Favorite Animated Christmas Specials

[JayMusicG]

Here's a few of my faves

Rankin/Bass
The Year Without A Santa Claus
Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Story Of The First Christmas Snow
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold

Disney
Mickey's Christmas Carol

Other
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
Noel
Bluetoes The Christmas Elf
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Flintstones Christmas

 

[SharonKurland]

I ordered Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol from Amazon a few weeks back...can hardly wait to see it again!

-Sharon-

 

[X-S Tech]

Those are all great!! What about the Muppet Family Christmas ? I love the end where Jim Henson watches everybody singing then goes into the kitchen to wash dishes with Sprocket the dog from Fraggle Rock.

 

[MitchB]

Sharon,

I got the Mr Magoo Christmas Carol DVD last
year. It truly is wonderful. The songs are
incredible for a Christmas Special. J Styne
wrote some of the greatest songs not to
mention some of the greatest musicals in
the history of American popular music. The
only thing that bugs me about Mr Magoo's
Christmas Carol is that the ghost are
presented out of order. I could never figure
out why they did that. (granted it's a small
point, I don't loose sleep over it.) I hope
you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

[SharonKurland]

It's been so long since I've seen Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol that I might not even remember the correct order (though I'm thinking it was past, present and the future...and if it WAS that, WHY CHANGE IT? [asked the highly anal-retentive person]). I'm mostly looking forward to the music...

-Sharon-

 

[MitchB]

Correct order is past, present, future.
They did it present, past, future.
Ole Chuck Dickens was probably rolling
in his grave.
"It's great to be back, back, back on Broadway!"
and just what is razzleberry dressing??

 

[SharonKurland]

First time I saw the Christmas show, I was about 6 or 7 and I just figured razzleberries were another thing I didn't know about yet but would know more about when I got older. Here I am, 29 or 30 years later (OUCH!) and I'm still trying to figure 'em out. Must be pretty good stuff though, if Tiny Tim was obsessing about them so much...

I think "When You're Alone In The World" was one of the first 2-part harmonies I ever learned.

-Sharon-

 

[will]

A Christmas Carol (1971) animated w/ Alastair Sim voicing the role of Scrooge

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

 

[dfans]

Best Christmas Animated Features are:
- Mickey's Christmas Carol
- Beauty and the Beast :The Enchanted Christmas
Both of them are from Disney

 

[raz012]

how about "The Small One"?!? My daughter loved that when she was little!!

seriously, though, besides the usual suspects, track down the video compilations Disney released in the 80s and 90s:

Sing Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs
A Walt Disney Christmas
Jiminy Cricket's Christmas
A Disney Christmas Gift

... they pack old cartoon shorts with "bumpers" connecting them. they're a lot of fun.

There's also Sing Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas. It has rubberheads and others singing and dancing live-action ... fun if you have small kids.

 

[Jessica L]

My favorite christmas show is Mickey's Christmas Carol. I think the animation is wonderful, and so is the dialogue. I've seen it so many times I can almost quote the entire thing!

I also love Muppet Family Christmas - but the unedited tv version. I have the DVD of it and they cut parts out - that annoys the heck out of me! I love the Fraggle Rock section as well!

Pass it On!! ;D

I also like Muppet Christmas Carol - it's just so funny! The muppets are perfect in that movie.

And I also enjoy (I think it's called) Santa and the Three Bears. That movie where the two baby bears want to see Santa, and the ranger dresses up, and tries to surprise them. Cute movie!

I've been watching some Christmas movies and listening to John Denver and the Muppets' Christmas music. Is it really only October?

Jessica

 

[David S.]

Well, I've had an extremely busy month but I'm glad to finally be catching up on these old post because this is an excellent topic!

I LOVE Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Small One!

As a Muppet fan, I also love Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Family Christmas, Emmet Otter, and John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. It's strange that the John Denver/Muppets special seems to have completely disappeared from the airwaves and is unavailable on video/DVD, considering the CD is one of the only classic Muppet recordings currently available on CD!

I'm also a big time Rankin/Bass fan and have never seen one of their Holiday specials that I didn't like. The excellent, catchy music and arrangements by Maury Laws are a big part of it! I'm a big fan of all their holiday specials, both the more famous hour long specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer and Year Without A Santa Claus, as well as the slightly lesser known, but often very sublime half hour shows, such a Little Drummer Boy, Story of the First Christmas Snow, and Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.

I also really like Santa and the Three Bears and The Forgotten Toys.

I'm glad to see Noel mentioned because that is one of my favorites. It was written by Romeo Muller who wrote many of the screenplays for the classic Rankin/Bass specials. I think this special is very sublime and touching.

Which brings me to one more that I just have to mention because it has become a personal favorite... a relatively new one, and I am always happy to find something new that really impresses me in this age of increasingly sarcastic, more "in your face" entertainment -

ANNABELLE'S WISH

The animation might not be the flashiest by Disney standards but I think the story itself is a real gem. If you haven't seen it I won't give anything away but I will say that the final sequences are among the most touching and sublime I have ever seen in any Christmas special, or in anything for that matter.

If you like stories about animals, selflessness, and magic that tug at the heartstings and give you goosebumps or tears just thinking about the show, than I highly recommend watching this program. You will not regret it. It usually comes on the "25 Days of Christmas" on the ABC Family Channel and is also available on DVD.

David