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December 19, 2025

Dec. 19 – The Nostalgia Spot Christmas Special Countdown #53 – 44

By Joe
We’re sending out the signal!

Today our countdown enters the top 50 when it comes to Christmas specials. If it wasn’t apparent before, it should be now, that we’re well into the cream of the crop. The best of the best. And this collection of specials comes almost entirely from the world of kids or general audience television shows. There’s one outlier which gave me pause on just where to rank that one. If I were to bump it to the next big chunk then it would just be the same situation then as it is today. At any rate, it’s not a big issue as I don’t think it’s a particularly “adult” television show or one that’s raunchy or anything. And when it comes to Christmas episodes of this show it’s one of the most family friendly episodes anyway. We’ll get to that one as I’m actually going to place it at the end of this post, but first we’re going to start things off with a cartoon I tend to forget was part of the Disney Afternoon, but stars a character who is pretty damn popular these days.

53 – Lilo & Stitch: The Series – Topper: Experiment 025

This is the kind of chaos one expects out of Stitch.

Lilo & Stitch is a pretty fantastic movie and modern day classic. 2025 also brought with it a live-action remake that’s…fine, but it’s not nearly as good as the original. Stitch proved to be a popular character, and I’m sure kids like Lilo well enough too, so the movie was extended as both an animated series and via direct-to-DVD sequels. The format of the show was like an alien of the week via the many experiments the character Jumba created which have a tendency to get set loose on the world. In this one, Stitch gets introduced to the Christmas holiday, but things go awry when Stitch sees one of these experiments get placed in a Christmas present. This causes him to undertake a Grinch-like plot to round up all of the gifts in town in an effort to find the one with the experiment in it. Even though Stitch was revealed to be able to speak at the end of the movie, he’s not very adept at it in the series. The show also has to find ways to essentially silence him to work around this detail. Things do work out in the end, as they so often do, and the charm of this one comes largely from the characters. They’re just so well developed in the film and the series gives them a chance to go even further with some of the side ones and villains. Plus we get lots of Christmas attire for the regulars and I just found the whole thing pretty charming. It’s a show that came well after I lost interest in the Disney Afternoon and it’s one that makes me feel like I might have missed out on something.

52 – Rugrats – The Santa Experience

This image of Angelica with a ninja turtle-like smile is the most enduring image from this episode for me.

Rugrats was a pretty big hit for Nickelodeon as one of the original three Nicktoons. Aside from SpongeBob, I would guess it’s been the most successful Nicktoon of all time leading to movies, spin-offs, and even a modern update (that has apparently been wiped from existence in one of those oh so popular tax write-off moves). Since it’s a show that centers around an adolescent cast, it’s no surprise that the subject of Christmas was tackled. And since the protagonists are all babies, it meant they could partake in the festivities while also being pretty ignorant of the whole thing. “The Santa Experience” sees the main cast of families all take a trip into the mountains for a holiday getaway. There, Tommy and Chuckie try to figure out a way to capture this Santa guy, Phil and Lil struggle to come up with a gift for each other, while noted brat Angelica finds herself on Santa’s Naughty List and needs to get off – pronto! There are some small plots in the adult world as well, though the most notable is Chaz and Drew both trying to inject some Santa into the festivities which is what the title refers to. I know I’ve been hard on episodes of children’s shows that play it pretty loose with the whole Santa thing, but with Rugrats I’m less bothered since there’s a clear distinction between the adult and the kid world in the show. And they do fix things with the ending, as so many cartoons often do.

51 – Invader Zim – Most Horrible X-Mas Ever

That’s a pretty horrifying Santa.

A Nicktoon that came well after Rugrats is Invader Zim and the two could not be further from each other in terms of tone. Invader Zim centers on an alien, Zim, sent by his home world to conquer Earth, only he’s supremely incompetent. He is poorly disguised as a human child, but no one notices save for one boy by the name of Dib. It’s a very cynical show and the Christmas episode puts that on full display by having Zim disguise himself as Santa, poorly, and use his influence to get society to board prison ships where they’ll be sent off to be slaves or something. Only what undoes his scheme is, per usual, his own incompetence. Or I suppose in this instance, his hyper-competence? The Santa suit was built too well and it basically turns Zim into the real deal and Santa isn’t going to enslave all of humanity now is he? The best episodes of Invader Zim show Zim get close to achieving his goals only for things to blow up in his face which helps to make this Christmas installment not just an interesting and offbeat Christmas special, but also a pretty good encapsulation of the larger show.

50 – The Flintstones – Christmas Flintstone

Fred really gets into the act.

The original prime time animated sitcom also delivered what is perhaps the origin of what I call The Santa Clause plot. This episode has Fred Flintstone take a part time job as a mall Santa in order to earn more money for the holidays, only he winds up being so good in the role that he attracts the attention of the real deal. Santa doesn’t fall off the roof and die in this one, but he is sick and needs a replacement. Fred is up to the task and together with a pair of elves helps to make sure that the people of the world have a merry Christmas even without Santa. Like a lot of episodes of The Flintstones, it’s a little slow and there’s a liberal use of the old laugh track, but I find the plot so enjoyable that I don’t mind. I was tempted to rank this ahead of the pseudo remake that would follow years later because this one is a bit more tidy, but it also lacks the bells and whistles that make A Flintstone Christmas feel a bit more special.

49 – DuckTales – How Santa Stole Christmas!

The rare episode that solves mysteries and rewrites history.

The 2017 edition of DuckTales delivered not one, but two Christmas episodes during its run. This one happens to be the second and sets out to explain why Scrooge McDuck has a vendetta against Santa Claus. He hates the big guy so much that he arms his mansion with numerous traps to keep him out which just confuses his nephews. His surrogate niece, Webby, on the other hand is all-in on the Santa hate. When Santa shows up injured at McDuck Manor it falls on Scrooge and Webby to help the big guy with his deliveries, even if they don’t want to. And during that night we’re treated to numerous flashbacks to show us just why Scrooge dislikes him so much and the revelation is not shocking because it makes perfect sense. Scrooge, a savvy business man who believes in the value of hard work, can’t wrap his head around a guy who just wants to give stuff away for free. Santa’s generosity blows up a business plan they concocted where Scrooge would utilize Santa’s transportation to deliver coal and thus make money. He agrees to help him in the present only because he intends to sabotage him. It’s a particularly villainous look at Scrooge, but things find a way to a happy resolution because a children’s show can’t have its protagonist be at odds with freakin’ Santa Claus. There is a bit of a “lore gone wild” element to this one, as in, did we really need this story told? It doesn’t work in my head, but every time I come back to it I walk away impressed. It’s not as good as “Last Christmas!,” but this is a damn fine entry into the pantheon of Christmas specials which is why it gets the honor of being just inside the top 50 on my list.

48 – Animaniacs – How the Brain Thieved Christmas

Pinky kind of steals the show in this one.

Every one is out to steal Christmas these days, though having Brain of Pinky and the Brain fame be involved is hardly much of a surprise. It’s actually not really one at all which is why I had a hard time ranking this one. This episode from the Hulu run of Animaniacs has Brain invent a toy based on Pinky that he intends to use to take over the world in a roundabout way only for the magic of the holiday to cause him to change his mind. It’s very entertaining on its own and there’s some great banter with Pinky, but it doesn’t exist all on its own. The main takeaway for me is this is way too much like the first Christmas special. Even that one involved the use of a Trojan Horse toy that was modeled after the Brain and the magic of Christmas caused him to basically abort his plan. It’s basically the exact same plot save for the toy Brain was a direct way to take over the world while this one was to ruin Christmas and thus make the world more susceptible to Brain’s efforts. The good news is that first Pinky and the Brain Christmas episode is fantastic which is why we haven’t encountered it yet on this countdown. If you’re going to rip yourself off then it makes sense to rip-off one of your best efforts. Sandwiched in the middle is a musical segment where the Warner siblings visit a roided-out Santa to encourage him to do his thing. It’s amusing and probably the best Christmas segment starring the trio going back to the original series, but the majority of this episode centers on Pinky and the Brain. If the original A Pinky and the Brain Christmas didn’t exist, I’d probably have this one ranked higher.

47 – The Town Santa Forgot

This brat needs to learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Hanna-Barbera has made many contributions to the world of Christmas, but one of the most overlooked is the 90s production The Town Santa Forgot. This one is about a spoiled, selfish, kid by the name of Jeremy Creek who sends Santa a list so long that he assumes the name Jeremy Creek belongs to a town and not some kid. Turns out, there is an actual town by that name that Santa has somehow overlooked all these years so he’s able to visit for the first time and deliver presents. Jeremy ends up with nothing which ticks him off, but when a news broadcast relays what happened he finally has a realization that maybe it is better to give than receive. The special has a fun way of telling the story that helps the rather simple message of the standalone special land a little harder. And it’s narrated by Dick Van Dyke who just turned 100 so happy birthday, Dick! The animation isn’t amazing, but there’s an energy to it that I enjoy. It feels like a precursor to the What a Cartoon era for Hanna-Barbera as it doesn’t really resemble any of their preceding cartoons. It arrived a little late to feel like a true Hanna-Barbera original, but if we’re considering it one then I do have it ranked higher than a lot of their other stuff and that feels appropriate.

46 – We Bare Bears – Christmas Parties

The holidays sometime bring about a need to navigate awkward social situations.

We Bare Bears is a fairly lowkey cartoon about cultural assimilation. Driving the point home is we have a group of actual bears trying to fit in with society and the awkwardness that arrives from making social commitments. The bears basically spread themselves too thin at Christmas trying to make it to everyone’s Christmas party, only they prioritize attending the big, popular, one being thrown by someone they don’t even like while spending little time with the people that actually matter to them. Even though there’s an obvious message here and the bears are acting in a semi-selfish manner, it is relatable to find yourself with many social obligations all at the same time. How does one politely decline an invitation? It can happen where you make plans only for a better opportunity to surface later leading to a temptation to break those plans in favor of something else. I know it’s happened to me, though I can’t recall ever going through with breaking my original plans. I have been on the other side and even when the situation is understandable it still really sucks to have a friend basically tell you “I’d rather do something else than spend time with you.” Even though we’re dealing with bears, this one is extremely relatable and it’s also really sweet. The show handles these social settings really well so that even a kid understands what’s going on and it never makes its characters appear unlikable. That’s a hard trick to pull-off with this type of plot, but We Bare Bears manages it very well.

45 – The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police – Christmas Bloody Christmas

Sometimes we just need a little toilet humor.

Sam & Max seemed like a bit of an odd fit for Saturday morning TV, but The Adventures of Sam & Max did a fine job of adapting this odd pair for television. Sure, they couldn’t have their guns, but that didn’t stop the cartoon from being able to make prison rape jokes! This is a pretty offbeat Christmas special where the titular duo infiltrate a prison to basically stop a prisoner revolt at Christmas. The Sam & Max brand of humor is on display and surprisingly intact with this show aimed at children. I probably didn’t laugh out loud when I watched this for the first time, but I think it was a chucklefest which took me by surprise. It’s a genuinely funny episode even if it’s meant for kids and if you’re someone who dismissed this version of Sam & Max because it was made for Fox Kids then maybe reconsider that stance.

44 – Bob’s Burgers – Father of the Bob

Bob and his dad have some issues to sort out this Christmas.

Our lone entrant today from the world of adult animation comes courtesy of Bob’s Burgers. Unlike an episode like “Christmas in the Car,” there’s no worry about the Santa thing being spoiled for your kids if you choose to watch this one with them. This is a pretty simple tale about Bob being uncomfortable around his dad as he’s never felt much affection from the guy. Each Christmas brings a Christmas party thrown by Big Bob that Little Bob dreads, but he sucks it up and attends after getting wife Linda to agree on a short visit. Only that goes out the window when it’s apparent that Big Bob is shorthanded at his own restaurant which is where the party is being held forcing Bob into the kitchen with his dad – the last place he wants to be. There’s flashbacks in this one to show us just what happened between the two when Bob refused to be a partner with his dad at the restaurant because their ideas for how to run a restaurant just don’t work well together. All the while, the kids get into all kinds of stuff in the basement trying to find a present for their dad. It’s definitely more of a Christmas episode that just happens to take place at Christmas without necessarily needing it to be Christmas. Since Christmas does sometimes bring about awkward encounters with relatives though, it works. There’s also a really nice portrayal of gay culture in this one that I appreciate. The show didn’t have to include it, but I like that it did. This one is not as funny as other Bob’s Burgers Christmas episodes, but it’s a bit more introspective which makes it more satisfying than some of the other ones. Don’t sleep on it this Christmas.

That does it for today. The next installment of the countdown is coming your way on December 21st which means tomorrow is another traditional installment of an all new (to this website) Christmas special! And it’s one that I think has a lot of fans, and since I’m ranking it at number 43, obviously I think pretty highly of it as well. Just what is it? Well, you’ll have to come back tomorrow to find out!

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

Dec. 19 – Life with Louie – “Family Portrait”

If you were a mid-tier comedian in the 90s looking to breakthrough into television then Fox was the network for you. Whether it was via sitcom or cartoon, Fox seemed to think this was a winning strategy which is apparently why comedian Louie Anderson got his own show called Life with Louie. Life with Louie…

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by Joe

Dec. 19 – Aaahh!!! Real Monster – “Gone Shopp’n”

Whenever I approach another year of The Christmas Spot I usually have some kind of goal in mind. Maybe one could even think of it as a theme. The past few years I’ve made it a point to highlight some of the best Christmas specials I covered in the past, but felt I had short-changed…

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by Joe

Dec. 19 – American Dad! – “Minstrel Krampus”

I’m quite surprised to have made it all the way to December 19 without resorting to The Simpsons, American Dad!, Bob’s Burgers, or some other animated sitcom that has an annual, or near annual, Christmas episode. Not that I have been avoiding such shows, and I may turn to one again before this is all…

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by Joe

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December 10, 2020

Dec. 10 – The Town Santa Forgot

By Joe
“The Town Santa Forgot” originally aired on December 3, 1993 on NBC, I just liked this Cartoon Network ad more.

Come the 1990s, the cartoon juggernaut known as Hanna-Barbera was fading. It’s said the company once had control of approximately 80% of the children’s programming on television and even come 1990 it was still around 20%. The studio’s last big hit had been The Smurfs which set all kinds of Saturday morning records despite few animation buffs finding cause to celebrate. There were several spin-offs and specials, some stuck and some which did not, but the name was still fairly prominent on both broadcast and cable.

In 1991, Turner Broadcasting acquired Hanna-Barbera marking a major turning point for the studio. Less legacy properties would be developed as David Kirschner took over. This was the era that brought in more action cartoons like The Pirates of Dark Water and eventually SWAT Kats. Turner would launch Cartoon Network which in its early days was basically a dumping ground for Hanna-Barbera content, both old and new. A swath of new creative directors would be hired like Pat Ventura, Genndy Tartakovsky, and even Seth MacFarlane. Those individuals, along with several others, were the creative minds around the What a Cartoon! series of shorts that would come to define Cartoon Network in the late 90s and beyond.

The original broadcast had its own bumpers, an old staple I wish would return.

Even though Turner was working on creating a cartoon channel to rival Nickelodeon, Hanna-Barbera still had its hands in broadcast animation. We talked about one of the 90s broadcast Christmas specials last year with A Flintstone Family Christmas, and in 1993 Hanna-Barbera produced The Town Santa Forgot. The animated special starred Dick Van Dyke and aired in prime time on NBC that year. Following 93, it would become a holiday staple on Cartoon Network for a few years before being retired to Boomerang with pretty much all of the other Hanna-Barbera properties.

The Town Santa Forgot is based on a poem called Jeremy Creek written by Charmaine Severson. Severson wrote several rhyming poems that were carried by numerous print outlets in the 70s and 80s. Jeremy Creek appears to have first seen publication in 1985 and it tells the tale of a greedy little kid who accidentally brings happiness to a neglected town at Christmas. It was a major hit for Severson and she would follow it up with an annual Christmas rhyme each year into the 90s, though none have risen to the level of popularity enjoyed by Jeremy Creek.

The special was produced by Hanna-Barbera with animation by Wang Film Productions. Wang Film had done work for Hanna-Barbera in the past, most notably with The Jetsons Movie, but it wasn’t handed many Hanna-Barbera originals. As a result, The Town Santa Forgot doesn’t really look like a Hanna-Barbera production. I’d argue it looks better than a lot of the content the company was responsible for at that time. The character designs have a vague hint of Rankin/Bass too, which could be just me or it could be intentional since that company is basically synonymous with Christmas specials. While Hanna-Barbera doesn’t have the greatest reputation, at least this special is an original story with a unique look so I’m already more excited for it than I was with A Christmas Story from a few days ago.

This old grandpa is our story-teller who has to teach his spoiled little grandkids a lesson.

The special begins with a grandfather and his two grandchildren. Dick Van Dyke provides the voice of the grandfather who will serve as narrator. The kids aren’t named, but one is a boy (Troy Davidson) and one a girl (Ashley Johnson). It’s the grandfather who is giving me the Rankin/Bass vibes as he looks like he could fit in with one of the animated Frosty the Snowman specials. The kids are a bit more generic with black, soulless, eyes.

The kids are both talking about all of the stuff they want for Christmas, which prompts Grandpa to sit ’em down and tell them a story about the greediest kid who ever lived: Jeremy Creek.

This is Jeremy. Don’t be fooled by that smile, he’s a little asshole.

Jeremy Creek (Miko Hughes) is a little red-headed child with enough toys for over 400 boys. He has toys of all variety, and he doesn’t like to share. Worse, he always wants more. He can’t possibly have enough toys and when he sees something he wants, he lets his parents know. And if his parents say “No,” then he screams and wails until they give-in. We see Jeremy spy a cowboy doll outside a store and go purple with rage until his parents buy it for him. When he’s home later that night watching television, he sees a commercial for a better version of the same doll and goes into a rage. For once, his parents put their foot down, but that just incites the neighbors who complain about the noise. Eventually, dad (Philip Proctor) lays down the law and tells Jeremy he wants to hear nothing further from the boy and he retreats to his room.

This is a pretty great shot.

Once in his room, we get to see Jeremy survey his toys while perched like a vulture on his bedpost. He then starts playing with all that he has as the narrator goes into detail on the sheer volume of what’s in there. There’s army men, baseballs, vampire costumes, and more. He even has toys for boys much older than he, like remote-controlled airplanes, which he uses to harass the neighborhood. While it’s clear to see this kid is spoiled rotten, it’s at least admirable to see him actually playing with and enjoying the toys as opposed to acting like a dragon and simply hoarding them, which is what my kids seem to do.

They didn’t have any computer paper back then. Hell, they don’t have it now!

Eventually, Jeremy gets the idea that if his parents won’t buy him what he wants then he’ll have to turn to Santa. The problem is it’s currently June, but that doesn’t stop Jeremy from drafting a list. He has to tape sheets of paper together to accommodate his vast array of wants and the list stretches for miles. After he has listed every possible toy under the sun, he signs the list with a simple Jeremy Creek – no thanks or nothing. He bundles it up like a roll of wall insulation and drops it onto a mailman’s back to send it to Santa way up at the North Pole.

A conventional, yet unique, depiction of Santa.

Santa Claus (Hal Smith) is then shown flying his sleigh (with 8 reindeer!) up north and comes to land in the garage of his workshop. This Santa has a plump appearance, basically being shaped like a bell, and he enters his workshop where some elves are hard at work. They’re small and a bit conventional looking with pointed ears and hats. Santa is excited to show them that the first Christmas letters have started to come in, and one of them is particularly massive. The list dominates the room and Santa and his elves can scarcely believe someone wrote this thing. When Santa sees the name at the bottom, Jeremy Creek, it never crosses his mind this could be the list of one person and assumes it refers to an actual place.

The elves of this special also manage to look conventional, yet different, much like Santa.

Santa and his elves get out the map and look all over for a place called Jeremy Creek. Sure enough, they find one only to discover it’s not on their usual route. It’s a town with approximately 4,000 kids which matches up with the number of gifts requested and Santa assumes this is a letter from the town alerting him to their plight. Santa, realizing he’s passed this town over for years, decides he needs to make up for it by fulfilling this request.

Young Jeremy has some evil intentions this evening.

Back at his own home, we see Jeremy counting down the days until Christmas while Santa and the elves get busy at the North Pole. The elves sing a simple little song accompanied by a montage of Jeremy pulling down calendar pages. Eventually, the day arrives and Jeremy is eager to receive all of the gifts on his monstrous list. He climbs out onto his roof armed with a net and some binoculars. It seems as the months have gone by, Jeremy has decided he doesn’t just want what was on his list, but everything Santa has in his sleigh! Santa soon appears and Jeremy watches as Santa goes from house to house slipping inside through various ways. His body is like gelatin as he slides down chimneys and exhaust pipes, beating The Santa Clause to that idea, before climbing back into his sleigh and taking off. Oddly, the narration refers to his sleigh as a “green, glowing, sleigh” but it’s colored red. There’s a slight hue with a greenish tint to it, but it reads like the sleigh itself should have been green. Santa completely bypasses Jeremy’s house which confuses and enrages the young boy. He returns to his bedroom and assaults his pillow before despair starts to sink in.

Suck it, Jeremy!

The next morning, Jeremy arises to see all of the neighborhood kids playing happily with their new toys. He allows himself to be hopeful for a moment and reasons that maybe Santa entered through the window or something and he missed it. He races downstairs and, sure enough, the underside of the tree is just floor. His mom (Melinda Peterson) enters the room and remarks “That’s too bad,” when she sees the empty tree. She then explains that Santa must have noticed that Jeremy couldn’t possibly have more room for toys and passed him over.

Elsewhere in the world, some deserving kids are having a good Christmas for the very first time.

Jeremy storms off to the livingroom where his dad is watching television in his new Christmas socks. The program is detailing the story of an impoverished swamp town that woke up to a wonderful surprise. A pile of toys was left in the center of town for the girls and boys after years of receiving nothing at all. It’s soon revealed this was the work of Santa Claus and the town is none other than Jeremy Creek. Jeremy’s parents are shocked to see a town with the same name as their son, who soon puts two and two together and realizes his massive list of presents was given to the kids of Jeremy Creek.

Jeremy isn’t having any of this.

Jeremy is initially angry that his presents went to these kids. Then the news woman reads a letter from Santa which states someone brought this town to his attention, but chose to remain anonymous. Jeremy finally starts to feel something as his mom explains that people who do a kindness like that don’t need the adulation that comes with it. Jeremy is moved to tears, but he doesn’t want his parents to see, so he races back into the den and retreats to the underside of the Christmas tree.

If he can fit down a chimney, he can fit in a tree.

There Jeremy smiles as he looks up at the brightly decorated tree. He’s finally happy, but much to his surprise he spies a small Santa inside the tree. Only it isn’t an ornament, but Santa himself! Santa explains he figured out what happened, and that the kids of Jeremy Creek want the person who wrote them the letter to be properly thanked. Santa makes a sack appear and asks Jeremy what he would like for Christmas. Jeremy tells Santa that he wouldn’t know what to ask for and that he’s finally figured out that giving is better than receiving. Santa is overjoyed to hear this and tells Jeremy that from now on he will be his gift-giving assistant.

An older, wiser, Jeremy bids Santa farewell.

Jeremy, feeling inspired, changes from then on. He gives away all of the toys he couldn’t possibly find time for which is a callback to some of the scenes we saw earlier of him being mean to other kids in the neighborhood. And come Christmas every year, Jeremy helps Santa deliver presents. He climbs out onto his roof on Christmas Eve with a pair of binoculars and waits for Santa. When Santa arrives, he hops in his sleigh and helps deliver all of the toys. As the years go by we see Jeremy get older until eventually he’s too tall to fit in the sleigh. Santa sadly informs him that his time as his assistant must now come to an end. Jeremy is visibly sad, but he gives Santa a warm hug and hands over his binoculars for Santa to give to the next lucky boy or girl.

And now the kids get to have their own change of heart.

Back in the present, the story is done and the little boy and girl are feeling less selfish. They remark they don’t care what Santa brings them, even if he brings nothing at all! They both also aspire to be the next boy or girl that Santa makes his assistant. The grandfather says it could be either one, or both, and he also breaks the fourth wall to tell the viewer it could be them too. The special ends with an external shot of the house with the mailbox covered in snow. The snow soon slides off revealing the name J. Creek.

That sneaky, son-of-a…

The Town Santa Forgot is a charming little Christmas special. It has a conventional message in that giving is better than receiving, but it’s a message that surprisingly isn’t often relied upon to anchor a Christmas special. Young Jeremy is easy to dislike, as who hasn’t encountered a spoiled little brat in their life and actually enjoyed that kid? The poem origin of the special is retained, though maybe not word for word, as Dick Van Dyke narrates it. He is well cast in this role as he’s not asked to do any embellishment and to just use his natural speaking voice.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say I didn’t see the twist ending coming. Not that I was surprised by it, I just gave it no thought. It wasn’t until then it became obvious that the story the grandfather was telling took place before the present. The toys are a bit older and the television in Jeremy’s house is in black and white. It’s a fun little reveal though to find out Jeremy had been telling us his story the whole time. It’s also a fun twist on the Santa myth for him to select a selfless girl or boy to help him each year. I suppose it’s not a popular addition though since kids would certainly become suspicious when they couldn’t find a single person who received that honor. In that though it makes the act of selflessness become something that is perhaps unattainable, but still worth aspiring to.

This one has a lot less music when compared with other Hanna-Barbera Christmas specials. That’s not a complaint.

As I mentioned in the lead-in, the look of this cartoon is actually quite nice. Early 90s Hanna-Barbera productions should probably get more love than they do as I remember enjoying the look of several of the cartoons from that era. The animation is smooth and distinct and the character designs have some personality, which is harder than you think when it comes to Christmas. There aren’t any animation gaffes I noticed, nor is a bunch of animation recycled as often would happen with older Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The music is pleasant, and there’s only one song of sorts when the elves are shown getting the gifts ready for Christmas. I went into this one with the aim of just finishing off the big Hanna-Barbera Christmas specials, but I may have stumbled upon the best one from the venerable production company.

It’s small and through binoculars, but we do get a “Santa passing in front of the moon” shot.

The Town Santa Forgot is no longer shown on broadcast or cable television, which is too bad because it’s a lot better than some of the specials that still show up on broadcast networks today. My understanding is it’s available on Boomerang, but I’m not a Boomerang subscriber so I can’t confirm that. It is available on DVD for a very reasonable price. It’s included on the same release that features A Christmas Story and Casper’s First Christmas. If you’re like me and you still cling to physical media and like to stockpile Christmas specials, it’s a DVD worth owning for The Town Santa Forgot alone. Consider the other two as bonus features.

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

Dec. 10 – Merry Christmas, Super Dave!

  There are a lot of cartoons that have come and gone in my lifetime, many I forgot even existed until something jars my memory. Earlier this year we lost comedian Bob Einstein. Einstein is probably best known for his role on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but twenty years ago he was best known for his…

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by Joe

Dec. 10 – The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries – “Feather Christmas”

One of the earliest Kids’ WB shows was The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. It centered on Granny (June Foray) and her pets Tweety Bird (Joe Alaskey), Sylvester the cat (Alaskey), and Hector the bulldog (Frank Welker) and they went around, I bet you’ll never guess, solving mysteries. The personalities of the characters are all pretty…

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Dec. 10 – Rocko’s Modern Christmas

Rocko’s Modern Life may be the most 90s cartoon created during that decade. It’s certainly the most 90s of the Nicktoons, Nickelodeon’s very successful foray into original animation after years of airing other studio’s work. Rocko’s Modern Life centered around a wallaby named Rocko, naturally, and his journey into adulthood, which most notably includes self-reliance.…

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by Joe

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