Christmas is a time which means many things for many people; buying
presents, decorating a tree, drinking eggnog, singing carols (oh and of
course peace on Earth and good will to all men). For me, however; it
isn’t truly Christmas unless I’ve made it through my checklist of
must-watch Christmas shows.
“All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.”
When I was growing up much of the Holidays were centered around when
these Christmas specials aired. Now with DVD, Blu-ray and the internet
any and all of these specials are at our fingertips whenever we want
them, so here is my list of programs that bring out the season in me.
Based on the popular song by Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson
of a magical top hat bringing a snowman to life, this song has delighted
children of all ages for many years and the 1969 Rankin-Bass animated
television special is easily one of their best. Done with traditional
cel animation, this Christmas special has everything; a great narrator
in the form of
Jimmy Durante, a lovable title character voiced by
Jackie Vernon, an adorable little girl who risks her life to help Frosty, a cute rabbit sidekick and a nasty villain-Professor Hinkle (
Billy De Wolfe)
who really, really wants his hat back. When I was a kid and watched
Frosty melt in the greenhouse I bawled by eyes out for what seemed like
years.
This is one of those Christmas Classics that has very little actually
to do with Christmas, the story of good man George Bailey (
Jimmy Stewart)
who believes that the world may be better off without him. This
film has only one key Christmas scene in it, though that finale scene is
a doozy, but this
Frank Capra masterpiece will always hold a spot on
any
Christmas list. Funny enough it really became a seasonal classic when
the copyrights to it slipped into public domain and any network could
show it for free. Thus it became a Christmas gift to everybody.
“
Santa on trial!” That is certainly a catchy premise and
this Fox classic contains one of my favourite courtroom scenes, and it
also contains my favourite portrayal of Santa Claus with
Edmund Gwenn as a warm and kindly Kris Kringle who may or may not be the real deal. His attempts at winning over a young
Natalie Wood are sweet and charming. What is strange is that studio head
Darryl F. Zanuck
insisted in releasing the film in May because the summer is when people
mostly go to the movies; lucky for him people did go and see it, so
many in fact that many theatres were still showing it when Christmas
finally did roll around.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has probably been
adapted and updated more than any other single story in the history of
media and though the 1951 version isn’t the first it is my personal
favourite as
Alastair Sim
is to me the quintessential Ebenezer Scrooge. The four ghosts that come
to haunt the King of Humbugs are all brilliantly portrayed and the
scene when the Ghost shows Scrooge two sickly, scrawny children “
Ignorance and Want” is truly chilling. My other favorite versions of this Dickens classic are
Scrooged with Bill Murray and
The Muppet Christmas Carol with Michael Caine.
This
Chevy Chase
vehicle perfectly captures the chaos that can consume some of us during
the holidays but as this is a Griswold Christmas things are going to go
to extremes- from lighting disasters to Christmas tree calamities to
the ever annoying relatives that are destined to plague a holiday home.
Without a doubt there is a little of Clark Griswold in all of us.
This was the first of Rankin-Bass’s specials and my favourite from
their holiday catalogue as the story of misfits banding together against
insurmountable odds, in this case an abominable snowman, to make for
great drama and great television. An elf dentist, a mutant reindeer, and
a gold fixated geologist were a wonderful team and I visit them each
and every year as they face off against discrimination and Bumbles.
Side Note: The skinny Santa forced by his wife to eat and get fat I always found to be kind of creepy.
Based on the short stories by
Jean Shepherd from his book
In God We Trust: All Other Pay Cash,
this movie easily wins the “Most Aired Award” as it known for some
stations to run 24 hour marathons of it. The story of Ralphie (
Peter Billingsley) and his quest for a
Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle
is completely relatable, who hasn’t wished and wished for a certain
special present that would make ones life complete? Add to that:
bullies, soap poisoning and a leg lamp obsessed father and you have all
the ingredients for a perfect comedy and an excellent Christmas movie.
“
You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch.” With the dulcet singing voice of Tony the Tiger (
Thurl Ravenscroft) and frightening narration by horror icon
Boris Karloff
this entry has to be the best adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book to date.
(The less said about that Jim Carrey abomination the better.) Directed
by animation legend
Chuck Jones,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
not only has some of the catchiest songs ever and one of literature’s
greatest literary villains, but it also has Max who, as sidekicks go, is
pure comedy gold- him waving from the back of the sled kills me every
single time I see it.
The Grinch may have stole Christmas but Max steals every scene.
Many of the Christmas specials and movies
speak out against the commercialism of Christmas, often making that
theme their major plot element, but it is A Charlie Brown Christmas
that really goes the distance. The special begins with Charlie Brown
railing against the season as it just points out how nobody likes him, “I
just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and
sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still
not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.” What is surprising
is that his nemesis Lucy Van Pelt is the one that tries to help by
getting him involved with the Christmas play, which for me really speaks
to the heart of the season.
“Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people.”
When Charlie Brown selects a pathetically sad Christmas tree over
aluminum colored trees that everyone else favors he is first derided for
his choice but when Linus takes center stages and starts quoting
scripture the gang eventually come around. Now I’m not remotely a
religious person but it’s nice to see a Christmas special that actually
acknowledges Christ, it is his birthday after all. The Grinch may
discover that Christmas doesn’t come from a store but its
Charles M. Schulz and company who go to the
actual spirit of Christmas, which is kind of nice.
It’s Ho-Ho-Horrible, but I end up watching it every year.
So there’s my list of must see Christmas specials, now what are your favorite holiday viewings?
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