bench fixing the duck. Ultra-Humanite tells Flash that his words did not fall on deaf ears and in the spirit of the holiday he proposes a truce. Flash is confused, but seemingly accepts the truce by shaking the hand of the man-ape. He’s then told by Ultra-Humanite that he is repairing the toy while also making some improvements. Flash asks him if he’s rigging it with explosives and Ultra-Humanite rather sternly says “Flash, it is Christmas!” Flash then counters with the question we’re likely all wondering, “Then why did you hit me?” “You hit me first.” Okay, seems fair. He then asks Flash to hand him a screwdriver and I guess we’re just all going to forget about that whole blowing up the museum thing?

They always wind up at a church.

We return to Martian Manhunter who has apparently ditched that nice sweater gifted to him by the Kents. He’s just staring out the window, but then goes intangible and passes through the floor. From there he spies the Kents doing the dishes and making out a bit in the process. It’s an odd kink, but we don’t kink shame here. He then moves onto the living room where Clark is placing gifts under the tree. He picks one up and remarks, “Lead,” so he’s not placing gifts, but peeking! Good thing you have a lot of good will built up with Santa, Clark! J’onn then moves outside and into town where he returns to a solid state and transforms his appearance to that of a human. He then sees a couple walking down the sidewalk who wish him a “Merry Christmas,” and he returns the gesture with a polite wave. He observes them head into a diner and then moves on. J’onn finds himself outside a home and he can hear a young girl inside assuring a “Tommy” that Santa is real and she just knows he’ll come and eat the cookies she left out. This seems to stir something in J’onn who smiles a bit. He drops his disguise and flies up onto the roof, the sound of which wakes the little girl up with a start. We see the cookies and milk left out, and J’onn’s hand pops out of the fireplace to snatch one of the cookies. We next find J’onn outside a church and we can hear singing from within. He’s just standing outside in the snow back in his normal, green, appearance listening to the hymn which is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” When the verse ends with “The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing,” he almost winces and perhaps a look of understanding crosses his face.

This is going well.

Back at the brawl, Green Lantern is still tangling with the big guy while Hawkgirl is now involved smacking around some poor fools of her own. The whole place is in chaos and Hawkgirl is quick to point out that this is way better than a snowball fight! Green Lantern agrees, but I’m detecting some sarcasm here, as he blasts the big monster man away with his ring. He then conjures up a green boot to kick an alien off of Hawkgirl and goes to help her up, only for her to call out “Don’t let your guard down!” He turns and finds the monster has returned and he knocks him into Hawkgirl.

You know what, I like it.

We somewhat abruptly cut back to the orphanage and Flash and Ultra-Humanite’s silhouettes appear on the door as they approach the building. They’re arguing about Ultra-Humanite wearing a costume and Flash points out that he put on the beard and also suggests that the big gorilla guy wouldn’t want to scare the kids, would he? We can tell he’s trying to place a top hat on him, and I’m guessing it’s a Frosty look. Flash then enters the room and declares himself Santa Flash! The prior shot made it look like they were at the entrance to the orphanage from outside, but the entrance shot makes it seem like they were already in the orphanage. I’m guess it’s just an error. Flash is sporting the hat and beard, but that red suit of his could really use some padding. He’s greeted with cheers and then goes on to introduce his helper: Freaky the Snowman! Ultra-Humanite enters to no reaction from the children. He’s clad all in white and sporting the top hat and deadpan expression. He rather curtly instructs Flash to give them the toy and then take him to jail, so I guess we aren’t just going to forget about the arson from earlier.

Time for a Christmas rave!

Flash once more seeks to confirm that it won’t explode and Ultra-Humanite seems offended by the suggestion. He places the toy on the floor himself and turns it on. The kids are then surprised to hear the voice of Ultra-Humanite come from the toy duck as it beckons them to come closer and hear a story. It’s going to tell them the tale of The Nutcracker and Ultra-Humanite rather smugly mentions to Flash how he improved upon the original. Flash doesn’t seem convinced and remarks he preferred the “poopy noises.” He then notices the kids all sitting around the duck with smiles on their faces. They may not have received the duck they thought they were getting, but they seem content with this one. Flash then smiles and agrees that this present is good too. We then fade out to see Ultra-Humanite being lead into prison by two guards. As he enters his cell he remarks “Haven’t I seen enough of you for one night?” He’s speaking to Flash, who was waiting for him. He setup a little Christmas tree in the big guy’s cell and tells him he thought he could use a little Christmas cheer. Ultra-Humanite approaches and observes that it’s an aluminum tree. Flash basically starts to apologize for being corny and all, but Ultra-Humanite stops him by saying he had one just like it as…though he trails off a bit. Flash leaves him to his tree and once out of the cell Ultra-Humanite turns on a floor lamp that projects Christmas lights all throughout the cell. He sits on the bench and a hint of a smile seems to cross his face as Flash looks on with a more obvious smile from outside the cell.

It’s an unconventional relationship, but this is a no judgement zone.

We return to the D plot of the episode where the bar brawl has apparently come to an end. The place is trashed and there’s one, lone, janitor uselessly sweeping the floor which is littered with numerous unconscious bodies. The camera pans over to find Green Lantern and Hawkgirl in a seated position with the big monster guy. His arm is draped around the two of them and it would appear they’re enjoying a post brawl cuddle session. Green Lantern and the monster guy are unconscious, but Hawkgirl isn’t. She’s sporting a very contented smile and plants a kiss on Green Lantern’s cheek and says, “Merry Christmas, John.” Too many John or John sounding names in this show. That’s apparently the end of this one though as she basically returns to the cuddles.

Martha seems to be a little freaked out by J’onn’s singing, but is trying to put on a nice face.

At the home of the Kents, it’s still dark. We find Clark asleep in his bed, but his eyes soon pop open and a smile crosses his face. He hops out of bed and puts on his robe apparently intent on heading for the tree on Christmas morning. He opens his bedroom door and we can see from the window that the sun is just starting to rise, so the tree is fair game at this point. As he walks into the hall he finds both of his parents standing there with smiles on their faces outside the bedroom door where J’onn is staying. We can hear singing coming from within the room, and the melody is similar to “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” but the words are unintelligible as he’s apparently singing in his native tongue. Clark places a hand on the shoulder of each parent and remarks “And he said he didn’t bring a gift,” so I guess they’re enjoying the song. We then cut to inside the bedroom and J’onn is seated by the window, naked, stroking the cat. He’s in a more alien form than usual and I suppose the takeaway is that he found the Christmas spirit and apparently the cat did too. We get one last exterior shot of the Kent home before the credits roll.

Petting a cat with no pants on is definitely a bold move.

The premise of “Comfort and Joy” makes a lot of sense for this show. If you’re going to do a Christmas episode about a superhero team it would seem the approach is to either have some big, Christmas, mess or just try to show what the holidays mean to each hero. It’s a bit odd to completely exclude Wonder Woman (Batman is essentially excused by Clark and we’re left to assume that Christmas Eve is just another work day for grumpy Bruce, or an act of selflessness on his part since he doesn’t have a family to spend Christmas with), but that’s the issue with superhero teams: it can be hard to find room for everybody. And on the surface, the approach makes sense. For Flash, we just see how he solves a problem that arises from the mere existence of Christmas. For Hawkgirl, she’s from another world and needs to find a way to relate to Christmas and also wishes to share her interpretation of a holiday with her apparent lover. And for Martian Manhunter, who seems to be mostly devoid of emotion, he really has nothing in his past to allow him to relate or identify with the holiday so Clark takes it upon himself to bridge that gap.

This guy is the show-stealer for me. His motivation to educate the children with finer points is both clever and amusing.

The problem lies in the execution. This episode really wants to be profound. It wants to be a feel good story and also likely seeks to ask the audience what Christmas means to them. It’s just overly simplistic with the approach that leaves little room for a genuine emotional response. The first half of the episode is pretty dreadful. I hated that initial scene between Hawkgirl and Green Lantern and honestly their plot never landed for me. There were no stakes and nothing about the resolution was all that fun or interesting. The plot with Flash had some stakes, albeit they weren’t exactly important. I mean, I want orphans to have a nice Christmas and all, but the material possessions aren’t that important. At the same time, I do appreciate it not completely dismissing the material component as we all know kids want to wake up on Christmas morning to find that toy they want. And if it doesn’t happen, they’re going to be pretty bummed. Still, it found its footing once Ultra-Humanite was introduced via the humor he injected into the story. I liked his deadpan delivery and he’s a well-written character in a very literal sense as his words and delivery are quite entertaining. The resolution was corny, as Flash pointed out, but what Christmas episode isn’t?

Hey look, he gets it!

With the Martian Manhunter plot, Dini was really trying to hit a home run, but he only managed a bloop single. There’s some good character animation with Manhunter via his reactions to what is around him and his struggle to find something in the holiday he can relate to is interesting on the surface. I enjoyed the small bits of humor sprinkled into the story via Clark and his attitudes towards Christmas. I love that Superman believes in Santa and he’s very serious about it and his regression to a more childlike state is handled well and not overdone. Manhunter finding some meaning in the song he hears from outside the church feels forced. It’s like Dini was trying to find a unique way for J’onn to find the Christmas spirit, but the manner in which he settled on is just an empty one. The climax of that plot just doesn’t do it for me. I’m not a talented enough writer to offer a suggestion on how to better craft the climax, I just know it doesn’t land for me. And as someone who consumes and enjoys consuming a lot of cheesy Christmas stuff, it’s not hard to move me with such a tale, but I got nothing out of this one. Sorry, J’onn.

If you like your superhero shows to possess some realism and a serious approach, then I suppose this is still worth giving a look since there really aren’t a lot like it. The Christmas episodes for Batman and The New Batman Adventures aren’t particularly strong either, but they are more fun. I would much prefer those to this one, but maybe you’re a Superman or Martian Manhunter fan more than you are a Batman one. If you want to watch it, it’s presently streaming on the Max platform despite threats of removal earlier this year. If this is after 2023 that you’re reading this, then who knows if it’s still there (or if Max is even still alive)? It’s also still available to rent or buy digitally from places like Amazon. The show was released on DVD and they were still reasonably priced at the time of this writing, but if the show were to get delisted, it wouldn’t shock me if aftermarket prices started to rise. I think such an approach is only merited by those who want to take-in the full series as dropping some coin for the full 52 episodes just to experience this one is probably not worth it.

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 2 – Toy Story That Time Forgot

When the credits started to roll in 2010 signaling the end of Toy Story 3 I think most who were watching it assumed this was “good bye.” The toys which had captured the hearts of movie-goers going on two decades were saying good bye to their former owner and playmate, Andy, and so too were…

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by Joe

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in christmas, Comics, Television

December 1, 2023

Dec. 1 – Christmas Comes But Once A Year (1936)

By Joe
Original release date December 4, 1936.

We’re back with another year of The Christmas Spot! And to kick things off this year we’re taking a look at a bonafide Christmas Classic. Christmas Comes But Once A Year may not be the household name that Rudolph and Frosty are, but for Gen X and millennial kids it’s probably familiar because it was a frequent inclusion on public domain VHS tapes. The Fleischer Studios cartoon is one of the earliest Christmas specials released. It follows the likes of Mickey’s Good Dead and The Shanty Where Santa Claus Lives, but predates Gifts From the Air, Tom and Jerry’s The Night Before Christmas, and the more popular Disney Christmas specials starring Donald and Pluto.

This cartoon represents Professor Grampy’s lone starring role.

The cartoon stars Professor Grampy (Everett Clark) who is best known as a character who appears in Betty Boop shorts. This is actually his only starring role and it’s my assumption he was chosen to helm a Christmas cartoon because he does share some resemblance to Santa himself. It is an early color cartoon from Fleischer Studios and it has been lovingly restored by Thad Komorowski and Jack Theakston for Jane Fleischer Reid’s company Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored. It premiered last year on MeTV’s Tune in With Me on December 21st making it far too late for inclusion last year so I’m making up for that by placing it in the lead-off position this year. The restored version (as well as copies of the original) are available on YouTube to stream for free. All of my screen captures for this entry are from the restored version.

I miss the era of big studios having their own stable of cartoon stars. Not that I actually lived through the era or anything, but I did benefit from it by having lots of things to watch growing up!

If you’re into classic cartoons then you’re probably pretty familiar with the Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave. Max was the producer while Dave handled direction duties for Fleischer Studios which was hugely influential in the world of animation. The credited animators for this short are Seymour Kneitel and William Henning with most credits these days including Abner Kneitel as well. Fleischer was known for Betty Boop and later Popeye and many of the studio’s shorts are recognizable due to their use of 3D objects for some settings. Many of these inclusions were used sparingly which helped make them stand out as special and we’ll see the technique on display here. Betty Boop may not be in this cartoon, but her voice actor Mae Questel is as she’s credited with voicing the orphans and Jack Mercer is assumed to have provided some incidentals as well.

This one opens with a lively instrumental that share its title with that of the short. The music is credited to three individuals: Tot Seymour, Sammy Timberg, and Bob Rotherberg. One, or all three, of those individuals is responsible for the song itself the lyrics to which can be found on the Wikipedia entry for this short. It’s a serviceable little Christmas song that’s easy to relate to since it’s celebrating the big payoff that is Christmas. Perhaps if there was a bit more meat to the song it could have been more of a hit and had some legs eventually leading to covers by Michael Bublé and Kelly Clarkson. It did get a second lease on life in a modified format for the Popeye short Let’s Celebrake about a year later. That short is actually a New Year’s cartoon instead of a Christmas one.

These 3D shots will never not be fun to view. Still images don’t do them justice.

The cartoon begins with a shot of an orphanage that’s one of those 3D shots the studio is known for. It begins at a 3/4 angle and then rotates to a head-on shot while a version of “The First Noel” is sung in the background. Many of these 30s Christmas cartoons feature orphans or poor children who need a little boost at Christmas and that’s likely due to The Great Depression. It does often give these old shorts a bit of a redundant quality, but this one does distinguish itself in some ways which we’ll see.

It doesn’t seem normal for an orphanage to have a trustee, or is that just me?

The camera zooms in on the front door which has a wreath and a rough looking sign that says “Merry XMas” with a backwards “S” at the end because these kids are poor. The image dissolves into an interior shot and we get to see their pretty terrible Christmas tree. It would be a real fire hazard if it had any lights on it. The camera then pans over to the fireplace and some sad looking stockings are hung with care over the unlit fireplace and they each have some sort of present in them so that’s good. As the camera moves to show the entrance to the dormitory portion of this orphanage we can see a picture on the wall of a very Scrooge-like individual with the label “Our Trustee” beneath it. Hopefully he was visited by some ghosts the night before.

Dreaming of sugar plums, no doubt.

In the dormitory is where the children sleep. There are ten beds for ten sleeping orphans. Before I counted 14 stockings so I guess there will be some leftovers. They have a fairly generic design to them with round, cherub-like, heads and cheeks dressed in different colored nightgowns. They all have the same hair, for the most part, but they’re not all the same color. They are all little white kids which is bad for representation, but maybe good since so many of these 1930s Christmas shorts feature racist caricatures. Then again, most of those come from toys so we’re not out of the woods yet.

I wonder if the orphans fight over who gets to sleep under the puppy clock or if it’s the bed no one wants?

The image comes to rest on a wall clock and as the minute hand strikes the 12 to signal that it’s 7 o’clock and a compartment on the top opens to reveal a little puppy. They can’t afford a cuckoo clock, but I’d say a puppy clock is an upgrade. The puppy does his job by yipping and then jumping down a slide that drops him into the lap of a sleeping orphan. The orphan is roused from his slumber and quickly gets to his feet to alert his fellow orphans that it’s finally here – Christmas! The other kids sit up and return the “Merry Christmas” greeting back to the orphan before they all hop out of bed and start prancing around and singing the title song.

This kid appears to have received a somewhat questionable toy for Christmas.

As the children frolic, we see that at least one of them looks different. He’s more of a baby with a single hair and an oversized nighty. He even gets a solo as he sings the second verse before falling on his face because it’s cute. They all parade past the fireplace and retrieve their stocking as they go, except the little guy at the end because he’s too short to reach his stocking. He has to jump a couple of times and manages to grasp a loose string. By tugging on that he causes the stocking to basically fall apart freeing his toy which drops into his hands. And that toy is…eh, it’s a close one. I’m going to give this one the benefit of the doubt and say it’s a monkey because of the costume it’s wearing which was often depicted in cartoons via a hurdy gurdy performance (see the Bugs Bunny cartoon Hurdy-Gurdy Hare). It is missing a tail though, but lacks some of the racist characteristics of similar black face toys. I’ll post an image and you can decide for yourself what this thing is.

Well, that’s hardly a festive sight to behold.

We then get to see the kids play with their new toys. At first I was thinking this isn’t bad for orphans, but I was wrong. One by one we see the toys fail. First it’s a cap gun which falls apart after it’s fired. Then we see another kid try to blow up a football that’s been patched about twenty times which pops for the final time before he’s finished. Another orphan has a tricycle come apart while riding upon it while another has a simple teddy bear which can’t even survive its first hug. When the toys break, the kid is left sobbing and this happens to every toy. All 10 kids are howling with sadness for a long shot of the entire room surrounded by the remnants of Christmas. Actually, the kids have multiplied! I’m counting 18 now, and since there were only 14 stockings, four must be crying because they just plain didn’t get anything.

Hmm, what’s an inventor to do when confronted by a bunch of kids on Christmas with busted toys?

Juxtaposed to this image is the hard cut to Professor Grampy. He’s pretty damn happy, and why shouldn’t he be? It’s Christmas! He’s riding around on a vessel of his own making, I suspect. It’s basically a sleigh powered by an outboard motor and it’s been outfitted with bells for an extra touch of Christmas cheer. He’s singing the short’s song while decked out in warm furs and he’s having a pretty good time until he comes upon the orphanage. The kids are so distraught that their wails can be heard from the street overcoming the sound of the motor and likely decades of hearing damage incurred by Grampy. He drops anchor, literally, and then flails his arms up to the door of the orphanage in a comical manner and peers inside. He sees the room of crying kids and the sight is enough to ruin his mood. He walks over to the stoop in thought and quite literally puts on a thinking cap which is a mortarboard with a lightbulb on it. He thinks aloud, and like the Fleischer Popeye cartoons, his mouth rarely moves with his words. Eventually the lightbulb goes off for ole Grampy has an idea how he can save Christmas for these orphans.

Oh, Grampy! Surely common household items can’t be repurposed as toys!

Grampy twirls and dances his way to the edge of the porch and then walks across the snow to a window. As he does, the snow builds up under his boots creating stilts which just makes it easier to slip in through the window. As he does he’s laughing at himself like a maniac and he’ll continue to do so all through this sequence. The window leads him into a kitchen and Grampy starts gathering up all sorts of tools and dishware which he piles up in the center of the room. He then gets to doing what he does best – inventing, by turning household objects into toys for the kids. His first creation is a washboard which he turns into a sleigh with some coat hangers and skis. To assemble it, he dumps a box of nails into his mouth and simply spits them into place which means Grampy is basically a superhero or something.

He’s so proud of himself.

After creating the sleigh, he moves onto more toys. He turns a shade and some other junk into a toy plane, and since this is a cartoon, it really flies! A feather duster, alarm clock, sock, and some forks becomes a wind-up ostrich or something which walks right out of frame. The film then cuts to the pile of assorted junk as Grampy reaches for more and the pile gradually dissolves to indicate the passage of time with Grampy’s last creation a frying pan banjo. With a pile of toys now assembled, it’s time to distribute them, but first Grampy seems to think the place could do with a little sprucing up.

Hey kids, please don’t disassemble important exhaust functions on household appliances for your own amusement. Even if it is to spread Christmas cheer.

While the children all cry in their beds, Grampy starts decorating the fireplace. He uses a sewing machine, funnel, and popcorn popper to create popcorn garland that he hangs above the mantle. Those kids might prefer to eat the popcorn, but I suppose they can do that after. Grampy then seems to decide that he can’t hand out these toys. Oh no, that’s a job for only one man – Santa! Giggling to himself once again, he heads back into the kitchen with a pillow which he sets aside. He then does something very inadvisable and removes a portion of the exhaust pipes from the stove. He needs these to create convincing Santa boots, apparently, but he’s now doomed these poor orphans to death by carbon monoxide poisoning. a red tablecloth with white trim is repurposed as a coat with the pillow stuffed under it and Grampy is able to fashion a belt and hat out of other convenient scrap.

Should we count the orphans again? No, I don’t think I will.

With the ensemble complete, there’s nothing left to do except distribute the gifts! Grampy grabs a small bell and uses it to rouse the children from their beds once more. They rush out into the room to find their new toys all strewn about in the room. The first toy we get to see is a highchair combined with a vacuum cleaner which turns it into a self-propelled vehicle of some kind. There’s some mangled chairs that have become a rocking horse with an old boot serving as the horse’s head. Grampy continues decorating while the kids play and maybe the best toy is the coffee percolator which is somehow powering a toy train made out of a tea set.

I suppose any tree is an improvement over the crummy one they had.

Despite the questionable composition of Grampy’s toys, they seem to be holding up just fine and the kids like them. Grampy turns the stairs into a makeshift ski slope via a comically large box of cotton and the kids ski or sled down one by one. While they do that, Grampy retrieves a bunch of umbrellas from an umbrella can that all conveniently happen to be green. He opens each one and arranges them from small to large one inside the next to create a makeshift Christmas tree. He straightens the handle on the last umbrella and affixes it to a phonograph. While the kids continue to play via recycled animation, Grampy decorates his tree and then summons them over.

He saved his best invention for last!

With the phonograph on, the tree spins and we’re treated to another 3D sequence where the tree is a model and the characters appear as animation around it. Grampy leads them in a recitation of the short’s theme song. The kids then darken to black and the background darkens as well leaving just Grampy in full color beside the tree as the children can be heard singing. This shot seems to exist to remind us who the star of this one is, or it’s a gloomy bit of foreshadowing for these kids. Probably the latter.

There are some pretty interesting inventions in this one. I think the choo-choo is my favorite.

When the song ends so does the cartoon. Christmas Comes But Once A Year is a simple story framed by a good enough song. I have no particular affection for the Grampy character, but he’s fine in this role. The plot plays to his inventor status as he whips up some toys for a bunch of kids. The site of poor orphans at Christmas is, as I alluded to in the intro, a bit played out resulting in me not really feeling anything for them. This one at least doesn’t play up the misery like other shorts. We don’t see them freezing or searching for food. They’re clearly not in an ideal situation and their shitty benefactor got them shoddy toys for Christmas. I suppose it’s a bit surprising that this one downplays the existence of Santa Claus. Even though the lyrics to the song celebrate him, clearly it wasn’t he who left such shoddy merchandise behind for these orphans. If Santa did his job, Grampy wouldn’t be needed. Maybe even his workshop was hit hard by the depression?

The restoration on this one is just tremendous. I confess, this short has never been a particular favorite of mine, but the restoration elevates it for me into annual viewing territory. The colors have just the right amount of saturation, and it doesn’t appear as if any of the finer details were lost. I never even noticed that “Our Trustee” picture on the wall before seeing the restored version – that’s how good it is. Yes, it does reuse animation and the orphans are all basically the same, but the animation is still lively and smooth. Grampy can’t just move like a normal human he has to always be flailing and bobbing which keeps the images interesting. The audio is also crisper and less distorted so kudos to Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored, I’m eager to see what else they can do.

Holiday greetings, folks!

If you want to watch this one this year, and I suggest that you do, the easiest way is to head over to YouTube. I already linked it earlier, so give it a click if you haven’t already. The short is a little over 8 minutes so it’s definitely worth your time. If for some reason you’re opposed to watching the restored version there are other numerous videos out there should you wish to go that route. You can also keep an eye out on MeTV as I would anticipate that network showing this either as a rerun of Tune in With Me or as part of their Popeye block on Saturday morning. This is definitely more for the animation lover in your life as modern children might find it boring, but they can manage for 8 minutes. Christmas comes but once a year, and it’s almost here, so come back tomorrow for more holiday goodness as we are off and running!

Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 1 – 35 Years of The Christmas Tape

Welcome back to another year of The Christmas Spot! This year we’re kicking things off with a post I’ve been sitting on for a few years now. When I utter the title “The Christmas Tape,” I’m curious what comes to the minds of readers. It sounds both generic and specific and I suspect a few…

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by Joe

Dec. 1 – Frosty the Snowman

Welcome back, lovers of Christmas, to the 7th edition of The Christmas Spot! If you missed the introduction a few days ago, we’re doing things a little differently this year. Yes, you’re still getting a dedicated write-up each day through Christmas about a beloved or not-so-beloved holiday special, but this year we’re also going retro…

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by Joe

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in christmas, Film

November 30, 2023

Plunderlong Feral 8-Ball

By Joe
Look who came to join the plunder party!

When Lone Coconut came back last year with a new Kickstarter to build out its Plunderlings universe, I was immediately smitten with the brutish new Plunderstrong. The big, chunky, boy looked like a fun character type to pair with the diminutive Plunderlings. The Plunderlong, on the other hand, took a bit for me to get onboard. It’s basically a taller version of the Plunderling with an elongated face that mostly takes the form of a large chin. It’s not a cute design, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be, and the initial designs didn’t thrill me. Then along came 8-Ball, a demolitions aligned Plunderlong that’s basically designed to work with Captain Blackjak’s canon. That was a fun concept to me, so I went ahead and added the character to my pledge along with a box of hatchlings to go with it. When the figures were initially delivered to Lone Coconut, there was a quality control error with the Plunderlong figures that held them up. Lone Coconut did not specify what that issue was, but it was something the factory fixed. For the consumer, it meant a slightly longer wait (about 6 weeks) for the Plunderlong to arrive, but now I have mine in-hand and I’m ready to render a verdict.

I expected the Plunderlong to fall in the middle of the Plunderling and Plunderstrong, but he’s really just a little bit taller than the ‘ling and quite a bit smaller than the ‘strong.

The Plunderlong comes in a similar box to the Plunderlings, though (get this) taller. It still has a window box framed by a face and there are some cardboard ears inside the box you can attach to the side if you wish. The Plunderlong stands around 4.75″ so while it is indeed taller than the Plunderling, it’s considerably shorter than the Plunderstrong. Most of the figure is brand new tooling, but it does share some parts with the Plunderling including the hands, feet, forearms, and maybe the upper thigh. Basically, all of the new pieces are where the Plunderlong gets its added length such as the torso, thigh, shin, and bicep. Having the same hands will help with the hatchlings and will allow for easy sharing of weapons and accessories with your Plunderlings.

I think of this guy as a wacky pyromaniac.

For 8-Ball, the chosen color is white. The figure is sculpted in white, but also painted over, so it has a nice, matte, finish. The fingernails, toenails, eyes, and trunks are where the detail paint is needed. It’s mostly okay, but you will find some imperfections upon close inspection. There’s also a hint of pink air-brushing on the inner ear which looks nice and I do wish they had added a touch of color to the teeth just to differentiate them from the white of the figure’s skin. The vest the character wears is removable, though you would have to pop the arms off first, and it’s black with brown trim and it looks fine.

I much prefer the happy expression in this case.

8-Ball is a nice looking figure, but it’s made much better via the accessories. 8-Ball comes with three heads, as basically all of the figures do: neutral, grimace, and smile. Of the three, the smile seems most appropriate as this guy seems like he’s got a few screws loose. For hands, he has a set of gripping and a set of open hands which is also standard. For stuff unique to this guy, there’s a helmet with attached goggles. It’s black and made out of soft plastic and slots over his ears just fine, but there’s also a magnet to make it even more secure. There’s some brown paint on it and the character’s namesake is painted on the top to make the helmet resemble an actual 8-ball. It looks great and adds tremendous character to the figure so you’re unlikely to ever display him without. To go with that helmet is a long torch with translucent flame attachment. You can pull the flame out if you wish, though there isn’t much that can be done with it. There are also two bundles of dynamite that are fastened together with handles that 8-Ball can hold. It would have been cool if the accessories were design to work with each other so that the flame could be attached to the dynamite, but it’s a minor complaint. An actual explosion effect, or soot-covered face, would have also been pretty fun.

He’s a rascal!

The articulation for the Plunderlong is basically the same as the Plunderling, though with a larger figure comes more room for joints. The head is on a ball-hinge and it gets great range up and down, but only a little tilt. It’s also very tight and Lone Coconut even sent out a warning to heat the heads first if they show some resistance and I followed their recommendation. The shoulders are ball-hinged and raise out to the side past horizontal, though there’s paint transfer on mine from the brown trim on the vest so he has some pretty nasty looking armpits. I’d recommend that future figures just omit that paint hit as it doesn’t add much anyway. New for the Plunderlong is a biceps swivel which works fine and the single-hinged elbow returns with a 90 degree bend. It’s attached via a peg so it probably could swivel too, but mine don’t really want to. The wrists are pegged in and swivel as a result while each hand features a hinge: vertical for gripping and horizontal for open – perfect!

“I’m ready – let’s do this!”

The torso features some additional articulation over the Plunderling as well, though this one I’m not sure about. The diaphragm is attached via a hinged ball-peg so the chest can rotate freely. It’s also engineered much better than the same joint at the head as there’s plenty of tilt and the chest can move forward and back on that ball peg very well. The hinge is the part I’m not really feeling as it’s an eyesore. It also doesn’t add much. 8-Ball can bend pretty far forward just on the ball-peg. Yes, the hinge lets him go even farther than that, but the trade-off isn’t really warranted, in my opinion. There is a waist twist, but if it had been a ball-joint it might have given them the range they were looking for with that torso hinge. The hips are ball-sockets, but they don’t go out to the side very far – maybe 45 degrees. They kick forward fine, but not back as the Plunderlong has the same saggy butt cheeks the Plunderling has. There’s a thigh cut and double-jointed knees which bend past 90 degrees. Some are tight, so you may need to heat them. The ankles are hinges with rockers and both work fine. Since the figure is all painted there will be some flaking at the joints, but there’s no mis-colored joints underneath so the flaking shouldn’t result in any terrible eye-sores.

“Ahhhh! I’m not ready!”

The Plunderlong moves better than the Plunderling, which by itself, moved pretty well. It doesn’t have any joint tolerance issues like the Plunderstrong, so if articulation is a priority for you, then the Plunderlong is probably the best action figure of the three. Of course, there are plenty of other elements that affect one’s enjoyment of an action figure, but that is my objective take. I also grabbed a set of hatchlings which comes with the fist hands. I find that these newer hatchlings feature very tight joints and you may need to heat them to get the hands in all the way. The heads do not go on easily either, but I didn’t need to use heat, though they don’t spin very well on the ball joint. The heads also worked fine with the canon blast effect. It makes me wish I had two hats for my display as I think the heads look great on the blast. I may go with the grimace head instead since it gives the character a look of “What have I done?” coming out of a canon.

Hatchlings are a must with any Plunderling/long/strong purchase.

If you have found yourself charmed by Lone Coconut’s Plunderlings, then you’ll probably feel pretty similar about the Plunderlong. If the appeal of the Plunderlings for you resides in their cuteness, then maybe you won’t see much need for the Long. As an action figure, it’s pretty well done and a satisfying experience. The Kickstarter obviously ended awhile ago, but Big Bad Toy Store has partnered with Lone Coconut to offer these figures post Kickstarter. Lone Coconut prioritized getting the Plunderlong to backers first, since they had to personally receive all stock to swap whatever the faulty part was, but it can be assumed that BBTS will have them soon. Since Lone Coconut is a small shop, these figures aren’t cheap and will run you $45 a piece. From a pure value standpoint, they don’t match-up well with other figures from more established lines and companies which may not work for you. For those who want a fun figure with a good design that don’t mind paying a premium to a “little guy” then I think this is a worthy buy. Frugal shoppers may find deals somewhere down the road, though given it is November, you could always toss a few Plunderlongs on the old Christmas list!

It’s a plunder party!

Check out these other offerings from Lone Coconut:

Plunderlings Raider Fwush

When I first came across the Kickstarter drive for a series of action figures called Plunderlings I was almost instantly smitten. The little impish creatures reminded me of some characters I used to doodle as a kid. In my mind, they look a lot like what I used to draw, but given I was much…

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Plunderstrong Captain Blackjak

In 2020, Lone Coconut, a small company out of the Dominican Republic, launched a Kickstarter campaign for a line of original action figures called Plunderlings. They’re basically little imp-like creatures with a pirate motif that have a very charming design. From an engineering point of view, they made for a smart toyline because every figure…

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Plunderlings Nomad Goyle & Hatchlings

Last April I posted a review of the Plunderlings Raider Fwush from Lone Coconut. I was pretty charmed by the little goblin-like creature and found the action figure to be pretty fun. It’s also always a little rewarding to know that in buying such a toy I’m supporting a small shop like Lone Coconut. When…

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by Joe

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November 28, 2023

NECA TMNT Toon Turtle Van

By Joe
It’s finally here!

It’s our last Turtle Tuesday before Christmas, though probably not of the year, and it’s a pretty big one: The Turtle Van! NECA solicited its version of the Turtle Van based on the same from the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in April of 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released before the end of the year, but that turned out to be far too optimistic. The vehicle did undergo a redesign between solicitation and release. Originally, it was going to have a big hump in the roof that most didn’t seem to care for (including me). To NECA’s credit, they listened and adjusted the design and the finished product looks much closer to the show than the prototype. Did that redesign account for the lengthy delay? Maybe, maybe not, I don’t know. All I know is that the Turtle Van is here and I’m going to tell you how I think it turned out.

The Turtle Van was one of my favorite toys back in the day. Of course, then it was referred to as The Party Wagon by Playmates, but I don’t think any of my friends referred to it as such because on TV they called it the Turtle Van. Like a lot of characters and playsets in the vintage line, the toy wasn’t modeled to look exactly like the one on TV. The Party Wagon was pretty close, but had more of a VW bus design to it. I still loved it, and the Christmas it came out it was a very hot item. I have an old home movie from Easter the following year where my grandmother can be overheard saying how impossible it was to find the Turtle Van at Christmas, which is why I received it as an Easter present (don’t weep for me, I got the sewer lair from her for Christmas). It was a big deal to a kid, right up there with the Ecto-1 and the Batmobile. It was hard to have an assortment of TMNT action figures and no Turtle Van. The thing was a necessity.

Ready to launch.

As an adult, vehicles for my action figures have limited appeal. I’m no longer a kid looking to actually play with my toys, so everything is purchased for posing and display. Vehicles rarely offer much in the posing department and they often take up a lot of real estate and come at a much larger price tag. This item was $250 plus $15 shipping since it was sold exclusively on NECA’s webstore, and for me, that price was basically right at the tipping point. I was hoping for $200 and assumed that wishing for less than that was a waste of time and $250 was about the most I was willing to pay. At the same time, I felt like I owed it to the kid in me who always wanted a Turtle Van that resembled the one from the cartoon to get this, and NECA’s seemed sure to deliver.

The Turtle Van comes in a giant box adorned with original artwork by Tim Lattie. The box itself measures 13″ x 17.25″ x 11.75″ and inside is a big clamshell held together by some tape. The van comes almost fully assembled, only the laser canons need to be inserted into the top, and there are no decals required. The van is approximately 7″ x 14″ x 11″ at the highest/widest points (excepting the canons). It’s a big vehicle and it will take up quite a bit of space wherever you plan to place it. The body is a matte, pale, yellow with a green bumper and roof. The tires are rubber with the inner rim a flat gray. All of the paint details in the bumper, on the tire cover on the front, and the roof look great. They are applied very well. The only paint imperfection I could find on mine is a tiny nick on the corner of the rear door. The windshield is transparent plastic or plexiglass as are the windows. The lights on the front and rear are LED lights which can be activated via a switch on the underside of the vehicle. There’s a dome light on the inside that sadly does not turn on as well. It very much looks the part and I really like how it turned out. The only critique I have is that the scale seems a touch off. It’s probably bigger than it should be and that seems most obvious when figures are placed in the front, bench, seat as they get kind of lost in this thing. I’m guessing the scale of the vehicle in the show wasn’t the most consistent, and it’s better to be too big than too small, but it is something I’ve noticed.

The Turtle Van has numerous features to it which help replicate how the vehicle behaves on TV. The roof opens up just like it did in the opening, though there’s nothing inside to launch them out. The interior has a bunch of generic electronics built into the walls so you can have Donatello messing around with stuff in there, though there aren’t any working levers or anything that intense. The driver’s side flips down to reveal a platform as it did on the show for Leonardo to take a stance and slice at some enemies. The opposite side swings open with a little half door below it that flips down similar to the Playmates version. For that side, there’s an included seat and laser canon that has to be snapped together, but then can be plugged in. By making it removable, it creates more space inside and I honestly can’t remember how often the turret showed up in the show after its first appearance. Sometimes, a collapsed version appears on the wall and NECA included what’s basically a plastic brick of the same which snaps onto the driver’s side platform.

The ladder, or “battle,” wall.
The hip wall.
For when the laser canon is stored.

Speaking of show inconsistencies, the wall behind the front seat seemed to change constantly. Sometimes it was wide open which is the default look for the Turtle Van. Other times, there was a brown hip wall which NECA included which can be plugged into the back of the bench seat. And then on other occasions there was basically a full wall which, for some reason, featured a ladder. I remember seeing that ladder as a kid and wondering where the heck it came from. I think there was, on occasion, an opening in the top for the turtles to emerge from, but my memory could very easily be faulty at this point. Nonetheless, the ladder wall is also included so you can have the Turtle Van resemble basically whatever version shown on TV that you want. It’s the type of attention to detail that I think collectors appreciate of a company like NECA and it’s something other companies just don’t seem to care about.

This thing is big!

In order to make use of these modular elements, NECA needed to make sure the inside of the van is accessible. We have the openings on the sides of the vehicle and the top and also the rear doors swing open too. The front of the roof can be removed as it’s just tabbed in and you’ll may need to do so in order to insert the optional wall parts. This is where some criticism can come in. The plastic feels a bit thin when it comes to the roof and removing that portion is definitely uncomfortable. The front doors, as well as the passenger side swing-open door for the canon, are attached via a lone, small, hinge each. It’s not the most reassuring design and I worry about displaying a figure behind the turret for a long time and what kind of stress that may place on said hinge. The driver’s side platform feels more secure, though the hinge could have been tighter as it basically needs to hit the surface of whatever you have the van on to support the weight of a figure when really it should be off the ground. The rear doors feel more secure, though are a tad finicky to get closed properly. The weight of the entire package feels fine though so this isn’t a cheap feeling product by any means, but there are some design decisions that aren’t as well thought out as I’d like. I would describe this as fragile, and if there’s one last thing I wouldn’t have minded to see included would have been some kind of stand to prevent accidental rolling of the wheels. A shelf drive would likely be catastrophic for this thing so plan accordingly.

“What’s up, dude?”
“Remember Leo, ten and two, ten and two…”
Rear lights.
Lights on.

NECA’s take on the Turtle Van easily qualifies as the definitive take on the vehicle from the show. It looks great, displays well, and even has some variety too in how it’s displayed. It may be a touch oversized, but at least that means you can fit a whole bunch of characters in it/on it which helps justify the amount of shelf space needed to display it. The only real bummer about the product is that it was pretty expensive and presently is not available to purchase at MSRP for those who wanted to wait and see how it turned out. I especially feel for anyone who disliked the hump in the original design, only to see NECA correct that after the preorder window had closed. Chances are, NECA will offer this again for purchase and it was even suggested by NECA that they may have extra after preorders are fulfilled. I guess keep your eyes open. At $250 (plus shipping), this thing is certainly in the luxury good category. No one needs it and your display of TMNT characters probably looks great without it, but there’s no denying it can also look pretty damn awesome with it.

Damn, this collection just got a lot bigger!

Well, if you want a Turtle Van, you’re going to need some figures to go with it:

NECA TMNT Turtles in Disguise

When NECA started on this journey into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon it first began with a video game. An adaptation of a video game, to be more precise. The 2016 San Diego Comic Con exclusive contained a four pack of the famous, green, pizza destroyers in a pixel deco. They were the first…

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NECA TMNT Toon “Mutant Interest Story” – Deluxe April O’Neil

Whenever I approach my rankings for NECA’s now long-running action figure series based on the 1987 cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I don’t always just pick the objectively best or worst toy in the line to slot them into the rankings. It’s a combination of the figure’s quality and the character’s importance. A great figure…

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NECA TMNT Toon “Colossus of the Swamps!” Deluxe Napoleon Bonafrog

NECA’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures based on the animated series which debuted in 1987 has had some big figures. Most of these are what NECA terms “deluxe” releases and have included the likes of Krang in his android body, Chrome Dome, and the more recently released REX-1. The latest addition to…

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by Joe

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