Do You See What I See? Holiday Movies and TV You May Have Missed

Nothing sums up the Holiday Season better than snuggling down before a huge roaring TV set to watch Holiday movies or TV specials.

Of course we're all familiar with A Charlie Brown Christmas or Santa Claus Is Coming To Town or Don't Eat The Nativity! A Very Vegan Xmas.

But there are tons of specials, TV episodes, or films out there that are worth watching (either for their quality or kitsch factor).

If you have any suggestions for Holiday films folks may not have heard of please add them to the list. This would also include films that aren't about the Holidays as such, but take place during the Holidays.

This thread is for Holiday shows that don't get aired regularly or that people may be unaware of. It's not a list for favorites such as A Christmas Story which is brilliant, but is fairly well known by now and gets aired for 24 hours straight on one of the channels each year.

Ideally, list as much info as you know about the film and why someone ought to see it.

Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special "It's like all other X-Mas shows rolled into one. And the list of guest stars is long...KD Lang, Little Richard, Cher, Oprah...And many many more!" -woofmutt-

Raymond Briggs' The Snowman "This film is just plain magical. The animation is done in the style of Briggs' colored pencil illustrations in his original book and the entire movie is without words. It's carried along by a score which is good enough to listen to without the movie. The aerial scenes of the English countryside are incredible." -woofmutt-

Comfort And Joy "Low key comedy starring Bill Paterson as a popular radio DJ in Glasgow who gets caught in the middle of a turf war between ice cream vendors. The story is set at Christmas time and director Bill Forsyth's bleak cityscapes and gray winter weather offers a completely unromantic look at Glasgow. Unfortunately this movie is unavailable on "American" DVD and is hard to find on VHS. A good rental store might have it or buy it used on Amazon." -woofmutt-

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians "This is a very odd, low budget, Christmas film from 1964 about Santa Clause being kidnapped by Martians."
-Stuff-o-rama-

Mystery Science Theater 3000's skewering of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Santa Claus a 1959 Mexican film by director Rene Cardona. "...In order to save Christmas, with the aid of Merlin the Wizard, Santa Claus must defeat...the devil Pitch...This is truly THE most ODD Christmas feature I've ever seen." -DJ Terence Gun-

Robbie the Reindeer "If you're a fan of Aardman (Wallace & Gromit...) treat yourself to Robbie the Reindeer. Be sure to listen to the British soundtrack for best results!" -UtopianDreem-

Flinstones Christmas "I enjoyed it...It's not one you see too often." -Bogielock-

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny "A 1972 cheeseball feature about Santa Claus' efforts to get his sleigh unstuck from a Florida beach. Has to be seen to be believed." -procinema29-

Campy Christmas Curiosities a DVD compilation which features Chrismas in Monkeyland "...in which Santa Claus explains what monkeys do during Christmastime." -procinema29-

Opus N' Bill in a Wish For Wings That Work "...based on the old Bloom County comic strip. It was a nice little special and well animated. It's cute show if you get the chance to see it." -GROG-

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas made by Jim Henson in 1977.

A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart. "This (version of A Christmas Carol) is extremely faithful to Dickens' story and...the performances are top notch. Stewart presents a Scrooge that you actually understand. He's not just some scenery chewing bastard, you can see how he became the man he is." -woofmutt-

The Great Rupert "A down-and-out New York show business family trio...learn about a tiny, dingy groundfloor apartment and finagle their way in...Unbeknownst to the family...a show-business squirrel (yes, you heard correctly) named Rupert lives in the rafters of the apartment...This is a wonderful, hidden Holiday gem." -DJ Terence Gunn-

"The Great Rupert...Was great, great fun! I loved it!
Definitely a very sweet and amusing film that works pretty well today, some fifty-odd years since it was made." -procinema29-

Le martien de Noël/The Christmas Martian "One of my favorites as a kid... Made for public TV in Ontario. A little boy finds a Martian and teaches him Christmas stuff. Kinda cheesy, but endearing." -raito-

Santa Witch starring Gumby "You can count on Gumby to give us an interesting Christmas twist...Too bad they replaced the original lush musical score with the Casio keyboard sounding stuff." -King Bushwich the 33rd-

[ Edited by: woofmutt 2013-12-18 15:11 ]

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

If you're a fan of Ardman (Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, etc.) treat yourself to Robbie the Reindeer. Be sure to listen to the British soundtrack for best results!

On 2006-12-11 14:48, stuff-o-rama wrote:
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

You don't have to buy it! Just click here. Apparently it is now public domain. Here is another link with some fun facts and synopsis on what some call the worst movie ever made. To them I say go drink your Egg Nog. I dug every frame of that cheesy movie.

Don't forget the MST3K treatment of that Pia Zadora Christmas classic

http://www.mst3kinfo.com/episodes/epthree.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002M5TOI/ref=pd_cp_d_title/104-1791044-5583161

OK, my friend just hep'd me to this site which is the motherload of Christmas movies, commercials, TV episodes, music videos, all full length...

even the nerdtastic Star Wars Holiday Special (#100) and the Ali G Christmas Message (#75)

Warning: Clicking here may cause hours of time to magically disappear...

The following website has a youtube link to a favorite memory of mine, from the mid-80's MTV programming. Bryan Adams singing a song called 'Reggae Christmas', accompanied by a partying conga line that includes Pee Wee Herman wearing a wig of dreadlocks.

http://www.musicsnobbery.com/2006/12/youtube_goodnes.html

I'm also a fan of that Bing Crosby/David Bowie version of 'Little Drummer Boy' I was watching that TV special when it was first shown in the late 70's, and I was knocked out by that song back then. In the years afterwards I often mentioned that song version as one of my favorites - even though it was only a memory - it was something like 10 years before that clip was ever shown on TV again.

Vern

I don't have anything new to add to this list (well, I did see Dolly Parton in A Smoky Mountain Christmas last year and it's unintentionally funny) but am bumpin' this up as it's the season and all that rigamarole.

Here's a link to Amazon where you can download a free copy of The Flintstones Christmas. I enjoyed it the other night. It's not one you see too often.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010VZUNK/ref=atv_pp2/103-3720592-4830206?pf_rd_p=316662201&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000128561&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=18T9471KX13WMZD2W9J9

Here's 3 great things you might want to see:

SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY. A 1972 cheeseball feature about Santa Claus' efforts to get his sleigh unstuck from a Florida beach. Has to be seen to be believed.

SCROOGE'S ROCK 'N' ROLL CHRISTMAS CAROL. Wretched 1983 TV special featuring Jack Elam as Scrooge, with appearances by various groups including Three Dog Night and The Association.

CHRISTMAS IN MONKEYLAND. Scary short film originally distributed by Castle Films, in which Santa Claus explains what monkeys do during Christmastime. Can be found on a DVD compilation called "Campy Christmas Curiosities."

Yeah, I know it's early. But I was talking with my friends who I watch movies with and we realized there never seems to be enough time in December to watch all the holiday films we want to. So we're probably starting early. We'll no doubt ease into it with Nightmare Before... and movies that are set at Christmas but not about Christmas (such as the above mentioned Comfort and Joy)

The basic guideline for this thread: Good or amusingly bad Holiday films and TV shows which probably are not widely known.

(I'll bug you again and bump this up again in December...Though I don't think that's nearly as annoying as every chain store you go into right now being fully Xmas packed.)

A shopping mall Santa is accidentally shot to bits in David Cronenberg's Rabid. The audience I saw it with cheered.

trailer (shopping mall sequence at 1:20)

-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

blog

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2008-11-15 11:34 ]

OK, before this thread becomes Bilge worthy let me add another clarification:

This thread is meant for posts of holiday related films/TV which are worth watching (either because they're actually great or because they may be so overwrought or badly animated you find them enjoyable) and which many people may not have heard of.

I understand that for various reasons many people hate the holidays and Christmas in particular. But what I'd like to see here is...

Holiday related films/TV which are worth watching and which many people may not have heard of.

I was really surprised when that audience cheered as Santa was gunned down. I have no particular grudge against Christmas or Santa Claus, but I guess some people do. Who knows why? Maybe they didn't get the Easy Bake oven they asked for. Sorry if I misunderstood or perverted the intent of this thread.

In 1990 GROG worked on an animated Christmas special called Opus and Bill--A wish for wings that work based on th old Bloom County comic strip. It was a nice little special and well animated. It's cute show if you get the chance to see it.

Bad Santa,
A Christmas Story(you'll shoot your eye out kid)
and
The Snowman, Cartoon from England, sometimes seen on PBS now on dvd.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

"Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmet_Otter's_Jug-Band_Christmas

Again folks...

Holiday related films/TV which are worth watching and which many people may not have heard of.*

Opus N' Bill in a Wish For Wings That Work Qualifies as just that sort of thing. (I've heard good things from others, have never seen it myself.)

Raymond Briggs' The Snowman is incredible. This one makes a great gift for kids, a rare highly imaginative and well crafted holiday video for them to watch which won't promote brain decay and isn't irritating to adults .

*My reminders are irritating, yes, but topics get derailed easily. It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 42nd Street, It's the Great After Thanksgiving Day Sale Charlie Brown all get plenty of exposure and press. Hopefully this thread will useful for folks who want to see something different.

woofmutt
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
For inside sentiment see back of package.

[ Edited by: woofmutt 2008-11-16 09:37 ]

I saw PeeWee's Christmas special when it first aired. It's great! I gotta find Don't Eat The Nativity! A Very Vegan Xmas.

Friends and I just watched the previously recommended Robbie the Reindeer... It's brilliant! I picked it up used on Amazon and accidentally got the original version with the British actors doing the voices.***** The animation is great and the humor is clever, quick, and quotable. It'll take a couple viewings to catch all the lines, especially as we were laughing over many of them. Definitely one of those films I'm looking forward to telling others about.

*****From the comments on Amazon it's obvious that some people end up with the Americanized version of this. If you order a copy it'd be worth making sure it's the original. It's really difficult to imagine the Americans could do it justice.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the 1959 Mexican film by director Rene Cardona 'Santa Claus'! (Or did they?) But this is only for fans of 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians' (which it precedes). Think the latter is strange and campy? 'Santa Claus' takes the (fruit) cake!

A brief synopsis: In order to save Christmas, with the aid of Merlin the Wizard, Santa Claus must defeat the evil and diabolical (much like this film) machinations of the devil Pitch. The international Christmas scenes at the beginning of the film are border line Busby Burkley. This is truly THE most ODD Christmas feature I've ever seen.

Along with 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians', 'Santa Claus' is another of those films I traditionally throw on for eye candy at my annual Cool Yule Cocktail Parties (those and vintage toy commercials). It's colourful, brilliant, and bizarre. As Sven would say, it's 'good bad taste'.

Not the best example, but here's a clip shown on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pma09UryJC0

As far as Christmas TV Specials (a bit more mainstream, though cynical and not as popular in their own right):

*A Black Adder's Christmas Carol
*Steptoe & Son Christmas Special
*Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean
*All Through The House (episode from 'Tales From The Crypt', based on the original from the early 1970s film)

For kitsch is A Clayamation Christmas Celebration.

It was made when the Calfornia Raisins were super popular so they have a segment singing. It is 100% stop animation using clay and I have to admit even at 30 years old I love this movie.

All the carols the creatures sing have been altered to be a little more funky and a little more funny. I showed it to my nephews and they loved it as well so now it has become a family tradition to watch it every year.

Came out in 1990-1991 so it may be hard to find but so worth it.

Then there is A Garfield Christmas Special that came out in 1987. The boys (Jon, Odie and Garfield) go to Jon's parents' house for Xmas. It has simple jokes and a great moral plus plenty of dry humor.

I think you can find it on YouTube.

I love Christmas movies and have favorites like "Holiday Inn" and "It's A Wonderful Life" but the two I mentioned above are a must for my family every year.

On 2008-11-29 15:37, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
I can't believe nobody has mentioned the 1959 Mexican film by director Rene Cardona 'Santa Claus'!

Mystery Science Theater 3000 did an awesome job on riffing that turd-burger. Creepy assed laughing reindeer.

One of my favorite Christmas TV specials is "The Year Without a Santa Claus" which features the Heat Miser and Snow Miser. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yon2YuXssvo

On 2008-12-01 11:51, Unkle John wrote:

On 2008-11-29 15:37, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
I can't believe nobody has mentioned the 1959 Mexican film by director Rene Cardona 'Santa Claus'!

Mystery Science Theater 3000 did an awesome job on riffing that turd-burger. Creepy assed laughing reindeer.

One man's turd-burger is another man's Big Mac. (In my opinion, they're both the same.)

Haven't seen it (MST3000-slaughterised) myself but I can imagine it's full of wonderfully obvious quips and low-brow behaviour! However, I recommend to all who are interested in seeing 'Santa Claus' to first see it unadulturated with juvenile humour thrown in (how's that for a contradiction in terms?) in order to truly appreciate the bizarreness of this picture, and the campy humour it deliberates.

Another picture that often seems to be overlooked as a Christmas movie -- or at least, a movie that is set round Christmas time -- is 'Bell, Book, & Candle'. A Christmas Special it isn't; it doesn't reek of Christmas sentimentality or commercial and spiritless cynicism. But it's a good alternative to the overplayed others during Christmas.

Most everyone is familiar with the more popular Rankin-Bass Holiday specials -- Ruldolph, Frosty, Year Without A Santa Claus, etc. However, here are a few Rankin-Bass Christmas specials some may have NOT seen (or don't remember seeing):

1. The Stingiest Man In Town (cell animation)
2. The Christmas Tree (cell animation)
3. Jack Frost (stop-motion)
4. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold (stop-motion)
5. The Life and Adventures Of Santa Claus (stop-motion)
6. The First Christmas (stop-motion)
7. A Gift For Granny (stop-motion)

Rankin-Bass also has a series of little B&W vignettes/videos in stop-motion set to some Christmas song standards.

I saw Jack Frost a couple years ago. In my opinion it's a real clunker, not even amusingly bad. Target had it for sale when I was there a couple weeks back.

On 2008-12-01 14:49, woofmutt wrote:
I saw Jack Frost a couple years ago. In my opinion it's a real clunker, not even amusingly bad. Target had it for sale when I was there a couple weeks back.

There are a lot of Rankin-Bass specials that I would consider 'real clunkers'. (And Jack Frost was recently released on DVD, putting back on radar.) But keep in mind these specials were made for children. However, I thought this thread was about mentioning Christmas specials and films that are off the overpopularised radar, rather than voicing opinions about them.

You hardly ever see this anymore, but it was common every holiday season when I was a kid.

Mister Magoo in A Christmas Carol

This was an animated version of Dicken's classic "A Christmas Carol" starring Mister Magoo as Scrooge. Jim Backus did the voice, but the usual nearsighted old man gags common in Mr. Magoo comics was not used. Magoo played it pretty much straight. This was the first version of the Dicken's tale that I ever saw, and I remember being surprised to learn that this had a history that long pre-dated Mr. Magoo.

Opinions happen. (Fortunately neither DJ Terence Gunn or I are very opinionated.) While I didn't want to see this thread filled up with well known popular favorites or get dumped on by holiday haters I always like to see other opinions and well argued debate.

My only reason for mentioning my thoughts on Jack Frost was that the two best known Rankin/Bass Xmas specials...Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, (and to a lesser extent Year Without a Santa Claus)...Are known for not only being highly creative and well animated but having great music too.

Jack Frost is not widely known, and as the focus of this thread is good (whether genuinely good or merely enjoyably awful) holiday films/TV that slipped through the cracks, the mentioning of it here implies that it's worth seeking out.

So I added my thoughts: It's not. (I came across it a couple years back on cable and was really happy to discover a Rankin/Bass special I'd never heard of. When I saw how dull it was my excitement faded like a spring frost at dawn.)

But as they said on Reading Rainbow don't take my word on it: I've never liked Little Drummer Boy or Frosty the Snowman.

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol is a friend's favorite Xmas special. When my other friend (I have two) got it for her for Christmas last year it eclipsed all of the jewelry and clothes he also heaped upon her.

And speaking of A Christmas Carol

A few years back there was a made for cable TV version of A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart which was really excellent. A Christmas Carol is well known and many versions exist (See above!) so new takes on it are often ignored. But this one is extremely faithful to Dickens' story and the attention to period detail (bad teeth, no Christmas trees) is admirable. On top of that the performances are top notch. Stewart presents a Scrooge that you actually understand. He's not just some scenery chewing bastard, you can see how he became the man he is. Richard E. Grant seems to have been born to play Bob Cratchit and Joel Grey as the Ghost of Christmas Past is wistfully pleasant yet completely creepy.

What? :o No mention of Die Hard, Lethal Weapon or
L.A. Confidential?

I hope Bud White doesn't show up and tear your Xmas lights down.

Anyone remember the 1979/'80 film 'The Man In The Santa Claus Suit' starring Fred Astaire? Haven't seen it since my teens but recall enjoying it. Family friendly, made for TV, but not Made for Children (specifically). No puppets, no clay, no animation whatsoever. And no tap dancing, either. Possibly not even one song, neither. Perhaps it was soppy, I don't remember. I do recall it being somewhat sad but fairly emotive and morally lifting.

For those who enjoy strange, kitschy, eerie Christmas-oriented films just as much as the serious classics, like I do, you may wish to check out The Flaming Lips film 'Christmas On Mars' (2008).

No doubt they, too, are fans of B grade Sci-Fi films, and films like 'Santa Claus' and 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'.

http://christmasonmars.cinemapurgatorio.com/

The only problem I have with this film, is the problem I have with any other modern day attempt at an homage to past kitsch: it's conscientiously kitschy. Real kitsch -- or more accurately defined, what is later to be termed 'kitsch' by critics, purveyors, and other self-appointed connoisseurs of what is good taste -- is not self-conscious of itself; not conscientious that it is going to be termed kitsch, nor does it set out to be.

And speaking of which, here's a great site for fans of K. Gordon Murray's 'Santa Claus' and his follow up film shorts 'Santa's Little Helpers', 'Santa's Fantasy Fair', 'Santa's Enchanted Village', 'Santa's Magic Kingdom':

http://www.kgordonmurray.com/index.html

One will note that many of the latter film shorts were filmed in various Santa's Villages in California in the 1960s. These films trigger something within me; something from my childhood. I also remember going to a Santa's Village somewhere in the early 1970s -- though I don't recall it being in California.

Above: Santa's Village, Skyforest, California, circa 1960s

Okay, TC'ers, I've another one; and this film I HIGHLY recommend. It's a family film but not a kiddie film; it's lightly dramatic and at times very comical; features some song and dance but is not a musical. The film is 'The Great Rupert'(aka 'A Christmas Wish' in its recent colourised version)from 1950 and stars Jimmy Durante, who is absolutely larger than life in this picture and steals every scene he's in.

'The Great Rupert' is about a down-and-out New York show business family trio that is penniless and homeless just before Christmas. They learn about a tiny, dingy groundfloor apartment and finagle their way in, promising (the landlord's son, who is instantly smitten with the daughter) to pay the required advance rent in a couple days, which doesn't sit at all well with the miserly upstairs landlord. Unbeknownst to the family (above and below) a show-business squirrel (yes, you heard correctly) named Rupert lives in the rafters of the apartment. (The squirrel was created via stop-animation, and was quite a feat at the time; even winning an award or two.) Things look pretty dismal for the family until the mother makes a wish and, thanks to Rupert, the wish brings (literally DOWN) the means with which to fulfill itself (and more).

Anyway, from there the picture develops into a joyful roller coaster ride, taking many turns and a few deviations. Things become good, then crazy, then disaster, but in the end a happy ending for all.

This is a wonderful, hidden Holiday gem.

[ Edited by: DJ Terence Gunn 2008-12-15 13:58 ]

On 2008-12-01 19:07, woofmutt wrote:

And speaking of A Christmas Carol

A few years back there was a made for cable TV version of A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart which was really excellent. A Christmas Carol is well known and many versions exist (See above!) so new takes on it are often ignored. But this one is extremely faithful to Dickens' story and the attention to period detail (bad teeth, no Christmas trees) is admirable. On top of that the performances are top notch. Stewart presents a Scrooge that you actually understand. He's not just some scenery chewing bastard, you can see how he became the man he is. Richard E. Grant seems to have been born to play Bob Cratchit and Joel Grey as the Ghost of Christmas Past is wistfully pleasant yet completely creepy.

I'm a big fan of Patrick Stewart. In addition to the TV version of A Christmas Carol, he also performed a one-man rendition of "A Christmas Carol" on stage in London and New York City. There is an audio book available: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Carol-Reissue-Charles-Dickens/dp/0671793829. I've listened to it and its wonderful.

On 2008-11-29 15:37, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:

*A Black Adder's Christmas Carol

Caught this on the BBC (America) channel today and laughed my ass off. I love British comedy.

Not sure if anyone posted this one...

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Mickey Rooney plays Mike Halligan, a retired cop from Manhattan living in California with his family who decides to show his grandson, who has never seen snow before, what a real white Christmas in New York is like. But he dies from a sudden heart attack in which Halligan makes a deal with the Archangel of Heaven to return to Earth for a week until Christmas and show his grandson the seasonal glories of New York City.

Hasn't been on in years and there's no DVD of it.

I just saw the colorized version of "The Great Rupert" ("A Christmas Wish" on DVD) and I thought it was great, great fun! I loved it! I never even heard of the movie, and was surprised to find that it was a George Pal production, directed by Irving Pichel!

Definitely a very sweet and amusing film that works pretty well today, some fifty-odd years since it was made.

Ho-ho-hooray! It's bump time.

Here's the general intent of this thread:

Overlooked and possibly unknown holiday movies which are worth watching.

Worth watching means:

Movies and cartoons and TV specials which are well made and they make you feel all warm and tingly inside like you drank a big mug of magic cocoa.

OR

Movies and cartoons and TV specials which are so terrible you can't pull your eyes away and your dreams are filled with visions of wooden angels and creepy paper mache Santas.

If you make a recommendation please add some reason as to why it's worth seeing. Just dropping a movie name is sort of useless. We're all capable of using Google to find obscure stuff we don't know anything about. What will make this thread most useful is if you add personal comments.

Again, the focus is on the overlooked and obscure and worth watching. I'll update the list at the top of the thread as movies are suggested.

But right now I want to get a mug of this magic cocoa I heard about.

A Pink Panther Christmas...
Not for the poor tale of our mute hero trying to get something to eat
(he's starving the whole show..)
but for the JOLLY HOLIDAY song
which, in my opinion
is pretty catchy......

A bit of a stretch but has anyone seen the sequel-

Halloween is Grinch Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPcxnJQnzhE

I'm often reminded of that one when heading to the euphemism!

An animated Christmas special the did NOT become a classic like the ones staring Charlie Brown, Rudolph and the Grinch. And only available on VHS...

B.C. A Special Christmas

If you think about it, Christmas did not exist in the time period designated as B.C. so Christmas specials with cavemen (and the Flintstones) would be a parodox or something like that.

There was a Winter holiday special episode of Xena Warrior Princess. Since she was suppose to have existed in B.C. time period, she celebrated Winter Solstice.

Xena: A Solstice Carol

Once again...It's the most wonderful time of the year to watch TV!!!

Since the holidays are so much about traditions and since severe cost saving cuts won't allow me to produce a completely new Holiday Bump Post I'll return to a favorite old chestnut of mine, "The True Meaning of This Thread," with a rehash of last years clarification...

*"The True Meaning of This Thread"

The true meaning of this thread is Overlooked and possibly unknown holiday movies which are worth watching.

Worth watching means:

Movies and cartoons and TV specials which are well made and they make you feel all warm and tingly inside like you drank a big mug of magic cocoa.

OR

Movies and cartoons and TV specials which are so terrible you can't pull your eyes away and your dreams are filled with visions of wooden angels and creepy paper mache Santas.

If you make a recommendation please add some reason as to why it's worth seeing. Just dropping a movie name is sort of useless. We're all capable of using Google to find obscure stuff we don't know anything about. What will make this thread most useful is if you add personal comments.

Again, the focus is on the overlooked and obscure and worth watching. I'll update the list at the top of the thread as movies are suggested.

But right now I want to get a mug of this magic cocoa I heard about.*

And that's the true meaning of this thread! Happy Holidays everybody!!!

A Wish for Wings that Work.....the only time Bloom County/Outland/Opus characters have appeared in animated form.

I know it already been mentioned, but I never get tired of watching it.

I wish I could find a copy of this, I haven't seen it in years

[ Edited by: ErkNoLikeFire 2010-12-04 22:07 ]

[ Edited by: ErkNoLikeFire 2010-12-04 22:14 ]

A TV special I have not seen for years is The Little Drummer Boy which has to be the only Rankin/Bass show that uses the Christian aspects of Christmas for the story.

It is special because the TV Christmas special story narrator is Greer Garson, One of the few female TV Christmas special story narrators in the male dominated TV Christmas special story narrator field. She holds the record for the longest Academy Award acceptance speech.

Character voices are provided by Jose Ferrer, Paul Frees (aka Boris Badenov) and June Forey (aka Rocket J. Squirrel).

However, I always thought a drum solo was not a very good gift for a newborn infant because it wakes them up and makes them cry. But, thankfully, a little drummer boy was never mentioned in the Bible and this is as far as I take this posting because I do not wish to violate TikiCentrals etiquette regarding religion.

On 2010-12-12 14:30, King Bushwich the 33rd wrote:
A TV special I have not seen for years is The Little Drummer Boy which has to be the only Rankin/Bass show that uses the Christian aspects of Christmas for the story.

Another religious one they did was Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977), which doesn't show up as often. But maybe I shouldn't say since I haven't seen it in ages and can't vouch for it's worthiness.