It may be a little early, but inspired by This Thread I was wondering which was your favorite special? As in the link, I always got so excited when they came on. I loved them all and actually have most of them on vcr, although I would like to move them to DVD.
I dunno, Rudolf was good, and Charlie Brown of course, but I think The Grinch is my favorite.
What are yours?
Torn between Charlie Brown and the Grinch. Leaning toward the Grinch, esp since it was so much better than that horrid Jim Carrey/Ron Howard travesty of a movie version.
I must watch A Christmas Story and White Christmas. Those are my “Must Sees”. I never really got into the Grinch, and Charlie Brown makes me weep (the whole sad Charlie Brown Tree thing).
I own both A Christmas Story and White Christmas, but it’s not the same as watching it on TV, curled up with cocoa under a blanket at Christmas time.
Now I’m going to have “White Christmas” in my head all day. I LOVE Bing Crosby.
The Grinch is my favorite, but Rudolph will always have a special place in my heart. It was the ONE special I had to watch every single year growing up.
“I want to be a dentist!”
Soft spot for Rudolph & Charlie Brown’s pathetic little tree, but nothing surpasses the brilliance of Jones, Karloff, Seuss & The Grinch.
Star Wars, of course.
Dr. Suess, Chuck Jones, Boris Karloff.
It just doesn’t come any better.
Hence, Grinch.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in the habit of watching the movies and cartoons that get trotted out each year and since I have no TV, it’ll be another year before I do it again but with that being said, I do have fond memories of watching It’s a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, the *Garfield *cartoons, and the various stop-motion specials from the Sixties(?) when I was growing up.
Oh, an Home Alone too, although I expect I’m really dating myself with that one.
Specials:
Movies:
Ahh, specials! They were so much better with that old spinning “special” logo they used to use on CBS…
Christmas (Animated):
1)A Charlie Brown Christmas
2)How the Grinch Stole Christmas
3)Rudloph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Hon. Mention: The Life & Times of Santa Claus
Christmas (Live Action)
1)It’s a Wonderful Life
2)Scrooged
3)Mixed Nuts
Halloween
1)Garfield’s Halloween Adventure
I love them all.
In order, my favorites are:
The Grinch
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The stop-motion animated story about Santa Claus being an orphan child raised by fairies, with the Great Ak in it and all, and the guy who could speak bird, and the song about the little black cat with the big green eyes
Charlie Brown
I also have “White Christmas” on VHS after having caught part of it on TCM a couple of years ago. It’s bizarre and rambly and I can’t figure out the point of the beatnik ballet scene but I love it anyway, and I want a dress like that.
I can’t wait until Christmas season starts!!!
I still have a fondness for the Rankin-Bass specials, like Rudolph–but especially A Year Without Santa Claus, perhaps better known as “The One with Heat Miser.” Not exactly canon (who knew that Mother Nature had two kids called “Heat Miser” and “Snow Miser”? Who knew that Mother Nature even played a role in any Christmas narratives??), but I liked it.
I used to like to think that “Southtown” was my hometown in Florida, where it never did snow. Imagine my joy during the Christmas season of 1989, when we experienced a significant snowfall for the first time in my life! It was like the Snow Miser and Heat Miser really had reached some kind of agreement! Of course I was 17 at the time, but I still recalled that strange little show, even though by that point I hadn’t seen it in nearly 10 years, since they rarely showed it on TV (never seems to have caught on like “Rudolph” and “Frosty” and all those others).
Of the Charlie Brown specials, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” was my favorite. Linus gets too preachy in the “Charlie Brown Christmas,” IMO.
Dunno why, but that was always one of my favorite parts.
Anyway, I’d have to go with Rudolph as my animated favorite and It’s a Wonderful Life for live action.
In the interest of equal time: Snow Miser’s Cooler.
I hate teh Rankin-Bass ‘specials’. All of them. Frosty, Year without a Santa Clause, Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph, Santa Clause is coming to Town, all suck in my book.
The Grinch if number one.
Olive the other Reindeer is fantastic.
Charlie Brown is great but to me the false note is the happy ending. I mean those brats would never come over and cheer up Charlie Brown. (Sorry I’m feeling a bit bitter)
Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas is really cute.
Movies
A Christmas Story
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Die Hard
A Midnight Clear
It’s a Wonderful Life
I also have an audio tape of Patrick Stewart doing his one man show version of A Christmas Carol which I listen to every year.
Specials:
1)How The Grinch Stole Chrismas, of course.
2)* Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas* (deep scary voice)Riverbottom Nightmare Band! (/deep scary voice), tied with The Muppet Christmas Special.
3) The Snowman – the one where there’s no dialogue, and the kid’s snowman comes to life and they fly.
(Is Santa Claus is Coming to Town the one with Burghermeister Meisterburgher in it?)
Movies:
I agree, that was always the part I liked best. Well, that and the end where the tree is transformed.
Ah well, movies are different. Hmmmmm.
Miracle on 34th Street, the original version.
Its a Wonderful Life.
Scrooged - up until the end where it petered out.
For animated specials, it’s a tough call between Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Both are top-notch. I also need to give a call-out to It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman, though they can’t compete with the top two.
For movies, no Christmas is complete without It’s a Wonderful Life and the original Miracle on 34th Street (accept none of the updated versions). Both of these must not be colorized, of course. A Christmas Story is not essential, but highly recommended. And there has to be some version of A Christmas Carol, though I’m not too picky about which one. The Muppet one was wonderful, but I don’t think it’s been long enough for it to be a real tradition yet.
Yes, Santa Claus is Coming to Town is the one with Herr Burghermeister.
My favorites are How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Year Without A Santa Claus and Frosty The Snowman (the original one) are pretty good, too, and Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (the one where he meet Crystal) is passable.
The Santa in Rudolph and how mean he is to Rudolph just ruins that show for me. The recently made Frosty Returns is crap. And Rudolph’s Shiny New Year is pretty damn bad too. Same for Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July.
Christmas-related movies: Miracle on 34th Street (the original), Christmas Story, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.
I hate It’s A Wonderful Life.