5 favorite animated Christmas specials
Merry Christmas! I hope each and every one of you is enjoying a safe and happy holiday.
Throughout this Christmas week, I’m bringing you lists of my favorite Christmas entertainment, including my picks for the best songs, CDs and movies. Today’s list of my five - well, six, really - favorite animated holiday specials is perfect if you’re searching for some Christmas viewing that can bring the whole family together.
Even though Christmas Day will have come and gone by Friday, I’ll have one more list for you this week.
But until then, enjoy a bright and blessed holiday.
1. “A Charlie Brown Christmas”:Charles M. Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, penned the story for this 1965 classic. It follows likable loser Charlie Brown (perfectly voiced by Peter Robbins, uncredited for his work) as he tries to get into the spirit of a holiday he believes has become too crass and commercial. His pal Linus (another pitch-perfect uncredited performance by Christopher Shea) helps set him straight with a simple but powerful quotation of Luke 2:8-14. Linus’ speech remains one of the most heartfelt moments ever conveyed through animation, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I get a bit misty every time.
They just don’t make it like that one any more.
2. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”: Chuck Jones, the mad genius behind the best of the Looney Tunes shorts, directs this incredible adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ iconic tale about a green grump who tries to steal Christmas from his perpetually cheerful neighbors, the Whos.
Produced by Jones and Dr. Seuss himself, the short features the unlikely choice of horror master Boris Karloff as the deep-voiced narrator and terrific voiceover actor Thurl Ravenscroft as the singer of those deliciously descriptive songs.
In my opinion, most everything in life is improved by the addition of some Dr. Seuss, including Christmas. My family and I can quote this special - undoubtedly the best adaptation ever of Ted Geisel’s fun and clever writing - word for word. You probably can, too.
3. (tie) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman”: How could anyone choose between the two most famous holiday specials from stop-motion animation wizards Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass?
The great Burl Ives narrates the 1964 tale of the crimson-schnozzed reindeer and his fellow misfits, Hermey the elf and Yukon Cornelius, who help save Christmas from both a fierce blizzard and the fearsome Abominable Snowman.
Jimmy Durante adds warmth and pizazz as the narrator of the 1969 story about a lovable snowman who comes to life with the help of a magic top hat. While he is loved by children, Frosty is pursued by the naughty magician who wants to snatch the hat.
Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without a double-feature of these two classics.
4. “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”:This Rankin-Bass adaptation of Clement C. Moore’s famed book isn’t as beloved or well-known as “Rudolph” or “Frosty,” but most Gen-Xers will instantly say “Oh, yeah!” if you start talking about the Christmas special with the mice and the clock.
In this 1974 special, Santa removes a town from his delivery list and returns all the residents’ letters after one of the citizens writes a scathing letter claiming Old St. Nick is a phony. It turns out the author is a too-big-for-his-britches boy mouse who needs a lesson in faith.
“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was faithfully shown on network TV throughout most of my childhood before being shifted to cable. I’ve also heard that the cable broadcast has been cut down. But you can view the special in its entirety on the two-DVD set “Christmas Television Favorites,” which also includes “The Grinch,” “The Year Without a Santa Claus” and six other animated holiday shows.
5. “A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special”: Are you pondering what I’m pondering, readers? No, I’m not worried that if we had no ears that we’d look like weasels or how we can get the monkey to wear the rubber pants. I’m in awe that a program can be as slyly hilarious, downright goofy and unabashedly sentimental all at the same time.
Such is the charm of this Christmas special from the series ”Pinky & the Brain,” the ingenious spin-off of Warner Bros.’ funny 1990s animated series “Animaniacs.” The series follows a pair of lab mice, the Brain (brilliantly voiced by Maurice LaMarche), who spends his time devising intricate plots to take over the world, and Pinky, his sweet-natured but dim-bulb sidekick whose speech is punctuated by nonsensical words such as “Narf” and “Pointe.”
In their 1995 Christmas special, which won an Emmy, the mice travel to the North Pole to implement the Brain’s latest plan for world domination. It involves posing as elves in Santa’s workshop to get Chris Kringle to deliver dolls with hypnotic powers to all the families of the world, which will then be the Brain’s to control. Like any good holiday tale, it carries a theme of love and redemption, but it’s also uproariously funny and extremely quotable.
The Christmas special is included in the DVD set “Pinky & the Brain, Vol. 1.”
-BAM
Related posts:
- 10 favorite Christmas albums
- 5 favorite Christmas movies
- 5 favorite non-Christmas movies set at Christmastime
- 10 favorite Christmas songs
- Toby Keith re-releases Christmas album
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I’m so excited to see the Pinky and the Brain Christmas on your list. It is so often overlooked, which is too bad. I knew it won an emmy. The show won several emmys in its time, but for some reason Maurice was left out. He was the show to many people, yet never received that award for his work. So, a Christmas shout-out to Maurice for his amazing talent.