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December 17, 2025

Dec. 17 – The Nostalgia Spot Christmas Special Countdown #73 – 64

By Joe

Today should be a day of 90s cartoons because we’re taking it all the way to 64 – Nintendo 64! The Christmas gods do not agree for not only does today not include any 90s properties, but it doesn’t even include a Nintendo one. It does include a video game turned cartoon and there are some 90’s adjacent stuff, but that’s as far as it goes. It’s also a bit of a mix in terms of demographic. There’s stuff here that’s definitely intended for kids and some stuff that most certainly is not. In fact, I would say this may be the darkest installment yet of the countdown and the lead-off special is doing quite a bit of the heavy lifting there as it just may be the darkest Christmas special I’ve ever taken in.

73 – Moral Orel – The Best Christmas Ever

Will it be the best Christmas ever?!

Moral Orel is a stop-motion animated show that aired on Adult Swim about a good-natured boy named Orel and his quest to live life in God’s image. It’s very much a subversive take on Davey and Goliath, just minus the talking dog. Orel, being a young kid, is completely oblivious to his surroundings in which all of the adults in his life are selfish and miserable and there basically isn’t one genuine person in his life. His father is an abusive alcoholic, his mother a bitter adulterer, and even his priest is a sexual deviant. “The Best Christmas Ever” was actually the show’s premiere, though it was never intended to be. If you caught it in the proper order, the episodes started off as a Davey and Goliath parody with Orel misunderstanding some church teaching and doing the wrong thing leading to a trip to his dad’s study to get taught a lesson. Physically. By the time the show reached this season finale, it just got depressing as his dad slipped further into the bottle and was forced to confront the fact that one of his children isn’t even his. And since Orel overhears the discussion between his parents, he gets the idea that his little brother was conceived immaculately and is actually the second coming of Jesus. In reality, the kid is terrible and his own parents regret not getting an abortion. It all ends with Orel and his brother smashing a nativity scene, because he thinks his Christ-brother is bringing about the Apocalypse, only for his mom to tell him that: He’s right that his dad isn’t his brother’s father, and they’re getting a divorce. Orel tracks his dad down at the local bar where his track coach is hitting on him and Orel comes to the conclusion that this is not the best Christmas ever. He notes there’s still two minutes left though and he has faith in the Lord to turn things around! And that’s how the episode ends which just feels even more bleak. This is definitely a very cynical look at the idyllic Protestant family and not the sort of special that’s for everyone. There’s a bit of an “edgelord” vibe to the humor, but the audacity of it all worked on me and it’s one of those specials I return to just to see if it’s as dark as I remember. And, yeah, it pretty much is. The only thing missing is a suicide joke.

72 – American Dad! – Season’s Beatings

That’s not going to go over well.

This episode of American Dad! pairs rather well with Moral Orel as it’s another cynical take on Christmas with some sacrilegious displays of violence. It’s also far more lighter in tone due to the more slapstick nature of the show when compared with Moral Orel. In this one, Stan gets passed over as Jesus for his church’s play only for Roger to get the part. When Stan loses it and beats up Roger on camera over the alien’s disrespect towards his religion, he finds himself excommunicated from his church. Lucky for him though, his daughter and her husband just so happened to adopt the antichrist and if Stan can just kill his toddler grandson it will get him back into God’s good graces! It’s quite the farcical Christmas plot with numerous funny moments and some pretty strong animation from the show. It doesn’t advance the overarching Christmas plot the show has with the Smith family and Santa Claus, but it’s fun.

71 – Smiling Friends – Charlie Dies and Doesn’t Come Back

Ever wonder what the toilets in Hell are like?

Smiling Friends is a much celebrated animated show in the circles I frequent mostly for its brand of humor and rough animation. It’s the latest in what appears to be cheaply produced animation for Adult Swim that turns into a hit. I confess it’s not as big of a hit with me as it is others. I don’t think it’s bad, but the show is just so damn ugly. I feel like I’ve hit my limit with ugly adult animation – why can’t we get stuff that looks nice? This is another Christmas episode from Adult Swim that’s not exactly packed with feels. Charlie dies while out looking for a Christmas tree with his friends and co-workers only to wander through Hell and find himself face-to-face with Satan. If he helps the guy out, he can go back, and since he’s one of the main characters I don’t think it’s a spoiler to acknowledge that the title of this one is a bald-faced lie. The humor is mostly dark, and even though I called this show ugly, there are some spots in Hell that are pretty inventive and surprised me. As I think about it, I probably should have switched this with Moral Orel, but it hardly matters when we’re talking two positions on a 200 episode countdown. This one fits in with a lot of the other subversive Adult Swim Christmas specials so if that’s something you like then you can easily make yourself a solid marathon of content.

70 – Teen Titans Go! – Second Christmas

Second Christmas looks pretty sweet, but of course Robin hates it. He’s no fun.

Here’s one that’s a bit more lighthearted. Our second installment of Teen Titans Go! just confronts what we all hate about the holiday – it’s end. To stave off those post Christmas blues, the Titans invent Second Christmas complete with its own Second Santa and customs. It’s basically just good-natured fun, though at the expense of Starfire who is ignorant of Christmas, and no one really learns a lesson or anything. Instead, they all fall victim to a horrible accident when Starfire is denied a Second Christmas miracle and they get to spend much of the following year in a coma which is actually a happy ending because they get to basically skip right to Christmas again! Take that, Arbor Day!

69 – Spectacular Spider-Man – Reinforcement

Are Spidey and Santa teaming up?!

Spectacular Spider-Man was a short-lived animated series that really did an excellent job of condensing a lot of Spider-Man material into something new and fun. Unfortunately, the Marvel acquisition by Disney seemed to kill it as the House of Mouse wasn’t interested in boosting characters it didn’t have film rights to or that were animated on deals outside of their usual reach. Disney would make its own Spider-Man shows and none of them could hold a candle to Spectacular Spider-Man. In this one, Peter tries his luck at courting not one, not two, but three different women and kind of strikes out with all three (Pete, it’s never a good idea to let a woman feel like she’s not your first choice, pal). It ends up being the least of his worries as he’s soon set upon by the show’s version of the Sinister Six. It’s a lot for Peter to deal with, but he’s Spider-Man so you know he’ll figure it out. It’s basically an episode full of action and holiday puns from our hero and it’s pretty entertaining, just not really a self-contained Christmas special. You definitely won’t get as much out of it if you haven’t watched the episodes leading up to it, but even if you haven’t, it’s still the best Christmas episode any Spider-Man show has had up until now.

68 – All Grown Up! – The Finster Who Stole Christmas

Chuckie and his dad do not see eye to eye when it comes to Christmas trees.

This Rugrats spin-off arrived when I stopped caring about the franchise. I wish it had come earlier as I think I would have enjoyed it in those early teen years where I was still kind of watching Nickelodeon, but not sure if I should still be. The show surprised me in the little bit of time I spent on it as it took Rugrats, a show about babies going on wacky adventures, and made it a teen drama. I wasn’t sure that could work, but what do you know? It kind of does. And the result isn’t a show as reliant on Tommy. He almost feels like an afterthought, but this is a Chuckie centric episode as he mistakenly steals a Christmas tree and feels horrible about it. There are some inconsequential B-plots as well, but the meat and potatoes is Chuckie trying to do the right thing and finding it difficult. It mostly works out in the end and Chuckie gets to learn a lesson about the importance of family or something and it will leave you feeling pretty good about things. It’s sweet and I was charmed by the conflict between Chuckie and his dad. I considered ranking this one ahead of the Rugrats Christmas episode, but nostalgia kind of won out there.

67 – X-Men Evolution – On Angel’s Wings

Sure they are.

We already looked at the Christmas episode from the better, more popular X-Men animated series. Now, we’re looking at the better Christmas episode. That other X-Men special is a “so bad it’s good” kind of special while this one is mostly just plain good. It’s a more grounded episode even though it’s all about a guy with actual wings and dudes with laser eyes and such. It’s more teen drama with the orphaned Cyclops and Rogue being left behind by their peers at the X-Mansion for Christmas. While that does kind of suck, it forces them to bond a bit which is good for Rogue who has a crush on Summers that’s unlikely to go anywhere since he’s all about Jean. Since Wolverine was too old in this show to shoehorn into that love triangle I guess Rogue is a decent consolation. The two end up in the city investigating tales of an actual Angel, which is of course just another mutant. It turns into something of an arm’s race as Magneto wants to recruit him, but so do the X-Men, and the two battle over the reluctant mutant until finally he’s allowed to have a say of his own. It’s just a good-natured Christmas special with some nice action tossed in. It’s not as reliant as Spectacular Spider-Man on the audience being up to date on what is happening in the show and basically all you need to know is contained in this one. It also mostly avoids the slapstick elements of the show and plays it straight. There’s a nice little montage at the end showing how the others spend Christmas and there’s that nice touch of melancholy present in so many Christmas episodes and it’s just the right amount. If you thought the older X-Men Christmas episode was just too silly, this one will likely please you more.

66 – Futurama – A Tale of Two Santas

It just wouldn’t be Xmas without a brutal rampage!

Enough of that sentimental bull crap, let’s cause some mayhem! Futurama is unique in that it turned Santa into a villain. Well, it was unique until American Dad! and Teen Titans Go! came along, but their murderous robot Santa is still his own brand. In the follow-up to the first Xmas special, the Planet Express crew is tasked with finally putting an end to Santa’s murderous rampage and they’re actually successful! A problem arises when they take it one step further and have Bender serve as a new Santa, one that will actually deliver presents to all the good girls and boys. After generations of growing up with an evil Santa, the people of Earth aren’t so willing to accept this reformed Santa and Bender is put through the ringer. He’s eventually jailed and sentenced to death for being Santa and the only way to save him is to free the real Robot Santa whom the crew trapped in the ice of Neptune. Do you believe in Xmas miracles? Well your faith is rewarded! Robot Santa is freed and saves Bender and the two are able to inflict carnage and mayhem on the world just as Jesus intended. Merry Xmas everyone!

65 – American Dad! – Minstrel Krampus

Who could forget such classic characters as these?

If you’re a show that likes to do an annual Christmas episode and you’re on for many seasons, chances are you’ll eventually wind up doing a musical. I wouldn’t call this episode of American Dad! a full blown musical, but it has multiple musical numbers most of which are pretty damn fun (Haley’s is not though, that one sucks). In this episode, we get to further the plot of Santa and the Smiths by having Stan accidentally free the demon of Christmas, Krampus, whom his father had trapped in a copper pot many years ago. Krampus immediately kidnaps Stan’s bratty son, Steve, and demands he send his father to save him. Stan’s dad is a jerk though and ditches him so Stan has to seek the aid of Santa himself. The two form an unlikely alliance and go after Steve who is basically in a parody of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast where he gradually warms up to Krampus and becomes a better kid. There’s a wild battle to end things and a new part of the lore is established in the process. It’s a rewarding episode in that respect for longtime viewers of American Dad!, but for anyone else it’s just an absurd Christmas story that will probably elicit some laughter.

64 – The Cuphead Show! – A Very Devil Christmas

Is it possible for the Devil himself to get on Santa’s Nice List?

This second Christmas episode of The Cuphead Show! dares to ask the question “What does Satan want for Christmas?” Turns out it’s a choo choo as this show’s version of the Devil tries to get onto Santa’s Nice List in order to get what he wants, but the only way for him to do so is to make a deal with the big man and take his place! The Devil as Santa? That’s a worthwhile spin on what is essentially a take on The Santa Clause and the end result is pretty funny. It barely features the titular character of Cuphead, but that’s okay because the Devil is a great character on his own. It’s also really well animated and just looks fantastic for a modern piece of animation. It’s also much longer than a typical episode of The Cuphead Show!, but it doesn’t feel bloated. I was really entertained by it and it’s snuck onto my annual viewing list as a result.

If you can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:

Dec. 17 – A Cosmic Christmas

If you watched a lot of cartoons in the 80s and 90s then you probably remember Nelvana. Their cartoons, like many others, would end with their own production logo which was a polar bear, I think. It was all one color and white and since Nelvana is Canadian it would certainly make a lot of…

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by Joe

Dec. 17 – We Bare Bears – “Christmas Parties”

This year, I’ve taken some time out to watch Christmas episodes of shows I’m pretty unfamiliar with. This is yet another one of those posts, only with this show I did make an attempt to get into it. A mild one. We Bare Bears is a show created by Daniel Chong that aired on Cartoon…

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by Joe

Dec. 17 – Peace on Earth (1939)

Hugh Harman was one of the early stars in the field of animation. In fact, we talked about one of his shorts already this year, but perhaps his most famous and most celebrated is the 1939 anti-war film Peace on Earth. According to Harman, the short subject was nominated for The Nobel Peace Prize, but…

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by Joe

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December 14, 2025

Dec. 14 – The Nostalgia Spot Christmas Special Countdown #103 – 94

By Joe

Today is a big day for our little Christmas special countdown for today we crest number 100. We are now past the halfway point on the road to the number one Christmas special and we’re also beginning a string of six consecutive days of countdown-style posts. That’s right, the next solo effort won’t be here until December 20th when we’re really close to Christmas. Basically, I have my work cut out for me to keep things lively and fresh for the next week so things don’t get too stale. Helping me out today is that we’re coming up on a day of mostly adult animation with a bit of teen animation mixed in. I try to keep the more adult stuff somewhat separated from the kid stuff when it makes sense and doesn’t throw off the rankings. And today works for that and after doing the very family friendly The Little Drummer Boy yesterday, it might be kind of nice to wallow in the misery of a horse man, but first we have something much closer to an all ages affair:

103 – Teen Titans Go! – Halloween vs Christmas

This is the most jerk-ass Santa you’re likely to ever meet.

Teen Titans Go! is the little show that could. Seriously, it’s pretty crazy that it has outlasted basically every other DC animated superhero show. For awhile, it felt like “serious” Teen Titans fans looked down at it and blamed it for their preferred show no longer existing, but as it’s staying power has been proven time and again I think it’s starting to be properly recognized for what it is. And that’s just a good, solid, comedic, superhero show that has helped make household names out of some pretty D-list superheroes. During its run, the show has been able to establish some Christmas lore for itself and one of the most interesting takes the show has embarked on is with its depiction of Santa. Like American Dad!, the Santa here is a villain. He frequently refers to children as garbage, and in this episode he has decided that Halloween gets too much attention and he wants to dominate the calendar even longer. It’s an absurd premise for an absurd show so it works very well. The Titans end up on the side of Halloween and turn to a being that resembles Samhain from The Real Ghostbusters to do battle with Santa Claus. Things get pretty “Looney Tunes” in the battle for the soul of Halloween, but it’s never not entertaining. If you’re the sort of person who vastly prefers Halloween to Christmas then this is the one for you.

102 – Popeye the Sailor – Seasin’s Greetinks

The original Popeye Christmas short is still the best one. There’s not a lot to it as there’s really not a lot to a Popeye short from Fleischer Studios. They just create opportunities for Popeye to beat up Bluto and win Olive Oyl’s affection all while looking pretty damn fantastic in the process. In this short from 1933, Popeye brings his sweetheart some ice skates and the pair head over to a frozen river to give them a try. Olive isn’t very graceful, but it’s easily forgiven since it would appear she’s never skated before. Things are going well until Bluto shows up using a small dog to pull him along in his skates like a jackass. He and Popeye come to blows and we get a classic waterfall scenario where the ice ends and the water rushes over a ledge. Popeye has to take care of Bluto and save Olive at the same time. Is he up to the task? Naturally, for he’s Popeye the sailor man!

101 – Aqua Teen Hunger Force – A PE Christmas

In this one, the Aqua Teens go to church.

Now here’s a special that has none of the Christmas feels. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is about as absurd a show as it gets considering our main characters are talking fast food items. In this one, the always scheming and all around bad person/cup Shake tries to steal the identity of Chuck D from Public Enemy in order to record a Christmas album which he thinks will make him rich. The scheme is entirely ridiculous as Shake basically just stole some mail and thinks that’s enough. Plus, his Christmas song is improvised on the spot and totals all of 12 seconds. He still manages to land some recording time on Christmas Eve to lay the track down, but a serious case of space eels basically ends his life. It’s surprisingly coherent for such a nonsensical plot and Shake is in good form as the asshole you can laugh at because he’s such an overconfident idiot. Chuck also gets to make a cameo at the end to compliment Meatwad on his recording of “Silent Night,” which is also set to the sound of Shake evacuating his bowels (yeah, lots of poop stuff in here). And if you think it’s really lacking in that Christmas atmosphere, this is one of the few specials to have a scene set in an actual church. Shake spouts a bunch of blasphemy and has to get dragged out by Frylock, but hey, it must count for something?

100 – The Ren & Stimpy Show – Son of Stimpy/Stimpy’s First Fart

Christmas doesn’t get more wholesome than this.

I love me some Ren and Stimpy, but I’m not as big on their holiday episodes as some other fans might be. Placing the first Christmas special at number 100 feels like a great place for it. This one is pretty well known, but if you’re new to it this is an episode where Stimpy passes gas for the first time in his life and becomes obsessed with the result. The best part of the episode is right at the beginning when we bare witness to this momentous occasion and then watch Stimpy try to explain what happened to an unamused Ren. Following that, Stimpy becomes obsessed with finding this thing he created which he starts referring to as Stinky. Stimpy views his fart as his child and the fact that he can no longer smell him sends him into a deep depression. It seems the whole premise of the episode was to take a truly outrageous situation and play it straight. A father trying to reunite with his son at Christmas is a pretty conventional holiday plot, only here it’s a cat and his fart. Because the episode is so committed to playing it straight it suffers in the comedy department. We feel bad for Stimpy, but it can only go so far. And there’s plenty of gross throughout this one (as one can imagine) which really prevents the viewer from getting into the heart of the story. Is that the point? Did the writers and producers of The Ren & Stimpy Show want us to feel uncomfortable and confused for 24 minutes? It’s possible. There’s some funny stuff in here, but it went too far. The ending goes over like…well, like a wet fart.

99 – Robot Chicken’s ATM Christmas Special

Oh, hey Larry! What are you doing here?

Nonsensical sketch comedy made out of old toys with a Christmas theme – that’s a Robot Chicken Christmas special. It’s going to throw several bits at you, some good, some not so good, but the sum of the parts is usually a solid 11 minutes or so of entertainment. There are a few segments starring Santa that are pretty solid including one where he’s late for Christmas and another where he battles Jason Bourne for some reason. I also like the longer skit with the Christmas tree who is personified and feels at home with his new family, only to get thrown out on Christmas. The capper to this one though is the Robot Chicken Nerd character waking up on Christmas to find it’s all been stolen. There’s only one suspect: The Grinch, and the Nerd seeks vengeance for all who were wronged this Christmas. And it becomes a lot easier when the Nerd discovers that the Grinch responsible is that awful Jim Carrey one! It’s not the best Robot Chicken Christmas episode, but it’s hard to not at least be mildly amused with the short run time and I give a lot of deference to this show because I do like the stop-motion animation. Also, there’s a Larry Hama cameo!

98 – The Venture Bros. – A Very Venture Christmas

I’m pretty sure I think of this joke every time I watch Frosty the Snowman.

Another one from the land of Adult Swim, this episode of The Venture Bros. is the rare short subject and also the only Christmas episode. I was dismayed to learn that series co-creator Doc Hammer hates it, but it’s really not that bad. It’s just brief and not able to tell the sort of stories the show is accustomed to. It also devotes a large swath of the episode to a parody of Christmas specials at the beginning which is all the result of a drugged-out dream by Dr. Venture himself. The rest of the special takes place at a Christmas party at the Venture compound where the Monarch has infiltrated the festivities via a new agent: Tiny Joseph. This little guy has planted a bomb in a manger scene in the house of Venture that will go off at midnight when baby Jesus is put in place. Only the boys accidentally summon the Krampus and everything goes to Hell. It’s fine, there’s some good jokes in here, and the episode is basically all one big fake-out so it fits canonically. It was supposed to be part of a much larger block of animation dedicated to Christmas on Adult Swim, but it never came together and this was the only thing that came of it.

97 – TV Funhouse – Christmas Day

Yup, this is that kind of show.

TV Funhouse was a short-lived Comedy Central show that was essentially a spoof on Saturday Morning variety shows for children. It had a host, live-action segments, puppets, animals, and cartoons only it was all intended for an adult audience. In this one, our affable host Doug has his spinal fluid stolen (because that’s where Christmas spirit dwells) by his animal companions who then go off and do a ton of drugs leaving Doug paralyzed in the studio to introduce segments. We get one about Christmas tension and another that’s a parody of the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon with this one featuring them dunking on Jesus. In between sketches, we just watch the “AniPals,” a collection of puppets and live animals, get high on the Christmas cheer they stole from Doug’s spine and attend church. It’s a lot of dark humor and the show is able to get obscene acts onto air, like one character sucking drugs off another character’s penis, because it’s all demonstrated through puppets. It basically comes down to two stuffed animals just smashing together. This is not a Christmas special for everyone and for me I have to be in the right mood for it. It’s all presented in a sincere manner, but it’s all farce.

96 – Robot Chicken’s Half-Assed Christmas Special

The closest we ever got to a Dragon Ball Christmas special.

Yes, another from Robot Chicken and it’s quite close in proximity to the other one. That’s because they’re pretty hard to separate since we’re dealing with sketch comedy. I ranked this one ever so slightly higher because the bits stand out in my memory just a little bit more. That could have something to do with me seeing this episode more than the other one and less to do with the quality, but I’m sticking to this spot. This is the Christmas episode where Santa gets revenge on Coca-Cola, Frosty gets high, and we get a Godfather Part II parody starring Hermey from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It culminates with Christmas coming to Japan (sort of) as Santa enlists the help of Goku to takedown Composite Santa, the half Santa half Snowman monstrosity. This episode of Robot Chicken has a higher batting average when it comes to the sketches even if nothing lands as well as the other one’s Grinch sketch. It’s just more solid, stop-motion, entertainment.

95 – The Simpsons – ‘Tis the 15th Season

Homer Simpson is an accomplished slitherer.

The most recent Christmas episode of The Simpsons we’ve looked at (recent as in we just did this one last year) is the lowest ranked of them all, but that’s not bad! “‘Tis the Fifteenth Season” comes from, what else, the 15th season of the show and features a plot about Homer being selfish. He learns from his mistake rather early on and tries to redeem himself which just puts him in competition with Flanders. When Flanders one ups him by giving everyone in town a Christmas present, Homer decides he can’t compete so he just steals them instead. This brings about a fourth act Grinch parody which I’m always down for. This is also the rare episode for this era of the show without much of a B plot as it just goes from one Homer situation to the next and it’s punctuated with a Moe suicide joke. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a Moe suicide joke on The Simpsons now would it? What this one lacks in heart, it makes up for with laughs.

94 – BoJack Horseman – Sabrina’s Christmas Wish

How Christmas is supposed to look.

Our last entry for today belongs to BoJack Horseman, the Netflix animated series about a has-been actor who lets his own depression and overall bad guy vibes take everyone down in his orbit. Or at least he tries to and ultimately fails in many respects. The Christmas episode is basically a stand-alone Christmas special that exists between seasons. In it, BoJack and his roommate Todd don’t have much going on because they don’t have a happy family life so they sit in BoJack’s bed and watch the Christmas episode of his old sitcom, Horsin’ Around. The premise of the show is that BoJack plays a horse who adopts some orphans. One of the orphans, Sabrina, learns about Christmas and Santa and thinks he has the power to bring her parents back to life, but when all she gets is a letter from Santa explaining why that isn’t possible she gets irate. Don’t worry though, because just like in an episode of Full House, BoJack and his adopted daughter have a talk and everything is fine. In fact, it’s better than fine as both confess they’re glad her parents are dead otherwise they’d never know each other! Most of the episode is dedicated to just watching what is essentially a sitcom parody and it’s done very well. The tropes are highlighted and some awkwardness is worked in when one of the kid characters can’t get his catchphrase over with the studio audience. And our framing device is BoJack, angry at Todd’s mere presence, but also extremely lonely and narcissistic enough to enjoy watching a bad TV show starring him. It’s hard to imagine the show doing a better Christmas episode as it perfectly captures why BoJack, the character, sucks so hard and presents a very believable Christmas for him. Like a lot of the programs we spotlighted today, it’s not a show that’s for everyone, but if you’re into dark humor and grew up on bad family sitcoms this one will probably amuse you.

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

Dec. 14 – All Grown Up! – The Finster Who Stole Christmas

In 2001, Rugrats had the honor of being the first Nicktoon to make it 10 years. The path to that honor was not a smooth one as the show had effectively been cancelled in 1993 with the third season. That appeared to not be performance related, but more strategic on the part of Nickelodeon as…

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Dec. 14 – Rugrats – “The Santa Experience”

Yesterday, we took a look at the 1992 Christmas special from the third Nickelodeon Nicktoon The Ren & Stimpy Show. Today, we’re basically working backwards and talking about the second Nicktoon to premiere: Rugrats. The Ren & Stimpy Show is probably the most celebrated of the original Nicktoons when it comes to animation circles, but…

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April 10, 2020

An Easter Viewing Guide

By Joe

easter_south_park

Never forget the reason for the season.

If you are a regularly reader at The Nostalgia Spot, then you’re probably familiar with the holiday version that comes every December:  The Christmas Spot. Christmas is such a big deal in our society that there is an abundance of Christmas themed media, enough to sustain an annual blog for 25 consecutive days. And people like Christmas, despite how much grumbling surfaces every year about decorations appearing in stores in October or the music filling grocery store aisles for weeks on end. I know people like it, because in all likelihood The Christmas Spot has more regular readers than the rest of the stuff I do. My readership always spikes in December and I assume there are a handful of readers that bookmark the page only to come around for December.

When it comes to television, no holiday compares with Christmas and the only one that comes close is Halloween. When I was a kid though, the holiday tier list when like this:  Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, any holiday that resulted in a day off from school, and then the rest. Christmas was number one because it was the big one:  the toy holiday. I loved toys as a kid, and I still do, so it was a clear number one. Halloween came at number two because it was a unique experience, and it came with lots and lots of candy. Easter was like the compromise holiday. I had Catholic parents, but the religious aspect of the holiday was never enforced in my house so it was just a day that Santa-Light, aka The Easter Bunny, entered my home at night and hid a basket of goodies somewhere for me to find in the morning. That basket contained assorted Easter candies, all of which were awesome:  Reese’s Eggs, pastel M&M’s, Peeps, Cadbury Eggs, and so on. Usually there was one central, big, piece of candy be it a chocolate bunny or one of those giant candy bars that went beyond a king size. In my house, the Easter Bunny also always brought a toy of some kind. Usually it was a modest thing. At most I seemed to get a couple of action figures or a small toy vehicle playset like a TMNT motorcycle thing or something. And that’s why Easter felt like a compromised merger of Christmas and Halloween in my house. There were toys, but way fewer than what Santa would bring, but also a good amount of candy, but not as much as I’d come away with on Halloween.

The combination of toys and candy, plus the fun of hunting for an Easter basket or Easter eggs, made Easter an important day in my house. And I carry forward that tradition now for my kids and I look forward to watching them experience the holiday each year. And in my house, holidays are marked by indulging in moves and television based around that holiday theme. For Easter, I’ve had to put in some work to find stuff. There’s an assortment of biblical videos and such that are just terrible. I mean, if you’re into that component of Easter and get enjoyment from them then more power to you, but they’re not for me. I look for the fun stuff that centers around rabbits and junk. Somewhat to my surprise, I’ve put together a solid collection of Easter specials for my kids and I to take in this year and I thought I’d share that with you all. It might seem a little late in the game with Easter so close, but we’re not talking a massive volume here. And most are suitable for all audiences, so that’s a plus, though I did include one that would probably best be reserved for adults only, or at least teens and adults. And I should stress, I’m not saying these are all necessarily good or essential, there’s definitely some crap here, but it’s crap that at least has nostalgic appeal. And when you’re talking one, annual, viewing there’s a considerable tolerance level in place. Let’s get this going and we’ll go in chronological order of release starting with…

iwantaeasteregg

I can hear this image.

Easter Yeggs (1947)

The classic Easter themed Bugs Bunny short directed by Robert McKimson is probably best remembered for the annoying little kid that just says “I want an Easter egg!” over and over. He, like everyone else in the short, is voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc. In this cartoon, Bugs Bunny agrees to help out the Easter Bunny whom he stumbles upon early in the short who appears to be pretty stressed out over this whole Easter thing. Turns out he’s actually just lazy, but Bugs is game and finds out that being the Easter Bunny is no fun. He eventually encounters Elmer Fudd who has designs on consuming the Easter Bunny (what a killjoy) leading to a fairly traditional Bugs and Elmer cartoon. Which is just fine because Bugs Bunny cartoons are pretty wonderful and I need to write about them more. If you want to watch this one, it’s available as part of The Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 and I can’t recommend the entire Golden Collection enough. It’s also available in HD on the Platinum Collection Volume 3. If you’re strapped for cash though, it can easily be found online for free.

happy_go_ducky

He’s just so cute!

Happy Go Ducky (1958)

I completely forgot about this cartoon until this year when I just happened to stumble upon it. This is a Tom and Jerry short from the tandem of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who are better known for producing some of the worst cartoons you’ve ever seen. Back in the 40s and 50s though, they were the Tom and Jerry guys churning out award-winning cartoons to rival what Warner and Disney were doing. This little short features an appearance by Quackers, a seldom-used duckling character voiced by Red Coffee doing his best “duck” voice a-la Donald Duck. Quackers is just adorable, as he’s left as a gift for Tom and Jerry by the Easter Bunny, but proceeds to drive them nuts as he floods the home in search of an adequate swimming pool to meet his needs. The sweet thing is that he eventually overwhelms and wins over the duo with his cuteness. Watch this one with young kids and you’ll be hearing them imitate Quackers, as best they can, and his frequent line, “Happy Easter!” This short is available as part of the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 3 which is still easy to find and cheap to acquire (especially if you opt for a used copy). It can also be found online, but many places feature a cropped version that probably aired on television years ago as this cartoon was originally done in Cinemascope. Interestingly, there’s an edited version on YouTube just titled “Happy Easter” that isn’t cropped, but is missing several scenes as nearly 2 minutes were shaved off of the running time. This might be my favorite of this list.

easter_beagle

Snoopy helping Linus avoid more embarrassment. He’s a good boy.

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)

You can always count on The Peanuts gang for a holiday special. These kids even have an Arbor Day special, for crying out loud. Charlie Brown and his friends seem to have a problem with everything, including Easter. For Peppermint Patty, it’s teaching her friend Marcy how to color eggs. For Sally, it’s finding the right pair of shoes for the holiday. And for Linus, it’s people mocking him for his belief in an Easter Beagle. As was the case with Halloween, Linus appears to have picked the wrong holiday mascot to back. What’s rewarding is the other kids remind him of his Halloween foolishness, but he’s somewhat vindicated in this one. And then there’s Lucy, getting victimized by Snoopy once again. Despite the title, Charlie Brown plays a very small role in this one though he still gets reminded that he is indeed Charlie Brown come Easter. This cartoon gets bonus points for making a good Christmas joke when the kids go to the mall and find it already decorated for that holiday. See people, it’s not a new thing to complain about Christmas arriving early in stores as this thing was made in 1974. Strangely, it doesn’t look any network is airing this special this week (I may have missed an earlier airing this month), but it is available to stream on Amazon. Or you could be like me and just buy a DVD to watch at your leisure each season. Charlie Brown holiday DVDs and Blu Rays are often really easy to find at a cheap price during the offseason. And as a bonus, you’ll get that Arbor Day special!

easter_daffy

This one just might cause you to miss the old shorts.

Daffy Duck’s Easter Egg-citement! (1980)

After the era of the cartoon short ended, but before the explosion of cable providing for a landing spot for old cartoons, Warner Bros. put their now meager staff to work making television specials starring the Looney Tunes characters. Many of them featured Bugs Bunny and some included old shorts with some new wrap-around animation connecting them, but many also featured all new toons. The catch for these though was that the quality was abysmal. If you thought the Warner shorts of the 50s looked poor then you better make sure you sit down before watching anything made in the 70s or 80s. Daffy Duck’s Easter Egg-citment is no except as it looks downright terrible in some places. There’s a shot of Daffy and Sylvester both digging for food out of the trash that is so garish and bright it makes me feel ill. This TV special contains three new shorts:  The Yolks on You, The Chocolate Chase, and Daffy Flies North. In between the shorts, Daffy is present to argue with the animator as he did in the classic short Duck Amuck only it’s far less amusing this time around. None of these shorts are particularly good and all recycle old gags and concepts from past toons. Some even recycle assets from other cartoons. Of the three, I suppose Daffy Flies North is my favorite, but it’s also the least festive. Mel Blanc is at least on hand to do the voices, though he’s obviously a little old at this point. It was also an odd choice to pair Daffy with Sylvester in The Yolks on You since both characters sound so similar. This TV special isn’t a very good Looney Tunes production, but a not very good Looney Tunes production is still better than a lot of other stuff. Plus it’s a lot shorter than The Ten Commandments! If you want to watch this, it’s included on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 as well as The Essential Daffy Duck. It’s also received a stand-alone release. Warner isn’t particularly protective of it, so you can also find it online without too much issue.

hokum_hare_easter

This really happened.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – “The Turtles and the Hare” (1991)

The Fred Wolf produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon that dominated the late 80s and early 90s did not feature a Christmas episode, but it did find time for an Easter one. In it, the Turtles are preparing for Easter when they have a chance encounter with Hokum Hare who actually isn’t the Easter Bunny, but is actually the hare from the fable The Tortoise and the Hare, hence the episode’s title. He sure looks the part through as he’s a big, white, bunny in purple overalls. He’s also pretty annoying. The Turtles end up in his world, Fableland, in pursuit of some crystal and the story turns into mostly nonsense as many episodes of this show do. It all ends with Hokum serving as the Easter Bunny for some Channel 6 Easter Egg Hunt. Most of the episodes of this show are terrible and this really isn’t an exception. It’s amusing for how absurd a concept it is to basically have the Turtles meet a pseudo Easter Bunny, and as terrible as the show is it usually never fails to produce a smile or two from me just because I once loved it so. For nostalgia lovers only. You can find this episode as part of Season 4 of the old cartoon which is available on DVD. If you’re feeling really retro it received a stand-alone VHS release back in the day too. It’s also not particularly hard to find online as well.

easter_cartman

Cartman is relegated to one scene in this episode, but it just might be my favorite one.

South Park – “Fantastic Easter Special” (2007)

South Park has had a pretty nice run of holiday specials, and it saved one of its best shots for Easter. A parody of The Da Vinci Code takes on the form of an Easter special in which Stan questions all of the bizarre traditions surrounding Easter and tries to square them up with the whole Jesus thing. They don’t make sense, and he soon uncovers an underground Easter Bunny cult of sorts that his father belongs to which seeks to protect the true meaning of Easter, as well as the true pope of the Catholic faith. It’s bonkers, and it never lets up as it finds a way to just keep escalating the crazy as the episode continues ultimately building to a pretty satisfying conclusion. This one being South Park, it’s not for the kids nor is it for those who take the holiday seriously. It’s pretty hilarious though, and it came around when the show really hit its peak. If you want to indulge in this one, you’ll be able to see it for certain on Comedy Central (as well as the other, lesser, Easter special) tonight at 5 EST and it’s available in various formats as part of Season 11 of the show.

creepy_easter_bunny

Horrifying.

Teen Titans Go! – “Easter Creeps” (2017)

The Teen Titans Go! series has become a reliable source of holiday entertainment. Often times, they find a way to work Santa into the mix too as they did in the first Easter special and in the “Halloween vs Christmas” episode. “Easter Creeps” is amusing to me because the show envisions the Easter Bunny as a humanoid rabbit. He basically looks like The Noid only he’s pink and wears a vest. He lays eggs, which grosses every one out, and he’s overall just kind of creepy as the episode title implies. And because of that, he’s declared the worst thing about this otherwise wonderful holiday. This episode is a bit like the “Halloween vs Christmas” one as it’s going to pit the Easter Bunny vs the Tooth Fairy. It’s a silly experience that’s funny enough without overstaying its welcome. Cartoon Network airs this show all the time and tonight is no exception. A block of Easter programming is premiering at 7 EST tonight that will feature a new Easter special from the show. I can only assume this episode will be featured as well since it’s a full hour of programming.

That’s my list for 2020. If you think I missed any worthwhile Easter entertainment feel free to let me know. I’m always on the look-out for more holiday specials. Happy Easter!

 

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