I loved “A Cosmic Christmas” from 1977. Three aliens arrive on Earth searching for the meaning of a cosmic event two thousand years ago which turns out to have been the Bethlehem star. Cool, kind of low-rent Ralph Bakshi style animation and actually fairly touching … to an eight-year-old anyway. I’m pretty sure they only showed it for three or four years, then it vanished.
That sounded so bizarre that I had to look it up. “A Mac Davis Special: A Christmas Odyssey - 2010.” I’m two years too late!
I remember that! I guess that means I’m old. Anybody else remember the family gathing to watch the King Family every year?
LOVE it! That was my introduction to Lenny Henry. My husband is British, from Brum, and couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of 'im. Now, of course, I’ve been to restaurants on the Ladypool Road with autographed photos of Henry on the walls.
A few I remember that I haven’t seen around lately:
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“Santa and the Three Bears,” an animated movie about three bears at Yellowstone Park and the ranger who helps them celebrate Christmas (the cubs want to skip hibernation so they can see Santa). Cute and sweet.
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“Christmas on Division Street,” from 1991, with Hume Cronyn and Fred Savage. Only ever saw it once, but I remember liking it.
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“J. T.”: Not sure I’d call this a “favorite,”–I saw it when I was a little kid in the 70s and it traumatized me. Found it again on Christmas Day in 1992 and, while it didn’t traumatize me this time, it still made me sad. I know it has a happy ending, but with my trigger about beloved pets (especially cats) being killed, this one is hard for me to watch. Youtube here.
Well, it was never made, but right here on the Dope we had “Little Timmy Cthulhu’s Christmas Miracle!”
Yay! That was the first time I’d seen both Lenny Henry or Alan Cumming in anything; I’d tuned in because I was a Blackadder fan and wanted to see Rowan Atkinson. I think I saw it originally on A & E in the early 1990s (filled with adverts) and was well pleased when it came out on VHS. Due to various legal reasons it’s never been (officially) released on VHS or DVD over here in the UK.
Bugger ye off.
Yours, in crayon,
ms boods
I knew of It’s A Wonderful Life but I don’t recall ever seeing it before I saw I Happened One Christmas, which I loved & wish it would get released on DVD.
The Littlest Angel with Johnny Whittaker & Fred Gwynn was always a favorite & I think that came out on DVD a couple of years ago in a pack with other Christmas specials.
My offering to this- Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim.
No! Not the famous 1951 movie! The 1971 animated version produced by Richard Williams & Chuck Jones & voiced by Sim. Based on the old illustrations, it’s every bit as dark & creepy as the book, which legend is what led ABC to take it out of rotation- parental complaints about it being too scary.
When I was a kid back in the '50s, they showed Menotti’s opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” every holiday season. The only things I remember are the kid who walked with a crutch and his mother, who looked like my great aunt.
Netflix has it.
Anyone remember the Halloween special Witches’ Night Out with Gilda Radner as the voice of the witch? Well, if you do - I swear I saw a sequel cartoon about the same characters (except not the witch) at Christmas time. It was called “Gift of Snow” or something like that. Anyway, it had to do with the ‘invention’ of snow. Everybody in town is mad about something or other (I forget what), and a bunch of the characters set out to visit “Father Christmas.” When snow comes down from the sky for the very first time, someone asks “What is all this white stuff? Do you know what it’s called?” And Father Christmas answers no, but with a lisp so it comes out like “S’nooo.”
I have only the haziest memory of it, can’t locate anything about it on IMDB.com, but it came out in the late 70s - possibly even before “Witches’ Night Out.” Anyone remember it?
…and the only one I can remember that has Samurai in it.
[ul]
[li]Santabear’s High-Flying Adventure (Starring John Malkovich as Santa)(!)[/li][li]Ralph Bakshi’s Christmas in Tattertown.[/li][li]The Forgotten Toys.[/li][/ul]
As mentioned, I wondered for many years “Whatever happened to Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol?” Sadly over time I’ve forgotten about it. It never gets shown.
Me-TV is showing it at 9pm on Christmas Eve.
He-Man and She-ra save Christmas earlier in the day - at 6 pm. I would say that one’s forgotten, but in order to be forgotten it had to earlier be in memory.
Do you have Netflix?
I remember watching that back when I was in elementary school. Don’t think I’ve seen it since.
Anyway, does anyone remember an ALF Christmas special back in the day - not a regular episode but an actual special? I seem to remember it involved him helping out some sick kids. I very vaguely recall seeing it years ago when my family and I were vacationing in Mexico for the holidays, but I haven’t been able to find out anything about it since.
I have a DVD from the Museum of Broadcast Communications containing three shorts that were annual traditions on WGN’s The Bozo Show: Suzy Snowflake, Hardrock, Coco, and Joe, and Frosty the Snowman. The first two are stop-motion and creepy.
MBC offers a DVD of the three shorts with a fourth, Peter Cottontail, but I bought the DVD from them several years ago when the fourth piece wasn’t Peter Cottontail, but a bizarre Kukla, Fran, and Ollie Christmas special from the 1970s. It had a disco interlude. I can’t find mention of this one online anywhere.
J.T. You’re right! My goodness I haven’t thought of that one in ages!
Oh, man…that reached right down in my subconscious and yanked a handful of memories out!
MY contribution is Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Did Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones ever do a Christmas show?
I remember this one. I liked it; I’d like to see it again.
And ever since, on Christmas Eve, I’ve asked my cats if there’s anything they would like to tell me. They don’t reply–at least, not in English, as they did on the show. I keep hoping. Maybe someday, they will.