Tag Archives: christmas specials

December 11, 2015

#15 – Frosty the Snowman

By Joe
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Frosty the Snowman (1969)

Frosty the Snowman is a Christmas special that everybody knows. It’s been airing on CBS every year since 1969 and will likely continue to do so for as long as there’s a Christmas. Starring comedian Jackie Vernon as the voice of the titular snowman, Frosty the Snowman is the rare Rankin/Bass production done in traditional animation as opposed to stop-motion and is based on the song of the same name.

Because the special is so well-known, there’s not a lot that can be said about it that hasn’t been said before. I could strike a more snarky tone and point out that, for some reason, a bunch of the children at the beginning are wearing shorts in the winter time. And what is going on with the voice of that kid in the gray sweater with the bowl cut? It’s almost as if they didn’t want to hire another voice actor so they just made some weird sound effect. Maybe he’s a robot? It’s also easy to question the wisdom of the kind-hearted Karen who opts to climb into a giant refrigerator when she’s not even wearing pants. And why does Santa only have four reindeer? That one has bothered me for years.

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Only four reindeer for Santa? Was it too much of a financial burden to give him four more? Was food so scarce at the North Pole that Santa and Mrs. Claus had to butcher the other four for meat?

Yeah, there’s some weird stuff in this one but there’s also some genuine humor. Frosty being rather dim is funny and a surprisingly logical move for a children’s program. It’s also incredibly quotable with lines sticking with me through the years such as “No money, no ticket!” and “We evil magicians have to make a living too.” Frosty may be the star, but I do think Professor Hinkle is the MVP. He’s easy to dislike, just inept enough to stay one step behind, and a constant source of humor. He has that truly wicked moment during the special’s climax as well that adds legitimacy to his character. Really, how often do we actually see the villains in these various Christmas specials do something truly evil?

For a Rankin/Bass production, this cast is pretty star-studded. I already mentioned Vernon but they also opened up the checkbook for comedian Jimmy Durante who serves as the special’s narrator. The first lady of voice overs, June Foray, lends her voice to Karen. Billy De Wolfe voices Hinkle and Paul Frees has a small role as the traffic cop. Woven throughout the special is, of course, the song “Frosty the Snowman” and they actually do a pretty good job bringing the song to life without it feeling forced (though I suppose striking up a random parade is a little odd) or overplaying it. There’s also the emotional pay-off towards the end that gives the special an added punch.

Frosty the Snowman is a nice little Christmas special that virtually everyone knows. It gets enough right for it to earn a spot on pretty much every list of this type. The only thing that really holds it back for me is that it is a little corny and a little dated. There’s probably some exhaustion bias at work here too since I’ve just seen it so many times. Still, I don’t think being the 15th best Christmas special, considering just how many there are, is anything to be ashamed of. And it’s also ten times better than any of the sequels and spin-offs that have been made after this special.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 10, 2015

#16 – Yes, Virginia

By Joe
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Yes, Virgina (There’s a Santa Claus) (2009)

Yes, Virginia has the unique distinction of being based on a true story. The story dates back to a newspaper editorial from 1897 (!) that was titled “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!” The story goes, that a young girl named Virginia asked her father if there really was a Santa Claus and his response was to tell her to write a letter to The Sun, a local newspaper in New York, telling her if it’s in The Sun then it must be true. It’s an enduring tale that has been adapted numerous times into musicals, specials, and films and is often recounted in some fashion every year.

This post is about the 2009 special promoted by Macy’s. It’s a tidy little story that stays true to the source in terms of the big picture, but there’s of course little dramatic bits added in to up the entertainment factor. Virginia has a little friend named Ollie who’s probably too adorable for his own good. Virginia also encounters bullies who want to convince her there is no such thing as Santa and a bell-waving Santa who tells her the exact opposite. The editor of The Sun is also a featured character who is at first reluctant to print Virginia’s letter. It’s this character who needs to come around and find the Christmas spirit in order for our special to be complete.

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What it lack in visuals it makes up for in heart.

It’s impossible to engage the story of Yes, Virginia and not feel good about it. It’s a wonderful story and a piece of American history that should have no issues making kids and adults feel some holiday cheer. The only downside to the special is the animation, which was likely done on the cheap. Yes, Virginia is computer animated and some of the characters and sets are borderline ugly. It doesn’t animate particularly well, and the voice cast and music are nothing remarkable either. This is a special that is entirely dependent upon the story it is telling, and the characters in the lead role, are likable and easy to get behind.

Being that Yes, Virginia is only six years old, it’s still routinely shown on television each year. It’s also a free streaming option if you’re an Amazon Prime member, and if you’re not, it can be rented through the website for a small fee. It’s also readily available on DVD and well worth the small investment if you haven’t seen it.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 9, 2015

#17 – A Muppet Family Christmas

By Joe
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A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)

A Muppet Family Christmas has become an almost mythological Christmas special due to its limited availability. First debuting in 1987, it got tangled up in licensing issues shortly there-after and has been infrequently rebroadcast. It also has been released in very limited fashion with a lot of what first appeared in the special being left behind. And now that Disney has acquired The Muppets, a re-release on DVD or even Blu Ray seems unlikely so long as Disney does not own the rights to the other properties featured in the special.

A Muppet Family Christmas was an ambitious special as it sought to combine multiple Jim Henson properties into one special:  The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street. It starts out rather simply with Fozzie leading the Muppets to his mother’s farm house to surprise her for Christmas. Unknown to him, his mother was planning on heading to Malibu for some fun in the sun for Christmas and has rented her home out to Doc and his dog Sprocket for the holidays. Doc is seeking a nice, quiet, Christmas and he gets anything but that when The Muppets arrive. It turns out, Fozzie also invited the Sesame Street gang which just adds to the overcrowded house, and Kermit and Robin discover that the Fraggles live downstairs. An impromptu concert breaks out with Electric Mayhem and Sesame Street also stages a play. A horrible blizzard descends on the house trapping everyone in there, but when Miss Piggy fails to show up it’s up to Doc to go out and find her.

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That’s one packed house.

Aside from the mash-up of properties, the special is most known for its inclusion of several musical numbers. The special is basically over-stuffed with them, especially at the end, and it almost feels like one of those old sing-a-long VHS tapes. The combination of The Muppets and Sesame Street actually works pretty well and lends itself well to some jokes. Henson and his writers weren’t shy about poking fun at their educational property, probably knowing that if they just played it straight the results would be kind of dull. There’s nothing vulgar by any means, or even mildly offensive, so the property isn’t hurt at all by it. The Fraggles are kind of tacked-on, and since they only interact with Kermit and Robin, their segment is a bit dull. As usual, the funnier members of The Muppet clan do the heavy lifting here and mostly succeed at drawing laughs.

At this point in time, A Muppet Family Christmas’s reputation likely exceeds its true value, but it’s still a unique and entertaining Christmas special. At least until you get to the end and the nonstop caroling becomes tiresome. Kids might like that though.

As I mentioned in the lead-in, this one is pretty tough to track down these days and is no longer broadcast on television. An edited DVD was released over ten years ago, but if you want to see it as originally constituted, you may need to turn to Youtube where people (like me) who were fortunate enough to have recorded the original special in ’87 have uploaded it for all to enjoy.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 8, 2015

#18 – Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas

By Joe
beavis-and-butthead-do-christmas-1

Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas (1995)

Apparently, I knew I would be making such a list last year because I got ahead of myself and did a full write-up for my #18 Christmas special, Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas. You can check it out here. As a result, I have little to add to what I wrote last year.

Because I feel the need to write something, I’ll just add that Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas holds up way better than it has any right to. The moronic duo probably should have only worked in the 90’s but they’re still hilarious even today. And even though this special goes the route of parodying the two most over-adapted Christmas stories of all-time (A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life), the special works because they adapt them in a way that had never really been done before (the only comparison I can think of is the Married… with Children episode “It’s a Bundyful Life”). Like some of the other specials on this list, Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas is unlikely to be shown on television this season so you’ll have to resort to other means in order to view it.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 7, 2015

#19 – It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!

By Joe
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It’s a SpongeBob Christmas (2012)

Here’s a tip for any would-be designers of future Christmas specials looking for a quick and easy way to my heart: add plenty of nostalgic value that harkens back to the classic Christmas specials of Rankin/Bass and the like. Think South Park’s episode “A Very Crappy Christmas” which basically parodies Twas the Night Before Christmas. Or, just watch special #19 on my list, “It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!”

SpongeBob came after my time. He’s a character that I understand has been rather popular with the generation that followed mine. He’s been on television for what feels like forever and has added a few feature films to his resume as well. He’s been so pervasive that I’ve obviously seen an episode here and there and I can see why kids would enjoy him but I don’t have any particular affinity for the character or show.

“It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!”, on the other hand, appeals to me because it seeks to emulate the look of the classic stop-motion specials like Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. And to the credit of Nickelodeon and the producers involved, the show really was done with stop-motion puppets as opposed to being computer generated to simulate the stop-motion look. The result is striking and it almost looks like an aquarium come to life, just minus actual fish.

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SpongeBob confronts his evil robot doppelganger, who may or may not be a nazi.

The story for the special is that Plankton invents a fruitcake (laced with Jerktonium) that turns nice people into naughty ones when they eat it and he tricks SpongeBob into driving around some cart and firing off hunks of fruitcake into the mouths of his victims. There’s also an imposter SpongeBob roaming around to turn everyone against him by making him look like a jerk. Plankton’s ingenious plan is intended to make everyone look worse than he so that he’ll end up on Santa’s nice list, and it works! Of course, things end up working out for SpongeBob and the citizens of Bikini Bottom in the end and the result is a pretty delightful little holiday special.

“It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!” was a big enough deal when it was first released that it actually debuted on CBS before airing again on Nickelodeon. It also introduces a new catchy holiday tune in the form of “Don’t Be a Jerk (It’s Christmas)” which always seems to add to a Christmas special’s longevity. And because it’s so recent, it’s still shown quite frequently on television during the holiday season, though I don’t know that CBS will show it again but Nickelodeon certainly will. If you can’t be bothered to find it, there’s also a stand-alone DVD available that usually sells for less than ten dollars.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 6, 2015

#20 – The Snowman

By Joe
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The Snowman (1982)

The Snowman is an animated special based on the book by Raymond Briggs. The book is noteworthy because it’s composed entirely of pictures and the animated special is notable for not featuring any dialogue, just a simple one-sentence introduction at the beginning.

As you can probably guess, The Snowman tells a simple story about a boy who builds a snowman only to see it come to life. They play together and sneak around the house at night so as not to alert the boy’s parents. The Snowman eventually unveils his wonderful magical powers to the boy and they both make a trip to see other animated snowmen, and eventually, Santa Claus himself (though since this is a British story, maybe I should refer to him as Father Christmas). The animation features a simple watercolor look that possess a sketch-like quality, to best emulate the book. It possesses a whimsical charm that suits the tone of the material. Pretty much anyone who has ever seen this special can recall the ending. I won’t spoil it (even if it is more than 30 years old at this point), but suffice to say, it is indeed memorable and the tone it strikes makes it pretty unique amongst Christmas specials.

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He certainly makes that “belly-whopping” snowman look like a piece of crap.

The Snowman is a story I’ve always felt I should like more than I do. If someone were to describe the tale to me in detail I’d say it sounds like something I’d enjoy quite a bit. For whatever reason, it’s never struck much of a chord with me. Maybe I just got so sick of seeing the promotional ads run on Nick Jr. as a kid ad nauseum that they poisoned the feature for me. When I watch it as an adult I enjoy it but do find it’s rather slow. I think, for me, it would have worked better as a short film rather than a half hour special. Not much happens, which I get is supposed to be part of its charm, but I can’t help the way I feel. I think if the story found a way to make me care about the characters more than it does I’d appreciate it more. Still, I acknowledge it’s an important enough special that it’s worthy of inclusion in my top 25, I just suspect a lot of people who have seen it would list it higher than I have.

Recently, a sequel has been made that I haven’t seen. I’ve actually owned it for some time but have never gotten around to viewing it. Apparently, I like to stockpile Christmas specials. The Snowman used to be shown on television with some frequency around the holidays, sometimes on public access in the US, but for whatever reason is rarely shown these days. If you wish to view it this holiday season your best bet is to rent or buy it.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 5, 2015

#21 – Married… with Children: You Better Watch Out

By Joe
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“You Better Watch Out” (1987)

When the Fox network initially launched it was pretty lackluster. Two shows would rise up and help give it a chance; The Tracey Ulman Show and Married… with Children. It may be forgotten by some, but if there was a first family for Fox it’s not The Simpsons, but rather the Bundys. The Bundys are the original dysfunctional sitcom family. While shows like All In The Family certainly showcased a flawed family none were as remorseless as The Bundys.

The Bundys consist of Al (Ed O’Neil), wife Peg (Katey Sagal), Kelly (Christina Applegate), and Bud (David Faustino) and basically everyone of them is a pretty bad person. Not only do they seem to not love each other they do not even seem to care about one another. They’re all selfish, stupid, lazy bores. Peg is a sex-starved housewife who would never lift a finger for anyone, least of all her husband, but will happily spend what little money they have. Bud is actually book smart, but too consumed with getting laid to apply himself at much of anything. Kelly is a typical dumb blond with her mom’s selfish tendencies. Meanwhile the patriarch, Al, is a women’s shoe salesman who basically hates his life. If any of the four have a redeeming quality about them, it’s Al who at least has some feeling of responsibility for his family’s well-being, though he treats it more like an inconvenience than a sense of duty.

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The Bundys and their neighbors gather around the TV to watch the Santa landing.

In the show’s first Christmas special, “You Better Watch Out,” Al finds his usually empty pockets more empty than usual when a new mall moves into town to syphon away business from the store he works at. It’s so bad that he has no money for Christmas presents for the family. Al adopts an “oh well” attitude about it while the rest of the family is more than a little irritated. When the new mall hosts Santa as part of some big Christmas Eve display, he is to parachute into the mall but his chute fails causing the Santa to plummet to his death right into the backyard of The Bundys.

Naturally, a crime scene is established by the local police and while everyone around the house is distraught over the death of Santa, The Bundys are delighted to get some free pizza out of the whole thing. Al does eventually step up and put on the deceased Claus’s costume to assure the children amassed outside that Santa is okay, but in typical Bundy fashion, this ends up biting him in the ass when the mall no longer needs to compensate the family to keep the death of Santa a secret.

In atypical Bundy fashion, the family actually does get something in the end but this is certainly not the way anyone watching would want to spend their holiday. Married… with Children was a pretty unique show at the time. While most sitcoms went the family friendly route this show decidedly did not and ended up lasting a long time as a result. The show still holds up really well, even if a lot of the humor is sophomoric at best, and “You Better Watch Out” is the show’s clear best Christmas episode.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 4, 2015

#22 – Invader Zim: Most Horrible X-Mas Ever

By Joe
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“The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever” (2002)

Invader Zim is a short-lived Nicktoon from the early part of the century. Most Nicktoons seem to have a short lifespan but Zim’s was especially short. Either the show failed to perform well or network executives were not onboard with its tone and brand of gross, snarky, humor. Since its cancellation it has established a cult following and DVD sales performed modestly. In its short life it also produced a Christmas episode, which is all we care about for this post.

Invader Zim tells the story of Zim, a doom-obsessed alien sent to earth to conquer it, but not expected to, by his superiors. Zim arrives on earth and disguises himself rather poorly as a human adolescent. Lucky for him, this version of earth is even more self-absorbed than our actual earth and basically no one ever notices Zim’s obvious alien lineage. All except one boy, Dib, who’s an outcast among his peers and is left to combat Zim all by himself.

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Santa Zim atop his hideous throne.

Zim is a woefully incompetent invader. Despite his incredible technological advantage, he’s incapable of creating much mayhem on earth. In “The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever,” Zim decides to take advantage of humanity’s love for Santa Claus and disguises himself as the jolly old elf in an effort to convince the humans to board prison ships that will deliver them to his alien overlords. Zim crafts a Santa suit that incorporates all of the elements that make Santa, Santa. Unfortunately, Zim’s suit is too similar to the real thing and it ends up taking over Zim, making him nice. Further complicating his plans is Dib, who’s usually useless father is actually of some help for him in this episode because he has a hatred of Santa Claus.

Invader Zim’s humor could probably be described as dark. The look of the show is very stylized with lots of straight lines. There’s a slight anime influence at times, but mostly the show reminds me of AAAAAHHH Real Monsters in terms of looks. Zim is prone to saying “doom” a lot and the show seems to find something funny about moose, with the presence of a moose item often being relied upon as a joke by itself. The show can be rather hit or miss, but “Most Horrible X-Mas” ever is mostly hit and it’s amusing to see the show’s impression of how blissfully unaware society can be of something obviously dangerous.  It’s another off-beat kind of Christmas special, which this list has been heavy on so far, but I promise more traditional ones are still to come.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

December 6, 2014

A Flintstones Christmas Carol + Christmas Flintstone

By Joe
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

That’s right, it’s December! Which means The Nostalgia Spot starts to become more like The Christmas Spot as I attempt to spread holiday cheer through my little blog-spot. The first (and last? I’ve been slacking lately) Christmas entry this year belongs to The Flintstones: The Modern Stone Age Family. The Flintstones were the first cartoon family to break through in prime-time television slots in the 1960s paving the way for future animated shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. Even though the last episode of The Flintstones debuted in 1966, the family maintained a strong presence through spin-offs and television specials for years to come, even into the 90s.

One such special from the 1990s is A Flintstones Christmas Carol, yet another take on the venerable Dickens story of A Christmas Carol. The special first aired in 1994, and naturally, a lot of the actors who made these characters famous were no longer around. The two most notable were Mel Blanc, the man of a thousand voices, who voiced Barney Rubble and Alan Reed who voiced Fred. Taking over for those two, are Frank Welker and Henry Corden. Welker is quite famous for his voice-over roles on numerous programs, but the less known Corden is the standout as his Fred is nearly indistinguishable from Reed’s. The cast, as a whole, is quite fine and the improved animation of the 1990s serves the Flintstones quite well.

The DVD release of the special includes the classic episode from the original series, Christmas Flintstone. This was the first Christmas episode of the series and was a part of season 5. In it, Fred decides he needs to earn a little extra money for Christmas shopping so he gets a part-time job as a Santa Claus impersonator at a local department store. He does such a good job that he attracts the attention of Santa’s elves, who are looking for someone to fill-in for the big guy as he’s come down with a bad illness. Fred, who is a lover of all things Christmas, obliges and accompanies the elves in the sleigh as they fly around the world delivering presents. Santa even takes care of Fred in the end by getting gifts for the family.

In Christmas Flintstone, Fred fills in for an ailing Santa Claus.

In Christmas Flintstone, Fred fills in for an ailing Santa Claus.

If this sounds familiar to A Flintstones Christmas, well it is. A Flintstones Christmas is often thought of as a remake of this episode. It aired as a one hour special in the 70s, and aside from some minor changes, is more or less the same thing. I’m actually torn as to which one is the better Christmas special. A Flintstones Christmas is longer and includes more characters, but Christmas Flintstone is the tighter story and gets some bonus points for coming first. The two are not related from a continuity perspective. I don’t know if either is truly considered canon by Flintstones aficionados but the two definitely don’t exist in the same universe.

As far as bonus features go, Christmas Flintstone is pretty awesome but the main event is A Flintstones Christmas Carol. With a running time of 70 minutes, it’s clearly the main course. In this special, the Rubbles and Flintstones are taking part in a local play of A Christmas Carol. Fred landed the lead of Scrooge and has let stardom go to this head. He’s consumed with his acting and inadvertently ends up coming across as rather mean when engaging with his costars. Naturally, they’re all pretty fed up with Fred as a result. In addition to being a jerk, Fred forgets to purchase presents for his family and neglects his daughter by not picking her up at “cave care.” When the play starts, several actors and actresses end up coming down with the Bedrock Bug, a flu-like illness making the rounds, forcing Wilma to step in for several parts. The whole thing takes on a metta feel as Wilma’s real frustrations with Fred rear themselves during the play, forcing Fred to reflect on what an ass he’s been. As the play goes on, Fred experiences the same emotions as Scrooge, and like Scrooge, is a better person in the end.

In A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Fred plays a convincing version of Scrooge, too convincing for Wilma.

In A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Fred plays a convincing version of Scrooge, too convincing for Wilma.

A Christmas Carol re-telling is the most tired version of any Christmas special. A Flintstones Christmas Carol at least attempts something different with how it’s version of Scrooge is forced to confront his past transgressions and improve himself in the end. It’s a little annoying how little it regards the past Christmas specials. Previously we were shown that Fred is a Christmas die-hard but in this special he’s almost indifferent to the season. Perhaps he’s just so consumed with his own brand of method acting that his usual Christmas spirit is suppressed, but it’s still hard to accept. Especially considering the inclusion of Christmas Flintstone as a bonus feature. The end result is that the bonus episode is the better viewing experience. One thing that does bother me about this special is the lack of creativity with the Flintstones technology. During the series, modern technology was included in creative ways, mostly by having the dinosaurs act as pseudo slaves to the people of Bedrock. Here there’s really no attempt to explain how they’re able to include holograms in their play or how a department store could possess a silent alarm. It feels rather lazy, and it’s something I noticed in another 90s Flintstones Christmas special:  A Flintstone Family Christmas. Nonetheless, A Flintstones Christmas Carol is entertaining by itself, if a bit redundant considering all of the other versions of A Christmas Carol out there. It’s cheap in most places though, so if you’re out at the store looking to pick-up something to add to your Christmas queue this holiday season, it won’t hurt to drop five bucks on A Flintstones Christmas Carol.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Television

December 8, 2013

A Mickey Mouse Christmas

By Joe

Mickey Mouse has appeared in many Christmas themed specials and shorts over the years.  I suppose that should be expected of a character who has been around for over 80 years.  I don’t think he’s appeared in more Christmas specials than any other popular character (the boys in South Park actually had a nice streak going on of a Christmas special nearly every year) but he’s certainly in the discussion.  Many of Mickey’s Christmas exploits took place on the big screen in the form of shorts, but have since become television staples during the Christmas season.  Rather than make an individual post here and there on certain ones, I’ve decided to make one long post that hits on the ones I’m most familiar with.  This list isn’t exhaustive as I’m sure there are more modern television specials that I’m not familiar with, but consider this a good start.  The following list is in chronological order, starting with the earliest.  They’re all available on DVD in some fashion, and the old shorts can be found on youtube as well (Disney is pretty lax with its old shorts when it comes to youtube, probably because the Treasures line of DVDs is out of print)

Mickey’s Good Deed (1932)

The original version was in black and white, but colorized versions exist today.

The original version was in black and white, but colorized versions exist today.

Mickey’s rise to fame nearly coincided with The Great Depression.  As such, it’s a pretty common site to see Mickey depicted poor and penniless.  In Mickey’s Good Deed, he’s a street performer looking to make a buck.  As far as we know, his only possessions are his cello and Pluto.  After a day of playing, Mickey and Pluto look to score some dinner and find that passer-byes have been tossing nuts and bolts into Mickey’s cup instead of coins.  Down on their luck, Mickey has a mishap that leads to the destruction of his cello, while a rich pig offers to buy Pluto for his bratty kid.  Mickey, of course, refuses but he soon happens upon a family of poor cats.  Wanting to give them a good Christmas, Mickey reluctantly sells his dog, dresses up as Santa, and gives the cat family a nice Christmas.  Pluto, meanwhile, is miserable as he’s abused by the bratty boy pig leading to the father tossing him out and spanking his kid.  Pluto is able to happen upon a despondent Mickey and we get a nice, happy ending.  It’s a cute little Christmas short that unfortunately is never shown on air because of one instance of perceived racist imagery.  A little balloon the Santa Mickey carries appears to depict a blackface character portrait on it.  This means the short is relegated to the vault section on the release Mickey Mouse In Black and White Volume 2.  Despite that, it’s actually been released here and there on VHS and DVD, including a colorized version on the most recent release Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals.

Toy Tinkers (1949)

It's all-out war when Chip and Dale sneak into Donald's house.

It’s all-out war when Chip and Dale sneak into Donald’s house.

I’m cheating here, because this is actually a Donald Duck short and does not feature Mickey, but who cares?  This Christmas themed short pits Donald versus perhaps his most famous antagonists:  Chip and Dale.  While out chopping down a Christmas tree, the mischievous chipmunks take notice and follow Donald back to his home where they see a nice, warm environment and bowls full of nuts.  The duo slip in and immediately start using the toys around the tree to transport the nuts out of there.  Donald, not one for charity, takes note and a full-scale battle breaks out over the nuts with the two using pop guns and toy cannons on each other.  It’s a silly, and fun short where Donald is mostly punished for his cruelty (and because it’s more fun to see Donald lose his temper) and things mostly work out for Chip and Dale.  Unlike Mickey’s Good Deed, this one will pop up from time to time on the Disney channel during the holiday season.  Otherwise, it can be found on some compilation releases and the Treasures release The Chronological Donald Volume 3.

Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)

Pluto is very protective of his Christmas tree.

Pluto is very protective of his Christmas tree.

Despite what it’s title suggests, Pluto’s Christmas Tree is actually considered a Mickey Mouse short instead of a Pluto one, for some reason.  It’s also one of the few shorts to feature Jimmy Macdonald as Mickey Mouse, as Walt found he didn’t have the time to voice the character any longer.  Pluto’s Christmas Tree is actually fairly similar to Toy Tinkers.  Mickey and Pluto set out to get a Christmas tree and they settle on one that happens to be occupied by Chip and Dale.  Once inside the house, Chip and Dale immediately start to make themselves comfortable in the Christmas tree while Pluto takes notice.  Pluto tries, in vain, to point out the chipmunks to Mickey who just sees Pluto’s antics as the usual.  Eventually he can’t take it anymore and attacks the tree, finally revealing the chipmunks to Mickey who basically has the opposite reaction as Pluto.  The short ends with Christmas carols, where the chipmunks take issue with Pluto’s singing voice.  This is another wildly entertaining Chip and Dale story mostly full of slapstick humor.  This one is really easy to get ahold of as it’s been released several times on VHS and DVD and is one of the most well-received Disney shorts.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

Not a Christmas season goes by where I don't watch this one numerous times.

Not a Christmas season goes by where I don’t watch this one numerous times.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is fairly recent compared with the other shorts.  It’s also quite easy to catch on television or find on DVD and was even recently rereleased on Blu Ray (along with Pluto’s Christmas Tree, among others) this year.  It’s the classic Dickens’ tale with Mickey as Bob Cratchit and Minnie as his wife.  Scrooge McDuck is, naturally, the film’s Scrooge while other Disney characters show up in supporting roles.  As far as takes on A Christmas Carol go, this one is my favorite as it’s both funny and poignant and the inclusion of Disney characters somehow makes it more relatable.  The recent re-release does make it all the more obvious that one giant Christmas release from Disney is necessary.  Mickey’s Christmas Carol is also how many were first introduced to the longest running voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine (who passed away in 2009), and also marks the final performance of the original Donald, Clarence “Ducky” Nash.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

Once Upon a Christmas is far from timeless, but it is nice to see all of the Disney characters together at Christmas time once again.

Once Upon a Christmas is far from timeless, but it is nice to see all of the Disney characters together at Christmas time once again.

Once Upon a Christmas is a traditionally animated direct-to-video collection of three shorts starring Donald, Goofy, and Mickey.  It’s shown annually on television still and represents the modern Mickey Mouse and friends.  The first short, titled Stuck on Christmas, stars Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie and is a take on the story of What if Christmas Were Every Day?  In it, the three boys wish it could be Christmas every day and are then forced to deal with the consequences.  It’s a bit like Groundhog Day, in that the boys need to be considerate of others and have the perfect day to undo the spell.  The second short, A Very Goofy Christmas, stars Goofy and his son Max as Goofy tries to prove to Max that there is a Santa Claus after their neighbor Pete informs him there’s no such thing.  The third short, Mickey and Minnie’s The Gift of the Magi, once again depicts Mickey as rather poor as both he and Minnie try to scrounge up some money to buy each other the perfect Christmas gift with both discovering the only thing that matters is having each other.  The animation on all three is pretty well done and it’s kind of fun to see modernized versions of the characters.  Aside from the Mickey short, the others tend to run a bit too long and run out of steam towards the end.  It’s a solid Christmas special but falls short of being a classic due mostly to the pacing issues.

Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)

Another direct-to-video Christmas special, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas is naturally the sequel to Once Upon

The CG look for the characters just doesn't do it for me, and as you can see here, the backgrounds suffer too.

The CG look for the characters just doesn’t do it for me, and as you can see here, the backgrounds suffer too.

a Christmas, though the stories contain no obvious references to the previous ones.  Differing itself from its predecessor, Twice Upon a Christmas is entirely computer animated and the results are something less than spectacular.  The characters are mostly harmed by the transition to 3D models which makes sense considering they were never drawn for such a look to begin with.  This collection also contains five shorts which does address the pacing issues from the first set.  The shorts are:  Belles on Ice, Christmas: Impossible, Christmas Maximus, Donald’s Gift, and Mickey’s Dog-Gone Christmas.  The first one stars Minnie and Daisy as competitive figure skaters and is easily the worst of the set.  There just isn’t much to it.  Christmas: Impossible stars Huey, Dewey, and Louie as they sneak into Santa’s workshop to get on the nice list.  It’s kind of cute, but the CG really shows its limitations as the should-be wondrous Santa’s workshop is really unimpressive looking.  Christmas Maximus stars Goofy and Max, who’s now returning home for the holidays from college with his new sweetheart.  It’s only slightly better than Belles on Ice but is ultimately forgettable.  I also found Max’s look to be really off-putting for some reason.  Donald’s Gift is a rather simple Donald tale where his grumpiness and overall bad demeanor nearly ruin Christmas for his family, but he redeems himself in the end.  I’m a Donald sucker, so I was entertained by this one but it can’t hold a candle to Donald’s classic shorts.  Mickey’s Dog-Gone Christmas is definitely the strongest of the collection as Pluto runs away to the North Pole after Mickey gets mad at him.  There he befriends Santa’s reindeer and adopts the moniker Murray (Murray Christmas, get it?!) and even gets to fly.  The reindeer characters are entertaining, and the CG look actually works for Pluto, though I still prefer the traditional look.  Eventually Pluto is reunited by Santa with his depressed owner and everyone’s happy in the end.  Overall, this is a weak collection and the CG makes it hard to watch.  Check it out if you happen to catch it on TV, but don’t feel like you need to go out of your way to see it.

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