I have a pretty tremendous blind spot for most animated shows produced between 2005-2015. If it was a show animated and marketed at adults, then I might have checked it out. If it was a show created primarily for kids and not based on some existing IP I knew from my childhood then I almost certainly did not interact with it. And when it comes to the Cartoon Network shows of that era, I basically only saw snippets of the programming when I turned my TV on if I had been watching Adult Swim the night before. That’s why I completely missed out on Regular Show. I say missed out because I’ve heard it’s quite good, but I don’t know that for sure. I know the name and I know it as the cartoon starring the bird and the raccoon, but that’s basically where my knowledge ends. I couldn’t tell you when it debuted, when it ended, or if it was associated with any of the other programs airing around the same time on Cartoon Network. For some reason I thought it was tied into Adventure Time, another show I am not familiar with at all, but aside from the creators knowing each other it would appear I was mistaken.

Now that I’ve done a little bit of reading, I can tell you that Regular Show was conceived by J.G. Quintel, a former Cal Arts student and a lot of the show is based on his experiences there. The show was part of Cartoon Network’s search for more original content via its Cartoonstitute initiative which allowed creators to submit a pitch without network interference. It’s a pretty neat idea and sounds similar to how the network first got into creating its own animation via the Cartoon, Cartoon model in the 90s which was similar to what Nickelodeon had done in creating its Nicktoons. And just looking at some of the shows the network greenlit during this time, it would appear it was a pretty big success. It’s somewhat baffling that the network seems to have moved away from this approach in favor of relying on existing IP, but that seems to be an industry wide thing and not something unique to Cartoon Network.

Regular Show may be a show I’m not familiar with, but it looks like I should probably reconsider that since it produced multiple Christmas episodes during its run. Given that, I’m a little surprised to see that the first of those episodes, and the subject of today’s post, didn’t come along until Season 4. Regular Show is one of those cartoons that gets a half hour block to air two roughly 11 minute shorts. For Christmas, 11 minutes just wasn’t going to cut it so both segments were devoted to one story as have many cartoons of similar formats before it. Christmas just isn’t suited for such a meager duration, as much as that pains my fingers each holiday season. I decided not to watch any Regular Show before watching this episode so I’m going in cold turkey. I know the two lead characters, Mordecai (Quintel) the blue jay and Rigby (William Salyers) the raccoon, are slacker types in their early 20s. They’re probably like a lot of men that age who would rather play video games and goof off than work or study. They would probably also like to drink beer, but this wasn’t an Adult Swim show so I’m guessing that’s out. I don’t really know what’s going on with the world they inhabit. There appears to be animal types as well as normally inanimate objects that are sentient. There’s also people. Is there an explanation for this in the show? I have no idea. Does there need to be one? Not really.

The episode begins with a cold open. A shadowy figure is in the midst of a heist in a cold climate and would appear to be using the sleigh belonging to one Santa Claus as a way of escaping. The sleigh is not only outfitted with eight reindeer, but even a ninth at the head of the team signifying Rudolph – that’s commitment! The show is hand-drawn with digital animation and it looks pretty fluid, but a little simplistic when it comes to lighting. It’s very similar to Rick and Morty in that respect. As the sleigh takes off, we see a sign indicating that this is the North Pole so the factory this guy is running from (and blew up) might just be Santa’s workshop. The shadowy figure is coveting what looks like a present and he also has the pointed features of an elf, but before he can open the gift he’s attacked by some sort of sky-sledding ninja! And not just any ninja – Santa! He removes a scarf to reveal his beard and this Santa isn’t your usual portly guy with red cheeks. He’s large, and intimidating, though he still retains the beard. He’s also voiced by the incomparable Ed Asner, probably the greatest Santa voice there ever was. He tells the elf, Quillgin (Thomas Haden Church) that he can’t let him leave with that gift, but he’s not going to just give it up. The two fight over it, and Quillgin is able to get it away from Santa momentarily. As he opens the lid, a light pours out. Santa cries out “No!” and then adds “Rudolph! Diene nase!” This command, which Google tells me means “Serve nose” in German, prompts the reindeer to cock his head and blast a laser from his nose at the elf. This dislodges the present, which Santa grabs and dives out of the sleigh with. Quillgen reaches over the side of the sleigh brandishing a gun, a realistic looking one at that, and shoots Santa three times in the stomach as the old man falls out of sight. Quillgin taunts him as he disappears through the clouds with a menacing, “Merry Christmas, Santa Claus.”

That takes us into the title, which is some rather ominous music over dark, red-tinted, clouds. When the credits are through, we’re taken to a festive holiday gathering. Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” is playing and the warmly lit house is nicely decoarated. Here is where I have to do my research as I don’t know who anyone is. In the kitchen, a green guy in a Hannukah sweater is singing the praises of Christmas cookies to a yeti. This is apparently Muscle Man (Sam Marin) and the yeti is Skips (Mark Hamill), who doesn’t say anything. In the main room, a living gumball machine in a reindeer sweater is chatting it up with a human female. This is Benson (Marin) and the girl would appear to be named Audrey (Courtenay Taylor) via process of elimination when I look at the cast list. She compliments the sweater Benson is wearing who takes the compliment with grace, then she adds it’s sure to win the “Ugliest sweater” competition, if there is one. Benson gives a nervous laugh indicating he just thinks it’s a nice sweater, then excuses himself to get more soda. It’s technically a kid’s show, after all, no beer.

In the kitchen, Benson runs into a Mr. Maellard (David Ogden Stiers) who looks like an old man, but his head is the moon. I have no idea who he is, but he’s leaving since he has six other parties to attend. He compliments Benson on his party though (this must be his home then) and gets in a dig about the sweater on his way out. Benson seems irritated at yet another jab at his sweater and gets further irritated when he finds nothing but empty soda bottles on the refreshments table. He then calls out to a Thomas (Roger Craig Smith) as he heads back into the living room and we see who Thomas is. It’s some goat guy and he managed to get his head stuck in the railing of the stairs. Mordecai and Rigby make their entrance here as they’re doing some sort of Christmas rap, or song, for someone on the phone. When the brief little diddy is concluded, Mordecai picks up the phone to ask a Margaret if she liked it. She must be a friend, or a girlfriend, who couldn’t attend the party. She seems to have a lukewarm reception to it since Mordecai says you need to be able to see the dance that goes with it, but he doesn’t seem bothered in the least. Benson then enters, and finding Thomas unable to procure soda, asks Mordecai and Rigby to go over to Skips’ garage to get some more. They agree to do so, but on the condition that this be considered their Christmas gift to Benson. He basically restates the offering in an irritated tone, then adds a fine, and the two slackers high five in celebration for seemingly getting out of spending money on a friend (he’s apparently their boss too, and yeah, don’t buy your boss Christmas gifts, folks).

Mordecai and Rigby, with festive scarves around their necks, head through the snowy night to retrieve soda for the party. As they walk they both share their enthusiasm for Christmas and the getting gifts part, which is hardly a surprise. Rigby even adds the holiday should occur once a month, at a minimum, which his fine, feathered, friend agrees with. Their conversation is interrupted by what looks like a meteor streaking towards the home of Skips. It smashes through the roof of the garage (oh no, the soda!) and Mordecai beckons his friend to hurry. As they open the garage door, their scarves have mysteriously vanished. Damn, I liked how they looked. Inside the garage, they find an unconscious man on what was once an automobile. Mordecai asks the guy if he’s okay, and he speaks indicating he’s not actually out cold. He tells them not to worry about him, but to take the box. He then rolls over and groans when he realizes who is standing before him. Naturally, Mordecai and Rigby have questions, and when he says he’s Santa they’re not ready to believe him. Mordecai lists out the qualities they would anticipate Santa to have like smelling good and having rosy cheeks noting this guy has bruised cheeks and smells like he stepped in something. Santa, seeming more than a little irritated, informs them that stuff is just marketing and he’s the real deal and proves it by telling them what they keep writing him letters for every year: an invisibility cloak. Apparently, he’s not allowed to give out magical gifts as it’s against the rules, which Rigby is pretty surprised to hear that even Santa has to follow rules.

Santa then gets back to the box and tells the two they need to destroy it. When they ask what’s in it, he tells them it’s not what’s inside, but the box itself that’s the issue. We then are treated to a flashback. Santa explains that his head toy designer, Quillgin, had spent his life working on this thing. It’s a box that gives the opener whatever they desire most. Santa didn’t know at the time, but it was crafted using dark magic. They tested it on a focus group, a family of four and one box, to see how kids would react to it on Christmas morning. It made them violent as they coveted the box and wouldn’t let anyone else have it. The kid in the scenario even bites his mother on the forearm when she tries to open it. Santa orders the box be sealed away and all of the notes pertaining to its construction destroyed, but Quillgin challenged him on it. Santa is shown easily overpowering him, but acknowledges that he should have expected the elf to seek revenge at some point.

That’s when the flashback ends. Santa, in the present, tells the boys they must destroy the box because Quillgin is still out there after it. And when he gets it, he’ll use it to get what he wants most: the destruction of Christmas! Mordecai and Rigby obviously don’t want that to happen and they vow to help Santa destroy the box. He doesn’t seem enthusiastic about enlisting their aid and wishes he had landed in someone else’s garage. Well, he’s stuck with them! The two try to help Santa up, but he’s in far too much pain to try and stand and tells them to take the box and go. They do as their told, though not before momentarily misplacing the box first, and once gone they get their friends and return to the garage to show them what happened, but Santa is gone! Everyone is pissed at the pair, and by everyone I mean Benson, Pops (a guy with a lollipop or something for a head voiced by Sam Marin), Muscle Man, Skips, and Hi Five Ghost (a little ghost with a hand coming out of its head that has a basic shape not unlike the ghosts from Pac-Man that doesn’t seem to do or say much, but the noises that come out of him are provided by Quintel). Not believing a word they’re saying, Benson takes the box and looks into it. We don’t know what he desired, but his pupils dilate and the box is snatched by Muscle Man. The same happens with him, and soon Pops and Hi Five Ghost have a gander and they all start fighting over it until Skips yanks it from them and leaves the lid on.

Now that the powers of the box have been demonstrated, the group asks what they’re supposed to do with it. Mordecai tells them that Santa entrusted the box to them so they could destroy it. Muscle Man decides to take care of it with a sledge hammer, but his strike bounces off and sends him sailing into the wall of the garage. Skips gives the box a sniff and confirm the presence of dark magic. The only way to destroy such an item, according to the yeti, is to cast it into molten lava. Rigby asks how they can possibly do that and Skips tells him he knows a place: East Pines. This is either the park all of these guys work at, or a rival one, as Rigby is kind of pissed that Skips lead them here. He mentions a Gene and some rival park rangers, but Skips informs him there’s an abandoned mine shaft on the other side of the park that will lead them to where they need to go.

The crew heads in and as they run through the park they pass a fairly conventional looking snowman. Rigby decides to get a little mischievous and indicates he’s going to “fix” the snowman. He reaches for the carrot nose, suggesting it’s likely to become another part of the snowman’s anatomy, but the second it’s disturbed an alarm goes off and a whole bunch of park rangers spring up from the bushes. They’re armed with some kind of guns and they order the group to step away from the carrot and they’re forced to comply. We then cut quickly back to the garage to see Quillgin finding the wrecked car where Santa once lay. He’s got a small army with him and he tells them the box couldn’t have gotten far from here. They mount snowmobiles and head off towards the park.

At a ranger station, the crew is tied up and getting chewed out by a vending machine named Gene (Kurtwood Smith). He laments that he thought the “Prank Wars” were over and accuses the group of sneaking into their park to play some lame, Yuletide, prank this evening. Benson tells him that’s not what they’re after (and gets his shirt insulted in the process by Gene) and Mordecai tells him about the box. Predictably, Gene doesn’t believe him and orders one of his men, Larry (Salyers), to open it to see if it’s a prank. He doesn’t really want to, but he does as the vending machine commands. He reacts favorably to whatever he’s seeing, so Gene snatches it and does the same. Then another guy tries to get it and the three start fighting until the box squirts away and they get chewed out by Mordecai and the others. They bring Gene up to speed and let him know that Christmas is at stake. Right as they do, Quillgin and his team storm the place and all of the people in the station can see what’s happening via the monitors. Gene basically freezes as Mordecai and Rigby plead with him for his help. He just keeps looking at a picture of his family taken on Christmas morning (his wife and son are vending machines as well, it’s probably pretty easy for a vending machine to give birth) and then back to the monitor as Quillgin takes out the rangers. Rigby is pretty shocked to see that Quillgin isn’t some tiny, little, elf and soon the door to the room starts shaking. Someone is pounding on it, and they want in!

The door bursts open and it’s just another ranger with his arms full of eggnog. He reprimands them for not helping him, then matter-of-factly mentions the attackers just outside. Gene finally comes to his senses and throws out a “Let’s ride” to transition us to the next scene where everyone is riding snowmobiles. Gene leads them to an abandoned mine, but then tells them he will go no further. He plans to try and stall the elves, but as he drives away he calls out to them to watch out for the booby traps. When Benson responds with “What booby traps?” Gene just shouts back, “Merry Christmas!” The crew then heads inside on their sleds until they reach a dead end. Before they can assess the situation, the floor opens up and sends them all down a long, icy, slide. It’s a slide that ends at a chasm, but the sleds have enough speed to clear it and crash on the other side where an impaled skeleton in a foreboding hall awaits them.

Despite the ominous looking skeleton, Benson seems to think they can just walk around it to the door behind it, but the skeleton was clearly the victim of a booby trap. Or should I say, the human that the skeleton used to be was a victim of a booby trap? When Benson approaches it he steps on a tile causing spikes to shoot out, but he falls backwards to avoid it. It’s Skips who notices some glyphs on the wall which seem to suggest the right way to tiptoe through the would-be lethal trap. Mordecai decides to try and use the skeleton as a way to follow the directions as Rigby reads them. It’s basically like a 9-digit number pad on the floor, and activating each panel in the proper sequence should theoretically disable the trap. Only it’s not working and Mordecai casts the corpse aside in frustration. Then Muscle Man decides he’s got this and removes his shirt (despite his name, he’s not very muscley) for some reason and jumps into the trap. He basically breakdances in the pattern which he apparently memorized and a video game like chime lets him know he did it right. Everyone then heads through while Muscle Man boasts how that thing didn’t even touch him, then the trap springs all of the spikes at once and he changes his candor to “Whoa! I almost just died!”

Skips encourages everyone to continue on which involves going down a slide. Meanwhile, Quillgin has taken over the ranger outpost and is analyzing the security footage of the crew heading into the mine and spots the present in Mordecai’s lap. Gene, who is bound up and placed on his side, taunts them that the box is probably already destroyed at this point so one of the elves just kicks him over so that he’s face down and they can’t hear him. At the bottom of the slide, the gang comes upon the next test: a snow-covered pinball machine. The clue indicates that they have to rack up points to make a bridge appear, but should they lose a ball “Watch out below.” The machine is positioned at the edge of a cliff and their destination is on the other side. Mordecai and Rigby bemoan this test as they consider pinball dated and out of fashion. Benson just tells them to step aside and starts playing the machine. As he racks up points, an ice bridge appears, but when he loses a ball the ground beneath Muscle Man breaks away, but Skips is able to grab him. Rigby criticizes Benson’s playing which earns him a punch in the head from Mordecai who is offering nothing but encouragement to the gumball man. Now three balls are deployed and Benson is going off. Quillgin and his team of operatives then show up and Benson tells everyone to make a break for it. Once they’re safely on the other side, he lets all three balls slip past the paddles and makes a break for it himself. As he runs across the ice bridge, it breaks apart behind him. Quillgin’s operatives are chasing him, but soon are overtaken by the crumbling ice and presumably fall to their death. Benson is able to make it across and Quillgin is left to wail “Noooooo!”

The good guys find themseleves in yet another room, this one with a circle of glyphs on the floor. Skips takes a gander at the glyphs and translates them for everyone. It’s the final trial, and apparently they have to wrestle a bear. Once Skips makes that announcement, a roar from offscreen can be heard and a massive polar bear comes sauntering in. Now it’s Pops’ turn to make himself useful as he volunteers to wrestle the bear and seems pretty confident in his ability. He gets into the ring and the bear starts tossing him around. Rigby, ever the optimist, declares that Pops is dead while Mordecai tells him to shut up. The bear gets Pops in a hold who then calmly informs the bear that this is a fight he cannot win. He then overpowers the bear by standing up and hip-tossing him onto his back. He grabs the bear in a hold similar to a Dragon Sleeper and proceeds to choke the bear out. The others celebrate his victory, then the bear stands up and surprises everyone when it speaks. The bear (Fred Tatasciore) congratulates them on passing the final trial and informs them that they may now proceed. He then opens a portal of some kind on his chest and the crew is just expected to walk into it. As Mordecai approaches, he’s dismayed to see yet another slide, but Skips just slaps him on the back forcing him onto it.

The guys head down the slide and it ends in a warmly lit room. The pit to the core of the Earth is here, but as the group approaches it with the box, Quillgin appears! They’re all pretty confused that he could beat them to this room, and he points out he took the stairs. Apparently, that was an option this whole time. Unfortunately for them, Quillgin has a gun and demands that Mordecai hand over the box. Benson encourages him to do so, pointing out the whole gun and all, and adds they did their best, but now it’s over. Mordecai reluctantly starts to head in Quillgin’s direction, but some weird steam or smoke encircles the elf and seems to take over his arm. He’s unsure of what’s happening, but some unseen force causes him to toss his gun down the fire pit. Then we hear some laughter, and above the pit is Santa! He was concealing himself with an invisible cloak! He’s also riding a pretty sweet hoverboard. The others are in awe at the sight of the legend himself while Rigby is actually ticked off about the invisibility cloak. When he accuses Santa of claiming they couldn’t make such things, he corrects him by saying they can totally make them, they just can’t give them as gifts.

Santa joins the others leaving Quillgin enraged and in disbelief. He thought he had killed Santa, but the big guy reveals he was wearing a bulletproof vest which he also pulls aside to reveal some chiseled abs which Muscle Man seems to really like. Quillgin counters with a grenade and Santa is forced to dive in front of everyone with his hoverboard to shield them from the blast. In the process, the box is dropped and directed towards Quillgin who picks it up and proceeds to explain his nefarious plan. Or thought process, anyway, as he reasons if they just gave everyone in the world one of these boxes they wouldn’t have to fight over them. He accuses Santa of not wanting to do that as then no one would need him anymore if they had what they desired most. Santa denies this, but Quillgin is not going to be swayed. He opens the lid and demands he be given what he wants most: the destruction of Christmas forever!

With the box open, the background turns into a nightscape. Images of holiday stuff appear floating in the air all with sticks of glowing red dynamite strapped to them. “Carol of the Bells” comes in and a remote control detonator appears inside the box. This is apparently how Quillgin will get his destruction of Christmas. As he reaches for it, Mordecai leaps into action! He tackles Quillgin and both fall into the pit! “Carol of the Bells” either morphs into, or was always, the Trans Siberian Orchestra version as Mordecai and Quillgin battle over the box and detonator while they fall to their certain death. Rigby dives in after his friend, though I’m not sure what he thought that would accomplish? Mordecai gets punched by Quillgin and loses his bid at the box, but Rigby is able to grab it. Quillgin gets his mitts on it too, and we see the image inside the box change from a detonator to a cone of ice cream as the two try to create what they desire most. Or in the case of Rigby, basically anything other than the Christmas-destroying detonator. Rigby is able to pull it out of Quillgin’s hands, but he grabs Rigby’s ankles. Mordecai then calls out to his friend to release his hold on the box so that he can fall to it. Rigby does as instructed and Mordecai is able to get control of the box and makes his own desire appear: a two-person hoverboard! He hops onto it, grabs Rigby, and leaves Quillgin to his fate. Which is lava. Lots, and lots, of lava.

Mordecai rides out of the chasm with Rigby to applause from his friends. The box is no more, and the same is true of Quillgin. We’re then taken back to Benson’s house. Santa flew everyone there, and as they all head into the house Benson pauses to ask Santa a question. Declaring him the authority on all things Christmas, he asks for Santa’s opinion of his sweater. Santa curtly informs him that he should have tossed it into the lava pit. Benson says nothing in response, but removes the sweater and heads inside. Santa then has a chance to speak with Mordecai and Rigby. He confesses he didn’t think they were up to the task, but they surprised him. The two suggest that this should get them onto the nice list and Santa responds “Stranger things have happened.” He then takes off and the pair watch him fly towards a crescent moon, but not in front of it. Should we count this as a moon shot? It’s iffy. He vanishes with a blast of speed and Mordecai and Rigby seem very tickled by this as they high five declaring it “Just like in the movies!”

Benson heads inside to find Thomas asleep with his head still stuck in the banister. He shouts “Thomas!” which startles the goat man awake and in the process gets him unstuck. He says nothing, though it looks like the other party-goers decorated him with lights and such while he was out. He walks off as Mordecai and Rigby enter. Benson points out that the house is a mess and they need to clean it up. They both groan, but Benson smiles and lets them know he plans to help. He heads off into the kitchen for some cleaning supplies leaving the two alone to discover a gift under the tree. It’s addressed to them and when they open it they find a card inside that simply reads “Sometimes you have to break some rules.” Benson re-enters the room with a mop and bucket, but Mordecai and Rigby are gone. Irritated, he marches back into the kitchen. Mordecai and Rigby then appear on the couch as the gift contained the invisibility cloaks they coveted. Shouting “Best gift ever,” the two head back under their cloaks and we see two game controllers rise up from under the coffee table. The camera then moves outside of the house and pans to the sky to find Santa Claus once again. He’s flying away from the camera shouting his customary, “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!” He turns the sleigh around so it’s facing the camera head-on, then in a flash of light he vanishes leaving behind two trails of flames a-la the DeLorean in Back to the Future as a sound-a-like musical number to that film’s theme comes in to take us out.

So that was Regular Show. After watching my very first episode, I can see the appeal. While it didn’t really make me laugh out loud, there was humor to be found. Mordecai is pretty likable as a lead character since he’s positive and seems sincere. He’s a nice guy and supportive of his friends, he’s just a slacker. Rigby is a little more plucky, a little less someone to aspire to, but still likable. The rest of the cast seem fine and I’m sure there’s more to them, but you can only learn so much about a show in 22 minutes. I always welcome an Ed Asner appearance, especially as Santa Claus. This show’s version of Santa was more of the bad ass kind and it works. The plot wasn’t anything special, but it gave the heroes a quest and provided a villain that could be disposed of in the end. It probably didn’t need the full runtime to tell the story as the trials did get a little long, but it was fine. It was still fairly breezy to take in.

The visuals were also fine. It has that modern aesthetic that has been utilized most by Rick and Morty of late and I like how some characters look, but don’t care for others. I hate how Santa’s nose is drawn as it looks like a lump of flesh that got smashed with a shovel, but the design of the rest was fine. I especially liked Benson and how the untextured gumballs serve as a beard. The animation is fluid and the colors saturated, plus bonus points are in order for giving some of the characters holiday attire. I kind of wish Mordecai and Rigby kept the scarves they wore for a hot minute throughout the special, but oh well. I was surprised at the amount of licensed music, especially because this is a show that was released on DVD, so kudos to Cartoon Network for paying for it. Of course, I’m not watching it on DVD or Blu Ray so I don’t know if they were left in, but I’m assuming they were since I didn’t see any mention of it on all of the places I checked out to read up on the show.

Will I watch more Regular Show? Maybe. I don’t know. It was enjoyable, but I’m not feeling any urge to watch more. I also don’t feel the need to add this to the usual rotation of annual Christmas specials. I suppose I am curious about the other Christmas episodes the show did, especially to see if Santa or even the should-be-very-dead Quillgin return. If you would like to experience this one on your own, there are the aforementioned physical releases, plus digital ones available. It’s also streaming on the Max platform, and being a newer Cartoon Network property, there’s some chance the cable channel actually airs this one. It should be relatively easy to come by, just maybe not for “free.”