THE TOP 25 CARTOON CHRISTMAS TREES
From our favorite Animated Christmas Specials!

As a Christmas gift to both myself and A Cartoon Christmas’s dozen or so readers, we’re going to avoid the usual grammatically-challenged diatribe and skip right to the good stuff: Christmas trees! Who among us doesn’t experience a warming jolt to the cockles at the mere site of tinsel and lights on an evergreen canvas?! (Admit it, Jews… you’re totally jealous!) Please enjoy our final post of 2009… and please do click the images to see an in-depth description of each Christmas special and a shitload of pictures. See ya next year!

25. THE INAUGURAL CHRISTMAS TREE

Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962)

24. THE SILENT CHRISTMAS TREE

The Snowman (1982)

23. THE PUFFIN’S CHRISTMAS TREE

A Wish For Wings That Work (1991)

22. THE BATTLEGROUND CHRISTMAS TREE

The Christmas Toy (1986)

21. THE IMPRISONED CHRISTMAS TREE

Raggedy Ann & Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)

20. THE ARCADE CHRISTMAS TREE

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

19. THE SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS TREE

It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)

18. THE TERRIFYING MEXICAN CHRISTMAS TREE

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus (1993)

17. THE ABOMINABLE CHRISTMAS TREE

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

16. THE ABSENT CHRISTMAS TREE

Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves on Fire (1999)

15. THE CORNBALL CHRISTMAS TREE

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Koopa Klaus (1989)

14. THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT EXPLODED

Toy Tinkers (1949)

13. THE MOST SADISTIC CHRISTMAS TREE

Invader Zim: The Most Horrible Xmas Ever (2002)

12. THE SILLY CREATURE’S CHRISTMAS TREE

Fraggle Rock: The Bells of Fraggle Rock (1984)

11. THE REVISIONIST CHRISTMAS TREE

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970)

10. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF FORMER GLORY

Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales (1979)

9. THE RODENT-INFESTED CHRISTMAS TREE

Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)

8. THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT FIRED THE CREATOR

Ren & Stimpy: Son of Stimpy (1993)

7. THE DUMBASS ETERNIA CHRISTMAS TREE

He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985)

6. THE JUNKYARD CHRISTMAS TREE

A Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977)

5. THE CLAYMATION^TM CHRISTMAS TREE

A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)

4. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF ULTIMATE REDEMPTION

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

3. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF INFINITE SONG

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1987)

2. THE ENDANGERED CHRISTMAS TREE

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

1. THE PATHETIC CHRISTMAS TREE

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Oh well, Chuck… maybe next year.

Merry Christmas,
-C & H

A MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Original Air Date: December 16, 1987

SYNOPSIS:
Nearly every Muppet ever created comes together under one roof for a very cliched Christmas.

BACKSTORY:
In case you didn’t already know, the word “Muppet” is a hybrid of the words “marionette” and “puppet,” and should instantly conjure images a man named Jim Henson, and the brightly-colored cloth creations he gave to the world.

Early versions of Rowlf, Kermit, and Jim Henson

It’s hard to nail down when exactly what we now know as “The Muppets” first started. A barely-recognizable version of Kermit was seen on a Washington D.C. NBC affiliate as far back as 1955, on Henson’s first show Sam and Friends. However, Rowlf the piano-playing dog was the first to gain stardom, thanks to his popular appearances in Purina dog food commercials and on The Jimmy Dean Show in 1963. Sesame Street began airing in 1969, although without any of the characters, aside from Kermit, that we associate with The Muppet Show, which came seven years later.

See Gobo back there?

None of that’s important, anyway. The fact remains that A Muppet Family Christmas is the culmination of Henson’s unprecedented success. With at least four separate Muppeted shows airing on television simultaneously, this Christmas special is the one and only occasion when the stars of all of them came together in a single production.

Unfortunately, no official uncut version of the program is available for sale, and likely never will be. Several songs licensed only for television are presented, and The Jim Henson Company currently retains rights to only the Fraggles, with Sesame Street owned by The Children’s Television Workshop and The Muppets now being the property of Disney. Television is the only place you can hope to see the special in its entirety, yet the broadcast version, too, has seen many cuts over the years – due to remastering, added footage and extended commercial breaks.

BREAKDOWN:
You know those Christmas special parodies where celebrities find an excuse to stop by a snowed in cabin just to sing songs? I’m too young to be entirely sure of what exactly they’re sending up, aside from some vague notion of Dean Martin or Andy Williams doing something to that effect years before I was born.

Fozzie, quite rudely, brings the entire cast of The Muppet Show over for Christmas at his mother’s without so much as calling ahead

Stephen Colbert did one last year. Shit, I just made one too, which is a pretty good indication that spoofing that Old-Timey Christmas special is no longer even remotely clever. If that’s the case, Jim Henson studios didn’t get the memo.

Fraggle Rock’s Doc and Sprocket have rented a room in the hopes of finding some holiday peace and quiet

I know I’ve said the same about adapting A Christmas Carol, but as far as Christmas specials go, the singing-cameo formula is definitely the bare minimum you can do creatively. Especially when it’s done straight-faced, without a hint of irony. So keeping in mind that this came from the people responsible for some of the greatest Holiday specials ever made, yes, A Muppet Family Christmas is a bit of a letdown.

Miss Piggy is held up by a photo shoot

It wouldn’t say it flat-out sucks, mind you. But while I certainly remember looking forward to each and every airing as a kid, I also remember boredom setting in within minutes.

Gonzo tips a turkey off about Swedish Chef’s plans to cook him

Of course, I have a slightly different appreciation for it now. I’d grown up with these colorful characters. Even my parents liked the Muppets, or at least had some history with them and found them more tolerable than the majority of the 80’s children’s entertainment cesspool.

Fraggle Rock is located under Mama Fozzie’s house apparently…who knew?

That kind of universal appeal is a remarkable feat in and of itself, but the sheer number of shows Henson had concurrently running on television is nothing short of astounding.

One of many momentous meetings

Sesame Street was still a revered standard. Fraggle Rock was popular enough in 1987 to receive a (horrible) animated spin-off series. Muppets Take Manhattan had been well received in theaters, and Ted Turner was about to launch TNT on a sturdy backbone of Muppet Show reruns. And Muppet Babies was in the middle of an outrageously popular six-year streak, having just been extended to 90 minutes on CBS Saturday mornings.

The gang watches a home movie starring the live-action Muppet Babies from Muppets Take Manhattan, on which the cartoon series was based

And A Muppet Family Christmas was to be the instance where they’d all appear in the same place, at the same time, for the first time ever!!! “HOLY SHIT!” exclaimed my prepubescent brain, “Oh, man… I wonder what they’ll say to one another… what kind of adventures they’ll have?!”

Electric Mayhem’s performance of “Jingle Bell Rock” is a triple-edged sword

Well… they’ll just be singing songs, apparently.

Even more bad comedy would’ve been nice

Not that there’s anything wrong with a Holiday song showcase, even if it’s not my cup of tea. But when you look at the Christmas specials that have become Holiday standards, none of them revolve around the sole act of singing classic Christmas songs (fortunately).

Gonzo and the Jive Turkey square off for the affections of Camilla

For example, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was based off of that titular Johnny Marks song, and Marks still wrote new songs for that special that would go on to become cherished standards. Even Henson’s other Christmas specials featured numerous original tunes, one of which is reprised here!

The Sesame Street gang shows up a’Carolin’

It’s undeniable that by Emmet Otter and Christmas Toy standards, and so A Muppet Family Christmas is pretty damned dull and uninspired by comparison. It’s not that the songs are bad… they’re just way too abundant. There’s very little dialogue, almost no attempt at comedy, and as you can see, the whole shebang is easily summed up in screen shots alone.

Doc is informed that his name starts with the letter ‘D’

I don’t mean to downplay the feat of assembling all the Muppets in a single room. That’s why I’m showcasing the special in the first place: I recognize that this gathering of epic proportions is truly a resplendent spectacle to behold.

The Turkey convinces Chef to cook a bigger bird…

The internets thought this joke was hilarious, even though Henson did it twenty years ago

I’m a giant Muppet dork and I can name at least a hundred characters who appear here just off the top of my head. So, I can only imagine a substantial part of the budget went into the feat of puppeteering all of these beloved creatures at once…

Kings of refuse

Because it certainly didn’t go into the writing. That’s part of what pisses me off about the special to begin with…

Snowed-in guests from Sesame Street perform “Twas the Night Before Christmas” as payment for their stay

Many notable characters never do, or say, anything. Granted, Elmo wasn’t yet the shining star of Sesame Street, but he’s completely silent in the two versions I’ve watched.

TRIVIA! The Elmo puppet has been around since the early 70’s, although he was referred to as “Baby Monster” until 1980. Four years later, Elmo was given his distinctive voice by Kevin Clash, and he’s gone on to become one of the most prolific Muppets of all time. In A Muppet Family Christmas, he never says a word.

Multiple versions, you say? Oh yeah… I won’t fault Henson for the lack of foresight into licensing music rights for home video, but it infuriates me that the very element that brought down the entire special, is also what made a definitive version unattainable.

Last Muppets Standing

Reportedly, no version of Muppet Family Christmas ever available for sale has been presented uncut.  Renewing the rights to many of the songs proved too expensive beyond television – the only place where the special can be shown in its entirety and still isn’t due to longer commercial breaks! – so there were almost literally dozens of truncated Muppet Family Christmas DVDs available in numerous territories with distinctly different edits.

Almost the entire Muppet Babies sequence is cut from the DVD due to music rights

Not that this matters anymore anyway… A Muppet Family Christmas has been discontinued on DVD and will most likely never be available to own again in any capacity. So, while I actually do believe Sesame Street and The Muppets are in good hands with their respective new owners, I sense something a little shadier in afoot here…

Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em

Given the time frame, Jim Henson was certainly in negotiations with Disney to acquire the Muppets at the time that A Muppet Family Christmas was created… And the special certainly reeks of something hastily assembled. So I’d speculate that it may have been made because many of the characters had a price tag on their heads and Henson knew this was probably his last chance to cash in on an epic crossover to end all crossovers.

Creepy: Kermit and Disney CEO Michael Eisner introduced A Muppet Family Christmas’s rebroadcast on The Magical World of Disney in 1989

But with The Muppets’ recent YouTube resurgence, I can’t imagine A Muppet Family Christmas is something a fan would ever want to be without. And as I sat through the final third of the special – almost 15 minutes of uninterrupted singing – I couldn’t help but get a little irritated. The fact that it ends with a roomful of the greatest characters ever created wishing me a “Merry Christmas” for the fiftieth time was little consolation.

Christ, we get it! Stop singing already!

Cheating! But there’s one appearance by a life-giving bearded man whom I absolutely worship… and his final words are immensely touching.

“They certainly look like they’re having a good time out there… I like it when they have a good time.” – H.

Doc enters the house dressed as Santa briefly at the end (even though he was seen inside a second ago, during the previous scene, wearing plain clothes). Maybe my memory’s a little fuzzy, but now that I think of it, I can’t remember any Muppet Christmas specials featuring an appearance by the actual Santa Claus. Can you? Comment below!

“Santa cares not for your earthly continuity!”

How could I rate it any lower? There’s a shitload of Muppets here! That alone has to be worth something, if for no other reason than it’ll undoubtedly never happen again. While it can’t be denied that A Muppet Family Christmas is representative of a” warm seasonal feeling” under the strictest sense of the definition, this was never the program I wanted to see. Coming from a studio that brought us some of the the funniest, most heartwarming and most enduring Christmas specials known to man, the fact that such a monumental assemblage of its entire legacy failed to live up to its own standards is a sad one indeed.

It’s still worth checking out, though, and if you’re really in to Christmas songs, it could earn some repeated play on your television. Oh, wait! No it can’t, since you’re practically required to watch it in stolen internet bootlegs for the foreseeable future… *sigh*

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the Site!)

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B00005OSJR" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B000ATQYT2" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B002LII67S" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"]

A Muppet Family Christmas has been discontinued on DVD the world over, due mostly to Disney’s acquisition of the majority of the characters.  However, you can find a used/new copy on Amazon for a substantial mark up, and I believe there’s a Google ad on the right side of this very page that links to a legitimate retailer selling off the old stock. Needless to say, if you see a copy out in the wild, snatch it up immediately: It will be worth hella money!

As far as Muppety Christmases go, you could do a helluva a lot worse than A Muppet Christmas Carol, which features all of the characters you know and love in a much better production, as well as a feature-length commentary from Jim Henson’s son, Brian. I haven’t seen the newer made-for-TV Muppet specials, so I’m just going to make a personal recommendation instead. I’d have to go with The Christmas Toy (which was incidentally included on the UK version of the  Muppet Family Christmas DVD as a bonus feature!) just slightly over Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, but you could also save yourself a chunk of change and just buy both in a cheap-ass bundle!

Yesterday’s Christmas Special:
MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL

MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL
Original Air Date: December 10, 1984
(Theatrical Premiere: December 13, 1983)

SYNOPSIS:
Scrooge McDuck takes on the role he was born to play in Disney’s damn-near definitive version of Charles Dickens’ Holiday classic.

BACKSTORY:
As mentioned back in the Pluto’s Christmas Tree article, Mickey’s theatrical appearances sputtered to a halt in the early 50’s. Donald starred in a handful of cartoons on into the 60’s, while Mickey and the rest of Disney’s classic stable of characters continued their popularity on television. But the medium that prompted Mickey’s return to the big screen for the first time in thirty years is a rather unexpected one, indeed.

Turns out it was the record, cassette, and to a far lesser extent, the 8-track, that launched Mickey back into theaters. The album Dickens’ Christmas Carol, featuring “The Disney Players,” was released during the Holidays of 1975 in limited quantities, with new editions following each Christmas.

A vintage commercial for the Disney Christmas record

Of the many songs recorded for the album, only one would find its way into Mickey’s Christmas Carol when it premiered in theaters in 1983, attached to a re-release of The Rescuers. It was nominated for an Oscar that same year, premiered on NBC the following Christmas, and would eventually air on all three major television networks.

Based on Mickey’s screen time, this is a bit of a lie

BREAKDOWN:
I know I’ve been playing fast and loose with the criteria of the “Animated Television Christmas Special,” but I’m fairly certain I can justify Mickey’s Christmas Carol here with some general knowledge that I can’t corroborate enough to include in the comparatively “professional” section above.

Thousands were auditioned before McDuck won the role of Scrooge

Reportedly, this 24-minute short was supposed to premiere on CBS in 1982, but an animation strike held up production. So instead a special was assembled from archival animation, using footage from Bambi, Cinderella, some shorts, etc., and known as A Disney Christmas Gift. Which I’m only bringing up because I just found my old copy and my brain is currently exploding with the anticipation of writing it up. (Next year?!)

Mickey as Bob Cratchit and Donald as Scrooge’s nephew

I’ve been hesitant to write up any more adaptations of A Christmas Carol, because quite frankly, I find most of them boring, derivative, and literally the least an animation production house can do when cramming their characters into an uninspired Holiday presentation. (I’m looking at you Hanna-Barbera!)

Scrooge’s office is filled with lousy de-motivational signs

That said, not only am I absolutely batshit in love with Mickey’s Christmas Carol, I sort of do consider it the definitive adaptation.

Rich environments

Some of that has to do with the all-star cast, and the fact that this is the first one I can remember watching, but I also genuinely believe that Disney created the template for how A Christmas Carol has been adapted in family-friendly entertainment ever since.

Is Tiny Tim played by Morty or Ferdie? The world may never know

Of course, I have no vested interest in the original story, nor do I give a shit about how faithful Disney was to it. Just so you know where I stand: I take far more issue with Pluto’s being completely left out of Disney’s triumphant return to short theatrical animation than I do with the omission of the Phantom Hearse or Mrs. Fezziwig.

Chipmunks bumpin’ butts

It took real balls to bother with presenting these characters again in the first place. Even after basically skipping a generation, the cast has shown unprecedented longevity, and although it couldn’t have been easy, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a bold and wonderful bridge between two triumphant periods in Disney’s history.

Minnie is distraught over not having a single spoken line

To start, Alan Young – best known as Wilbur from television’s Mister Ed - reprises his role as Ebenezer Scrooge (McDuck) from the record on which the film is based.

Scrooge moves in on his nephew’s gal, Daisy

Prior to this, Scrooge McDuck was primarily a character from Disney Comics, having appeared theatrically as a rough Scottish caricature in the wartime propaganda short The Spirit of ’43, and showing up only once as the duck we’re all familiar with (well, outside of a cameo on The Mickey Mouse Club TV show) in 1967’s Scrooge McDuck and Money.

Ever get the feeling you were being watched?

In addition to being far less “ethnic,” Alan Young’s portrayal was incredibly warm. So much so that when Disney decided to spin the duck off into his own cartoon series, DuckTales, Young got to don the top hat and cane once again for 100 episodes and the theatrical movie.

Alan Young: The Most Important Entertainer of All Time

He’s far and away the voice most associated with Scrooge, and I was shocked to find out that Young is still alive AND voicing the character as recently as last year, at the ripe old age of 90!

Mickey, about to be torn a new asshole

Also of vocal note, Wayne Allwine, the man who voiced Mickey Mouse from 1977 until his passing earlier this year, made his first theatrical appearance as the icon. Before Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Allwine had only performed the character in brief television appearances.

The only Mickey my generation has ever know

But he’s since provided the voice of Mickey for literally everything, from toys to albums, TV shows and videogames. Not bad for a guy who started at Disney as a sound editor!

Donald stole Ichabod Crane’s horse!

Sadly, and most notably, this marked the final time Donald Duck was brought to life by the remarkable Clarence Nash. Since Donald’s first appearance in 1934’s The Wise Little Hen, Nash was the only man to spit the Donald venom for 50 years! He personally trained a Disney animator, Tony Anselmo, as his replacement, and Anselmo has performed the voice ever since.

Half a century in a sailor suit

Which I do think is  worth mentioning…because as much as Disney gets a reputation for being a cold, corporate monolith, the roles of its most famous characters were handed over to internal staffers with next-to-no previous voice credits. There’s just something so familial about that, and I think that many people forget it in their cynical views of Disney’s animation process.

Makes me feel like this

As you can no doubt tell, I’ve been pretty much rambling a super-elongated back story thus far. But there’s a timelessness to both the story and special itself that’s above any need for detailed analysis or explanation. You’ve undoubtedly seen it before and know the story, so really the most interesting thing about it is how well the Disney characters present themselves after such a lengthy hiatus.

Hew, Dew, and Lou in a brief, silent cameo

But I do love a good crossover! And for me, the most rewarding thing about the film is that this was one of the first times Disney treated itself like a singular universe, casting animated characters from throughout the studio’s entire history. It’s now ridiculously common for the stable of characters to appear in ensemble, but prior to Mickey’s Christmas Carol it was actually quite rare.

Goofy’s Jacob Marley is an undead klutz

You’d expect to see characters from the short cartoons, but for the role of the ghosts, Disney cherry-picked a couple of unexpected choices. On the album, The Ghost of Christmas Past was played by Merlin from The Sword in the Stone – but I think you’ll agree that Jiminy Cricket made a far better choice for the cartoon.

Always let your conscience be your guide

And what may seem like an odd choice actually works unbelievably well comedically, as Willie the Giant pockets the role of The Ghost of Christmas Present (even though he’d only appeared once before, in 1947’s Mickey and the Beanstalk).

Without a doubt, the funniest character here

And while in retrospect it seems like a no-brainer to cast Pete, Disney’s longest running character, as the menacing Ghost of Christmas Future, the album actually used Snow White’s Wicked Witch in the original role.

No one does bad worse than Pete

But since our little blog/site/mess here is built on a backbone of screenshots, I thought it important to highlight the other Disney players who appear in the silent and supporting roles. You’ll find many a forgotten character from the heyday of the Disney short:

Cocky Locky, Horace Horsecollar, Claribel Cow, and Gus Goose

The cast of Three Little Pigs (1933)

And two of The Three Little Wolves (1936)

But what’s odd are the choices the animators made in picking characters from their feature films. Instead of casting heavyweight stars from their most profitable movies, you’ll find many arguably more obscure characters here:

A familiar face from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1959)

And fellow Wind in the Willows cast members Ratty and Mole

The bird from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) dances with Lady Kluck

And about a billion other characters from Robin Hood (1973)

All of these appearances are immensely rewarding for an animation dork like myself. Of course, such levels of nerd-dom can be a double-edged sword, as I found myself almost angry that there weren’t more. “Where’s Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty?!”  Etc…

The end is still a little scary

At first, I cynically assumed that the cameo casting was based around choosing characters from the more recent Disney films. But once I pondered the matter further (I seriously did!) it seems the idea was more to pick characters who wouldn’t appear out-of-place in the mid 19th century, or need to change outfits to fit the time period. And the last criterion to occur to me? Duh… no humans!

What, no tree upgrade?

But such thorough care is taken with the animation, and the characters are so well cast, that there’s almost nothing to complain about… aside from the LACK OF PLUTO, YOU DICKS!

Gets me every time

Every time I think I don’t care much for Mickey Mouse because he isn’t funny or he’s a bad dancer, I watch him crying at the grave of Tiny Tim and tear up in a manner most unbecoming. He’s no longer an extremely kinetic character, but when something affects him he sure has a beautifully expressive way of showing it.

If this doesn’t do it for you, you have no soul

No Christ here! But give Mickey a couple more centuries of public worship and I may have to amend the score…

Claus isn’t present anywhere in A Christmas Carol. According to legend, Dickens cut him out of the first draft, along with several kickass car chases.

Sorry, Disney: There’s no reason for A Christmas Carol to be longer than half an hour…you got it right the first time.

Perfect

Every piece of Disney’s legacy is put to excellent use in this soaring comeback, all executed remarkably well, especially given how out-of-practice the animators were at the time. Both the source material and the famous players are treated with the utmost care and respect. A timeless tale that’s been retold a thousand times is still impressively unique; simultaneously heartwarming and funny without ever veering into the overly sentimental or slapstick… Fuck, I really can’t say enough good things about Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the Site!)

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0000BWVAF" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0029ZUQB2" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B001AVWFA6" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"]

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is made available for purchase pretty consistently, with DVDs going in and out of print on a nearly annual basis. I highly recommend you pick up the Walt Disney Treasure: Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2, as it’s still available used and will undoubtedly soon be impossible to find inexpensively. It contains the special, plus 5+ more hours of Mousy goodness, including shorts like Pluto’s Christmas Tree and Mickey’s latter-day resurrection in The Prince and the Pauper and Runaway Brain. The single-disc Disney Animation Collection Volume 7: Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a pretty good deal as well, mostly because it also comes with stacked with the various Disney Christmas shorts that used to accompany the 30-minute feature on television years ago. I can’t vouch for the quality of the many other direct-to-video Mickey Christmas specials made this decade, since I haven’t seen them, but if I’m still doing this next year, expect a thorough examination! More surprisingly, I’m delighted to discover that Amazon also has a super-cheap mp3 of the original record on which the special was based!

Yesterday’s Christmas Special:
A CLAYMATION CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

SYNOPSIS:
Chip and Dale run amok in Mickey’s house, giving Pluto a helluva hard time.

Mickey Mouse has been around since 1928, and Pluto since 1930. A great many of Mickey theatrical shorts featured the hapless mutt, and Pluto managed to parlay the success into almost fifty solo cartoons, yet Pluto’s Christmas Tree was produced in the final throes of Disney’s theatrical cartoons.

A line of figurines based on the cartoon were produced starting in 1995

Most of its characters had been relegated to roles of domestic life, and only Donald Duck would see life on screen into the next decade. Both Mickey and Pluto appeared in one more theatrical short a year later, but would then remain unseen in theaters for three decades.

BREAKDOWN:
Warm tidings, all! And to get the bad taste of yesterday’s Christmas Special out of thy mouth, here’s yet another wonderful Disney short that I get to award a high-quality embed where you can watch it in its entirety.

You may not remember the name, but there’s next to no one I know who hasn’t seen Pluto’s Christmas Tree. It’s been aired continuously on television for almost sixty years, and you’ll find it included in many a Disney Christmas compilation.

Not as threatening as it looks

I defy anyone out there (even you, Jews!) not to feel these images resonate with them in some way. If you own a television, you’ve been exposed to this short at least once.

The inspiration for Snow Dogs

And if you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a good part of your life confusing it with Toy Tinkers, as both feature highly similar premises.

Your Holiday decoration is their home

The difference here is that Chip and Dale are more forcibly brought into Mickey’s home, whereas in Toy Tinkers they pretty much intruded on Donald to steal his nuts.

Micky even makes wielding an axe look cute

I don’t mean to paint the sensational corporation in too noble a light, since technically they started it. Chip beams Pluto in the ass with an acorn, he chases them up a tree, which Mickey then chops down to – SURPRISE! – hang ornaments on.

Familiar yet?

I loveloveLOVE the Christmas Tree interiors, and that’s part of why I love the lil’ chipmunks to begin with. Despite their diminutive stature, everywhere they go always seems tailor-scaled to suit their needs

I know I could live here

Chip and Dale spend the duration of the cartoon mercilessly fucking with Pluto, while simultaneously trying to escape his wrath.

Generic gifts, ruined in the name of comedy

And when Pluto can finally take no more, he lunges at the tree, basically wrecking every Christmas decoration in sight.

Mickey and Pluto share a similar tail

Oh, Mickey is mad at first…

Puppy strangulation, also made adorable by Mickey

Until he discovers the Chipmunks himself, and offers them a reprieve from Pluto’s gnash on account of Christmas.

Caught in a passionate embrace

And hey, you got a great ending here.

“Ohhh… just try not to ruin next Christmas”

In the days before Disney’s classic characters were required to appear only in ensemble, Pluto’s Christmas Tree features a rare cameo from Disney’s biggest stars!

Caroling with a cello is serious business

Why bother? Every character here is bigger than Jesus.

None, really. With the notable exception of the candles Dale uses as a disguise:

While Pluto’s Christmas Tree barely registers on any of the other meters, every single image is synonymous with the season for me. Perhaps you’ll rate it differently when you get your own blog.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the site!)

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0000BWVAF" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0029ZUQB2" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B001JYPDHQ" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"]

Pluto’s Christmas Tree is featured on the single disc Disney Animation Collection Volume 7: Mickey’s Christmas Carol, along with several fantastic Christmas cartoons like The Small One and Santa’s Workshop. I still say your best bet is picking up Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2 as it too contains Pluto’s Christmas Tree and Mickey’s Christmas Carol, plus over 5 hours of Mickey goodness that you can be sure is uncut and uncensored. It looks to be out of print, but sellers are still offering it on Amazon for a steal. Pick it up while you can, it’s bound to become a pricey collector’s item. Speaking of hyper-expensive, that Pluto figurine is the most expensive thing I’ve ever needed!

Yesterday’s Christmas Special:
BUGS BUNNY’S LOONEY CHRISTMAS TALES

TOY TINKERS
Original Air Date: December 16, 1949

SYNOPSIS:
Donald protects his nuts from a famous pair of fast-talking rodents.

BACKSTORY:
Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1939’s The Wise Little Hen looking a tad different, yet remained largely the same quick-tempered asshole throughout his entire career in Disney’s theatrical shorts (which extended nearly two decades longer than Mickey Mouse’s, I might add.)

Donald’s first appearance

Toy Tinkers was the last theatrical Donald short of the 1940s. It was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to Pepe Le Pew’s For Scent-imental Reasons.

BREAKDOWN:

To give myself and the dozen or so of you reading this blog a break from the usual post of screenshot-filled drivel followed by an Amazon product link… here’s the entire cartoon followed by an Amazon product link!

Yeah, I’m pretty gay for Donald Duck. But this cartoon spurred the idea for this entire blog (after sensationalizing Disney violence in a feature for GamesRadar.com) plus, it’s my personal favorite Disney Christmas cartoon, so eat that Flintstones fans!

M’lady

The same way people often associate Christmas with cold temperatures and the smell of firewood, I associate it with Toy Tinkers and Anchor Steam’s Christmas Ale.

You haven’t lived until you’ve killed your own Christmas Tree

Chip and Dale follow Donald home to steal his nuts (har har) but you’ll forgive me if I just post a couple of shots without ruining anything about this fantastic holiday cartoon chock full of great gags and wonderful music.

More wholesome than it looks

I’m going to go out on a limb and bet you’ve seen Toy Tinkers before. Disney loves including it on just about any DVD featuring a mistletoe and it’s included in damn near every Yule Tide sizzle reel produced by the company.

Adorable

But what you might’ve forgotten is all the gunplay which has been omitted from the cartoon in order to keep classic Disney characters safe for baby clothes. Either way, give it a watch. Toy Tinkers never ceases to make me profoundly happy.

As is usually the case, Jesus keeps his big beard out of Disney’s business.

Donald briefly dons the red suit… but it’s only to shove a gun in the chipmunks’ face.

Oh no! A Tobacco reference! SNIP-SNIP

I don’t care what today’s parents say: Gunplay and violence can too be funny, especially within the context of Toy Tinkers. Outside of that revolver image above, it’s made pretty clear Donald is firing walnuts out of a cork gun and the chipmunks are shooting fruit and ornaments. So shut up, hippies!

Okay, this image may require some explanation for kids under 10

The music is phenomenal as is the detail of animation, so it’s important not to overlook that just because the news tells us that children today are violent and brainless sponges. Toy Tinkers perfectly embodies the Holidays for me, and never goes a single Christmas without an airing or two in my household.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the Site!)

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B000VE4UC4" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B000ATQYU6" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B0029ZUQB2" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"]

Toy Tinkers appears unedited on the out of print and astronomically priced The Chronological Donald Volume Three. Oddly enough, Volume Two of Disney’s phenomenal Treasures series is still available at a much more affordable price… if that’s any consolation. Unfortunately, the Treasures series are the only place to find many of Disney’s finest shorts completely uncensored. If that isn’t a factor for you and yours, this year’s Disney Animation Collection 7: Mickey’s Christmas Carol features that and other Holiday classics like The Small One and Pluto’s Christmas Tree.

Yesterday’s Christmas Special:
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. SUPER SHOW: KOOPA KLAUS

THE CHRISTMAS TOY
Original Airdate: December 6, 1986

SYNOPSIS:
An extremely unique tale from Jim Henson starring a playroom full of Muppety toys come to life! A young girl’s favorite toy from last Christmas, Rugby Tiger, doesn’t understand that the holiday means that his status as alpha plaything can change on an annual basis. He leaves the playroom, and it’s up to the rest of the toys to stop him before he’s spotted out-of-place by unsuspecting humans. Because - unlike in other toy stories - for the toys of The Christmas Toy, that spells DEATH!

BACKSTORY:
Not only my favorite Muppet Christmas Special (and there are many), but one of my favorite Christmas Specials of all time!

The Christmas Toy never got the repeated airplay that Emmet Otter Jug-Band Christmas or A Muppet Family Christmas received, but I recall that it was shown pretty consistently on The Disney Channel back when that was still a premium channel, although it originally aired on ABC.  No surprise, though, given that I now learned that Disney spun it off into a short-lived series called The Secret Life of Toys eight years later.

The 1994 Disney Channel show that lasted a single season

Of course, The Henson Company’s various dealings with Disney are one of the things that has came back to bite The Christmas Toy in the ass. Historically, Jim Henson regularly brought Kermit the Frog out to introduce new characters during specials, but under their new ownership, Kermit’s narration has been cut from both Emmet Otter’s and A Christmas Story’s DVDs due to rights issues.

The fact that there are two title screens almost leads me to believe they knew Kermit would get cut out eventually

…Much to fans chagrin, I might add, according to the last time I check the Amazon ratings. Luckily, Kermit’s omission didn’t altogether ruin my enjoyment of the DVD, but his original inclusion during the finale reprise of the song “We’ll Be Together at Christmas (Old Friends)” is sorely missed.

A Scandinavian YouTube vid is all we have to know that Kermit ever appeared in The Christmas Toy

BREAKDOWN:

God, I wish I could buy one of these guys

Not only do I feel like The Christmas Toy doesn’t get the respect it’s due – namely, by never being included in the pantheon of alleged “classics” we see trotted out on TV each year - but I also never hear anyone call out its glaringly obvious similarities to Pixar’s Toy Story. Now, I love the Toy Storys and I’m not saying they ripped off Jim Henson, since the plot isn’t all that similar. But once you compare the premise and scenario, you’ll find a shitload of overlap:

Rugby vs. Woody – The star toy uncomfortable sharing the spotlight

Meteora vs. Buzz Lightyear – The new space-themed toy soon to become the new favorite

Mew vs. Slinky Dog – The favorite toy’s loyal companion willing to risk life and limb

Apple vs. Jesse – The once loved, now forgotten toy

“Barbie” vs. Barbie© – C’mon, look at ‘em!

But there’s one thing The Christmas Toy takes a step further. Whereas Woody and Co. simply hide from people, The Christmas Toy explains why toys need to hide, and what the consequences are.

See Ditz in the middle? Don’t get too attached to him

Rugby Tiger, almost an antihero in the beginning, is oblivious to the fact that Christmas brings new toys anually, since he’d just been unwrapped last December 25th. So once the lovable egomaniac learns that it’s Christmas Eve, he sneaks out of the playroom to take what he believes to be his rightful place every year: inside a wrapped box, under the tree.

Mew, the adorable cat toy widely despised by the rest of the group for smelling like catnip, warns everyone about Rugby’s plans during the Holiday preparations, and the entire playroom begins to run around like one of Gonzo’s girlfriends with her head cut off.

There are a lot of moving Muppet legs in this

Amid the chaos, Ditz, the moronic clown toy, idiotically figures that the simplest thing to do is run outside and get Rugby back. Unfortunately, the humans are still awake and…things don’t go well:

And that’s why you never leave the playroom.

Toys found in motion by people are “frozen forever,” or, to remove the sugarcoating: DEAD! This is part of the reason I’m not entirely upset about Kermit being cut out of the DVD.

A Very Merry Funeral Procession

The story stands pretty firmly on its own, plus it always seemed to me that whenever Henson was freed up from the legacy of Kermit and Big Bird, we got a more unique, touching, and compelling story. And yes, often times a little darker one than we were anticipating. (Look at The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller, Labyrinth, and Fraggle Rock, and I think you’ll agree with me.)

A pile of dead toys

I’d agree that it’s a little scary, but I think that taking that kind of risk is what makes the stories feel more personal. Putting something as dire as death on the line is admirable, plus I also love that the closest thing The Christmas Toy has to a villain is People! An absurdly normal family of five going about their Christmas Eve are portrayed like fearsome giants, ghoulish guards capable of ending the life of any toy they spot.

Anyway, Mew finally earns a little respect for himself by aiding Rugby in avoiding the parents and their Medusa-like gaze, and they make their way down to the Christmas Tree.

Love the scale here

But once Rugby opens the box to take his ill-perceived throne, an all-new terror is unleashed:

Meteora!

Again, like a certain other space ranger, Meteora takes herself very seriously. Completely unaware that she too is in fact a toy, she shouts battle cries at Rugby, Mew and the other toys who have come along for the rescue mission…which would be amusing if it didn’t WAKE THE HUMANS!

Ever the badass, Mew belts out an impromptu kitty cat impression

Thank Christ a quick-thinking Mew keeps the crew unseen. Getting close to the brink of death teaches Rugby a lesson of humility, and he and the lovable Mew coax Meteora back into her Christmas packaging with a song that’s too fucking adorable for words.

The outlook is good as the gang makes one last mad dash for the sancterrific confines of the playroom with the aid of some motorized toys, but poor, poor Mew loses hold and is left in the hallway. Please… don’t… open… the door!

SHIT!

Seriously?! Mew – my candidate for greatest character of all time – DEAD?! Once again, here’s the heartbreaking loss and sadness that the Henson group sneaks upon families so well.

Gets me every time

And not to harp on the Toy Story connection, but remember that Sarah McLachlan montage about Jesse and her obsolescence in the second film? Rugby is grounded by a tear-jerking tune sung by the admittedly creepy Apple, who provides an alternate perspective to the egocentric version the precious had Tiger belted out.

Flashback Version 2.0

She’s the toy that’s been outgrown, she’s the toy that’s been replaced…by Rugby in fact. And if I haven’t praised the music enough, let me say that it rules, skipping from the relative tragedies found in the climax to the comparatively un-Henson opening rock-out that explains why toys come to life in the first place: They’re built to play, and the need to do so doesn’t go away just because humans aren’t around.

So yeah, songs… Rugby visits Mew for a final time in his open-casket kitty resting place to sing Mew a touching little tune about how much his friendship of this little mouse-that-nobody-liked meant to him. And yeah, Mew comes back to life:

I know, I complain about miraculous endings that appear to serve no purpose other than to end happily…but to me what separates and redeems the situation in The Christmas Toy is that Mew actually talks about the experience of dying and being dead in way that still gives me goosebumps.

Rise of the fallen

And I’m cool with the rest of the toys getting sung back to life, too, because the last thing in the world I want to think about is characters who sound just like Gonzo and Wembley Fraggle dying forever. I can’t be walking around crying over departed Muppets – I’m a man approaching my thirties, dammit!

The Christmas Toy closes out with everybody back together and loved, and if that ain’t Christmas-y enough for you then maybe you’d be happier celebrating Chaunakkah, mister!

Sadly, the DVD released by HIT Entertainment cuts out Kermit’s reprisal of “We’ll Be Together at Christmas, (Old Friends, New Friends)” but the song would later find its way into other Muppet projects, including the epically ensemble A Muppet Family Christmas released a year later. Oh, you’d better believe I’ll be writing that one up…

Given that it was created by Jim Henson and his company full of filthy, long-haired liberals: None. Although The Christmas Story does contain more resurrections than The Old Testament.

Once again, a certain frog was acting as Claus for this one, so in terms of the DVD, Disney owns the right to this Santa and isn’t letting go.

Five out of five Balls! Can’t help it, this might be my favorite Christmas Special of all time, so I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Fat Albert or Fred Flinstone walk away with more Flaming Balls of  Spirit!

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the site!)

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B002LII67S" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B002L5KA7A" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"style="float: left; padding-right:10px;"]

[iframe: src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=C30F0F&lc1=32640B&t=cartochris-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B00005OSJR" width="120px" height="240px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"]

The Christmas Toy is available alone on DVD and bundled together with Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas at a great value. Neither version contains the Kermit the Frog introduction, unfortunately. A Muppet Family Christmas is out-of-print, and will likely remain that way. I link to it since it contains a fantastic Holiday tune that originated in The Christmas Toy and you may still pick it up inexpensively used.

Yesterday’s Christmas Special
A WISH FOR WINGS THAT WORK

Dude… Christmas rules amirite?! But as we “The Children of the 80’s,” grow older, crap like work deadlines, the price of airfare, and gift-giving budgetary restraints do their damndest to damper our Holiday Spirit year in and year out. Let ‘em try! I’ve got a backlog of DVDs with enough Xmas Mojo to keep even the most terminal case of Yule Tide Blues at bay.

I too was once frustrated and bored by the Holiday season, increasingly cynical of the “commercialism of it all” and all that jazz. But the reason Christmas is marketed in such a way is because, quite simply, it works! No other cultural event conjures such a specific mood, music, and feeling anywhere close to that of the majority of December, regardless of how much Hallmark and Best Buy would like to manufacture one. Just because I can’t get behind the current Target Superstore, Hanna Montana version of “The Christmas Spirit” doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have one at all, right? Hell, I’m entitled to one… we all are.

Home Video to the rescue! I’ve managed to find tremendous solace within Christmas Specials I grew up with as a kid. Charlie Brown, Mickey Mouse, and Kermit the Frog still have the power to rip me out of my day to day drudgery and place me smack dab into a place and time where I truly felt the Christmas season was magical and meant something. Clichéd though it may sound, once I throw on one of these Christmas Specials, my brain is whipped to a place and time where I smell firewood, enjoy bad music, and experience a childlike anticipation for gifts I know I’ll never receive.

Unfortunately, most of the specials near and dear to me no longer air on television with the frequency they used to, if at all. Sad, but who knows? Maybe that’s why I like ‘em. Either way, I figured there’d also be a sizable chunk of people out there in Internet land that would, too.

As an animation nerd, nothing warms my guts more than a traditional Holiday favorite. However, I also derive sensational amount of pleasure from getting re-exposed to the good ones I forgot existed, and yes, the bad ones we all wish didn’t. I’ve done my damnedest to track down personal favorites, and personal punching bags, through the various means provided to me by 21st century existence, and I’m trying to lay out one a day for public recollection from now until Christmas Day.

An Animated Advent Calendar for all to enjoy!

Wish me luck,
C.Ant

PS: I encourage anybody to suggest any particular Christmas specials you’d care to see covered here. I’ve also provided Amazon.com links to any specials available on DVD. PLEASE CLICK! Buying through us won’t cost you a dime, but will contribute a small portion of your purchase to the site in order to keep it going!