10 More Memorable Christmas Specials
It’s that time of year again. The stockings are hung by the fire with care and the internet delivery boxes are hidden all over the house. However, with a to-do list as long as your arm it can sometimes be easy to forget to stop and take a moment to watch all those special animations that make Christmas the best time of year. Last year’s list of 10 memorable specials barely scratched the surface so we here at Skwigly we thought we would spread some more Christmas cheer and remind you of ten more beautiful animations to watch that will hopefully keep you smiling through this Christmas season.
1. Charlie Brown’s Christmas (1965)
The iconic image of Snoopy is recognizable the world over but it seems that in America watching The Charlie Brown’s Christmas special is as important as eating mince pies on Christmas day. Directed by Bill Melendez, and released in 1965 on CBS this Christmas special will be celebrating its fiftieth year next year.
Based on the work of the legendary artist Charles M. Schulz the film follows Charlie Brown and the rest of the cast of the Peanuts comics. It is a musical special that sees a depressed Charlie trying to make it through the holiday season. Lucy, his friend suggests he directs the school play but poor Charlie is ignored by his friends making Charlie reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
Originally the special was sponsored by Coca-Cola. The budget was tiny and it was animated in six months. Some risky decisions were made during production that are now staples of the animation special and animations in general: No laughter track was added as was the way with most animations at the time and also there is a Jazzy feel to the soundtrack which was odd for a children’s animation. Even with the controversial changes the special won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. It has been shown every single year in America since its release. This is a great special and if you have kiddies, or if you just want some Christmas cheer in your life.
2. Prep and Landing (2009)
Released in 2009 this special Wayne, a Christmas elf, who works for the ‘Prep and Landing’ team. Their job is to get children’s homes ready for Santa’s visit. We follow Wayne as he tries to get promoted after working for Santa for over 249 years.
The voice cast includes David Foley (Bug’s life and Toy Story 2) and British actor W. Morgan Shepard (Star Trek and Mad Men) as Santa and the music is created by the wonderful Michael Giacchino who created the heart breaking music in Up as well as the music for the TV show Lost. This animation was originally pitched by director Chris Williams as a new short for the newly re-opened Walt Disney Animation Studios. John Lasseter was a fan of the idea and it was put into production. Chris Williams was moved from Prep and Landing to co- direct Bolt and the special continued under directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers–Skelton’s capable hands. There are lots of hidden ‘Easter Eggs’ (or Christmas eggs… boom boom) in this short. The Christmas tree that is seen in the office is the same as the Christmas tree in the Charlie Brown’s Christmas special. Also the co-ordinates given to Santa when he is traveling to the house Wayne is in are the co-ordinates of the Walt Disney company.
3. Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales. (1979)
When you put voice actor Mel Blanc and Friz Freleng together you know you are going to get something special and this 1979 special doesn’t disappoint.
This three part special was not only written by Friz Freleng but also by Chuck Jones, John W.Dunn, and Tony Benedict and released over a period of 3 weeks.
The first part this special is based around the traditional tale of Charles Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ with Bob Crachit played by Porky and Scrooge played by none other than money grabbing Yosemite Sam. Bug’s Bunny plays a poor man selling Christmas decorations and mistletoe. After Scrooge kicks out poor Bugs Bunny, Bugs is determined to teach this old ‘humbug’ a lesson.
You knew there would have to be some version of the Christmas Carol on the list (and since the Muppet’s don’t really count as animation) you can’t get better than the Looney Tunes.
The second part of the special was entitled Freeze Frame and was directed by Chuck Jones. It features Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
The last part of this special is called the Fright before Christmas and sees the Tasmanian Devil get mistaken for Santa Claus by Bugs Bunny.
This special ends the way all Christmas specials should end, with the characters wishing the viewers a ‘Happy Holiday’. It may take Porky a little while to get the words out but the thought is there.
4. Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)
There have been many Simpsons Christmas specials over the years but the 1989 special named Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire is a classic. Directed by David Silverman and written by Mimi Pond this special was the series premiere of The Simpsons. It was originally the eighth episode in the first season but due to its Christmas theme it was pushed forward. It is the only full episode of the Simpsons to be shown in the 80’s.
The episode centres on Homer who discovers he will not be receiving the Christmas bonus he is hoping for. This leads to him taking a job as Santa in the local mall and after an unlucky night at the races the family end up with a gift that has lasted 25 years and counting!
It was nominated for two Emmy awards in 1990 and was viewed by over 13 million people when it originally aired.
5.Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
It is shocking that this wasn’t on our first list but the 1964 Rankin/Bass production of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a classic that should be seen by every animator. If the images of this animation look familiar it’s because Christmas specials and films have been paying homage to this popular animation since it was created. Everything from Elf to The Muppets have referenced it or even taken characters directly from it. Even if you haven’t seen it you will be familiar with references to the movie such as ‘The Island of misfit toys’ which is a place in the story that unwanted or broken toys are sent.
Written by Romeo Muller and Robert May this American classic is based on the 1939 poem of the same name. It is so popular that it is aired more than a few times during the Christmas season. It’s as Christmas as eating a big box of chocolates in front of the TV.
The original stop motion figures of Santa and Rudolph were originally given to a secretary after production. In 2005 they were bought by a man named Kris Kriess who had them restored because they were in such bad shape. They now tour America and go to conventions for fans of the show to see.
Directed by Larry Roemer and Kizo Nagashima this special has been aired every year since its 1964 creation. The savvy among you will have noticed that this animation is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year which makes it the longest running Christmas special in history.
If you haven’t seen this animation then there has never been a better time to make some Eggnog, turn on the Christmas lights and watch a little bit of animation Christmas history.
6. Merry Christmas – a Christmas Creature Comforts Special (2003)
Creature Comforts are a British institution so it makes sense that Aardman would delight us with a Christmas special entitled simply Merry Christmas. The special was aired on Christmas day in 2003 and as always it was voiced by the great British public.
The creator of the show Nick Park passed the directorial role to Richard Goleszowski who also worked on Shaun the Sheep and Rex the Runt. The show not only includes a rendition of ‘the 12 days of Christmas’ sung by our favourite creatures but it includes fantastic quotes such as “I think even if you hate turkey you have to eat it at Christmas. I think it’s the law”. Subjects discussed include Christmas carols, Christmas traditions and a lot of talk about food. The animals featured range from turkeys to reindeers and pigs to aliens.
It’s the perfect thing to find on the TV while you are waiting for your dinner. Christmas is definitely a time for plasticine.
7. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas – A Community Christmas Special (2010)
This self-aware Christmas episode created in association with 23Dfilms Inc. follows the cast of the TV show Community in a stop motion world. Abed (played by Danny Pudi) believes he and the other characters have turned into stop motion characters and are traveling to find the real meaning of Christmas. The other characters in the special can’t see the stop motion world and seem to be playing along with Abed’s animated fantasy.
It is a smart twist on the Christmas special and a great excuse to use fantastic stop motion animation. This episode was written by the show’s creator Dan Harmon as well as Dino Stamatopoulos who alongside portraying the character ‘Star burns’ is also the creator of the stop motion animated series Moral Orel and Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole.
The episode was directed by Duke Johnson who also directs Moral Orel, and is meant to represent the Rankin/Bass stop motion style that we have mentioned in this list such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The animation took four months to complete which is record timing for a production of this scale.
The show received its first Emmy nomination when character animator, Drew Hodges was nominated for an ‘Individual Achievement in animation’ Emmy in 2011. He went on to win the award beating people such as Character animator Sung Chang who worked on Firebreather for Cartoon Network and Jill Daniels who was a background painter on Phineas and Ferb: Wizard of Odd.
8. Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)
This new short was released this December (it was shown on the 2nd of December in America and aired by Sky Movies on the 6th of December in the UK) and features the familiar characters from the Toy Story Saga. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz in this new special. This 22 minute Christmas themed animation follows the characters that are taken on a play date but quickly abandoned when Bonnie goes to play a computer game.
The toys find themselves in a Dinosaur land filled with new action heroes. The gang must escape and return to the safety of Bonnie’s room. This romp is filled with 1980’s nostalgic references that will have you ready to raid your attic for those old toys.
The television special was aired on ABC and was written and directed by Steve Purcell who also co-directed Brave and helped with the development of Ratatouille. The short was of course animated by Pixar animators but was originally meant to only be a six minute short. John Lasseter decided it should be a holiday special. The special was made over three years with two of those years spent writing the story.
Unlike the other Toy Story shorts Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex this animation was made in the California studios and not the now closed Canadian offices.
If you haven’t seen it yet then you have a little Christmas treat waiting for you.
9. Raggedy Ann and Andy – The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)
It should make every animator happy to see Chuck Jones featured twice on this list. This time we are talking about his 1978 classic, Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper.
The story follows Alexander Graham Wolf (who looks suspiciously like Wile E. Coyote) planning to break into Santa’s workshop and ruin Christmas with one of his inventions. Raggedy Ann and Andy are asked to help save Christmas by the reindeer Comet (voiced by June Foray) who has overheard the wolf’s plan.
The wolf is using an evil machine to suspend all the toys in an unbreakable substance he calls ‘gloopstik’. He thinks he is making the gifts last forever but it also means no children will be able to play with them.
This thirty minute special has everything a Christmas special needs. Candy canes, elves, the North Pole, a dastardly villain, and the familiar nostalgic animation that only Chuck Jones can direct.
10. A Very Sunny Christmas – An It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas special. (2010)
Although only a portion of this episode is animated it deserves to be on the list due to the detail the animators have gone to, to emulate the original 1964 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special.
When Danny DeVito’s character, Frank gets into a car accident he has a vision of a stop motion world. In his comatose state he dreams about a magic elf who shows him how his son Dennis and daughter Sweet Dee (as well as their too friends Charlie and Mac) would go about killing him. The musical number that goes with this scene is made all the more dark and twisted due to the sentimental Christmas nostalgia of the stop motion world. If you are familiar with the show then you won’t be shocked to hear one of the lines from the song is ‘They’ll rip your arm off at the bone, eat it like an ice cream cone’. An all-around magical Christmas had by everyone.
The special including the Christmas elf (voiced by Michael Yurchak who has also voiced character in The Legend of Korra TV show and has voiced various characters in Grand Theft Auto computer games) was over seen by stop motion animator Charles Greenfield who has also animated on The Boxtrolls and the stop motion TV show Glenn Martin DDS.
That concludes our list for this year. If you think we have forgot a classic (and we know there are a hundred we could/should have listed), or even if there is an obscure Christmas special that you love and makes your Christmas that little more enjoyable then let us know. Season greetings to everyone from the Skwigly team and a happy Animation filled New Year.