We hope each and every one of you had a very merry Christmas filled with love, joy, and laughter!
As a holiday treat, please enjoy our reviews of the classic Christmas Holiday Specials!
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Director: Chuck Jones and Bill Washam
Year: 1966
Rating: UR
Running Time: 26 minutes
The Who's down in Whoville love Christmas, but the Grinch (Boris Karloff, BOW) who lives up on Mt. Crumpit hates it and everything that goes along with it. He comes up with a fiendish scheme to steal Christmas from the Who's, everything from their decorations to their Christmas feasts. Along the way, he discovers things about himself that he did not know, and possibly even the true reason of Christmas.
Attention, fine readers: JIM CARREY IS NOT THE GRINCH.
This is the greatest animated Christmas short EVER and should be on not just everyone's annual Christmastime watch list, but everyone's LIFETIME watch list. It so perfectly portrays the true meaning of Christmas in just one line: "maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." If we are able to teach our niece and nephew one thing over the course of their lifetimes, it would be this lesson. Christmas isn't about gifts and boxes and packages, it's about the feeling inside your heart, how it makes you feel, and about the love you give to one another as human beings. From the songs to the animation, everything about this cartoon is just so, so good, especially Max! Boris Karloff is king. This short needs no more explanation as to its greatness! :)
My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100% (AS IT SHOULD)
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY!!!
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Director: Bill Melendez
Year: 1965
Rating: TV-G
Running Time: 25 minutes
Charlie Brown finds himself depressed during the holidays due to the commercialization of Christmas. He is offered by Lucy to direct the annual Christmas play. He uses the opportunity to direct the play as an chance to find the true meaning of Christmas.
This animated classic comes in close second as my favorite Christmas short. It's just quintessential! We watch this each and every year, without fail. So many of the points Charlie Brown makes are more and more relevant today with Christmas overtaking Thanksgiving and even Halloween, more recently. No matter what, we must all strive to find the beauty in the holidays and realize that it's not about stuff and items and things, but about togetherness and love and warmth and peace on earth and good will towards men and not stepping on each others necks for an XBOX!!! The best!
My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY!!!
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Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Year: 1969
Rating: TV-G
Running Time: 25 minutes
After a bad magician throws away his magic hat, it is picked up by a group of children who place it on their snowman's head, causing it to come to life. Frosty is born! After the magician discovers that his hat is magic, he wants to get it back from Frosty, which would mean he would cease to be alive. In order to keep Frosty alive, the kids must get Frosty back to the North Pole, and Karen (June Foray) travels with him, so long as she'll be home in time for supper.
This is our least favorite Christmas short. For a movie based on a song, it seems like they could have come up with something better than they did. It's not a very good plot, the magician is just annoying and not relevant to Christmas. Many parts seem random and unnecessary. Karen having to be home by supper? LOLWUT. I know, too much analyzing, but we just don't care for this and it just doesn't hold up as a classic for us very much. Sure, it shows the power of friendship and love, but it just falls flat for us and could be seen as sort of traumatizing to some! That being said, it still wouldn't be Christmas without watching this, even if it's not our favorite.
My Rating: 5.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 5.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 73%
Do we recommend this movie: Eh. It's not our favorite Christmas short.
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Director: Larry Roemer
Year: 1964
Rating: TV-G
Running Time: 47 minutes
Rudolph (Billie Mae Richards) was born with a red nose that glowed. In order to hide his "character flaw," his father instructs him to hide it as best he can. A few years pass, and Rudolph is eligible to play in the reindeer games. His nose cover falls off, and everyone discovers that he is different. Meanwhile, Hermey (Paul Soles) is an elf who doesn't want to make toys, instead, he wants to be a dentist. Both ostracized, the misfits Hermey and Rudolph find each other and run away, hoping to find a place where they will fit in. Along the way, they meet tons of new friends who are also different. Once they are gone, others learn a valuable lesson about acceptance.
Rudolph is about tolerance for those who are different and accepting people for who they are. It's actually quite deep when you think about it, and is much more than a Christmas special. We like the stop-motion animation style used in this short, it's classic to us. It's extremely quotable, too, and I often find myself saying silly phrases in this short year-round. Santa is a complete dick in this movie, though! This is a timeless classic that espouses great values in the end, which will be beneficial to children of all ages!
My Rating: 9/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!!!
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