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Over the past 12 years or so, it’s been a hobby of mine to work my way through (no fast forwarding!) every single animated/puppet/talking dog holiday special ever produced. I’m sure all this knowledge will become useful to some alien visitors someday. Till then, I figured I’d share the weirdest things I discovered this year (so far).

Cosmic Christmas (1977, cell animated)
A human boy & his pet goose escort three aliens through a rough urban sprawl, to help them better understanding the concept of Christmas. I really love the 70s style, hand-drawn animation produced by Nelvana. And the alien designs are pretty cool! This one is definitely weird, but has enough charm and quality that I actually recommend it with full sincerity.

The Monsters Christmas (1981, live action)
A young girl in New Zealand who is well studied in monster lore, infiltrates a witch’s cave to recover the lost voices of three monsters so they can sing a rendition of Silent Night. The pace is too slow to recommend watching it start to finish (though I certainly did!), but maybe skip around? Because there are some really neat things within: the friendly monster costumes are amazing in a Sid & Marty Kroft meets Power Rangers way, the New Zealand setting is pre-LOTR epic, and the golem-style creature (called a Nasty) will give you nightmares. Plus, the child actor looks like she honestly believes she is hanging out with monsters for real. Did I mention the witch likes to Jazzercize?

The Tiny Tree (1975, cell animated)
Directed by legendary animator Friz Freleng. A little girl in a wheelchair falls in love with an anthropomorphic pine tree. Seriously. There’s also a lot of drama surrounding a vegetarian hawk and the local forest creatures, accompanied by super sincere songs.

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree (1995, live action w/puppets)
Directed by Sesame Street’s Jon Stone. Featuring a performance by Robert Downey, Jr that is bizarre in a way that’s really hard to describe. Leslie Nielsen plays his butler and Kermit the Frog serves as narrator. As a huge Muppets fan, I was at first in awe that I had somehow never seen or heard of this special before. But sadly, despite all the great people involved, it’s mostly boring and too repetitive to recommend except as a curiosity piece.

I have a vast love of holiday movies: old, new, and random. And since people often ask me for recommendations, I figured I’d make a few lists of personal favorites. These are 100% sincere, not ironic endorsements.

My favorite Holiday Specials and Christmas Movies…

If you enjoy listening to friends talk about Christmas cartoons old and new, then this is the podcast for you! Saturday Supercast Episode 31 Christmas Cartoon Party! Jerzy Drozd, Anne Drozd, Raina Telgemeier and I discuss the following holiday themed cartoons:

It’s a Spongebob Christmas!
Cobra C.L.A.W.S. are Coming to Town
Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
The Bear by Raymond Briggs
Jingle All The Way (Hallmark puppy version)
A Hannah-Barbera Christmas Collection
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Fleischer Studios)
Goofy: The Art of Skiing
& more!

The music collection keeps expanding…and enough people seem to enjoy my past holiday mixes, so here’s a 5th compilation! As usual, it reflects my eclectic musical tastes, but I tried to strike a balance between all the different genres and moods. If a particular song ends up warming your heart, be sure to let me know and pass along the good feelings to others!

yaytime4xmas_vol5 download

Since I’m such a huge nerd for Christmas cartoons (both old and new) I thought it would be fun to try and put all the major Rankin/Bass holiday specials into an imagined timeline complete with continuity notes and contradictions.

Check out the complete list here: Christmas Cartoon Timeline

This is a holiday message to myself more than anyone else.

It’s a reminder to step back and try to keep things in perspective. To appreciate life, and all the amazing things in our world. To not waste any opportunity to let friends and family know how important they are. And pass on compliments and good tidings to complete strangers. To make a more concerted effort to contribute something positive to the world.

I know a lot of people who are justifiably cynical about the holidays, especially now when times are rough both financially and emotionally. But as bad as things get, I know there can still be hope and a reason to live for a better tomorrow. So, I’ve always tried to get into the “holiday spirit” even if I make a fool of myself in the process. I was raised with no religious affiliation, but for me Christmas is a great time to disconnect from instincts of knee-jerk negativity (which is most prevalent on the internet) and embrace a little bit more sincerity. Nerd out on Christmas, if you will.

So, a very sincerely happy holidays to all of you out there. Hope it is filled with warm hearts, memories and snacks.

And of course, don’t hesitate to send great songs my way! Even if we overlap, it’s fun to see how people arrange their choices on a mix!