My sister bought a copy of Claymation Christmas at Walmart. Not only did it have the Christmas special, but it also included the Claymation Halloween and Easter specials as well.
Hmm. I must have an older DVD, because I have Kermit on mine. My absolutely favorite Christmas watching-thing of all time. Screw Rudolph, says I. 
I might feel differently if Rudolph had a jug band, though.
Best…Christmas special…ever. At the very least, it forms a holy trinity with Charlie Brown and the Grinch.
I remember that one. I even used to sing the song “Put one foot in front of the other…a and soon you’ll be walking cross the floo-oo-oor… Put one foot in front of the other… And soon you’ll be walking out the door.”
It was also one of my favourites because it was sad. I was excitedly looking forward to it the following year, but I don’t believe I saw it again as a child. The look of the Jack Frost puppet reminded me of a strange cross between Danny Kaye and Johnny Cash.
I also remember a stop animation story about a donkey with extremely long ears. It was sort of like an “ugly duckling” type tale, crossed with the nativity story. Like Rudolph with the glowing nose, the young donkey was ashamed of his enormous ears, but I think he ended up at the manger when Wee Baby Jesus was born.
I haven’t seen Jack Frost, so maybe the song is on there too - but I first heard that song on Santa Clause is comin’ to Town
:smack: You are correct. I just conflated the two. Jack Frost bears quite a resemblance to the young, clean shaven Kris Kringle puppet, but Jack was Blond.
The Jack Frost story was compelling and at the time had an ending that was unresolved compared to many of the happily-ever-afters I was used to seeing at the time.
This would be the aforementioned Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (see about the 11th post above by Caratacus Potts).
There is also a Rankin Bass version of the Little Drummer Boy that is very dark and never aired anymore.
Obscure? How’s The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965 - Liza Minnelli, Cyril Ritchard)? I only remember it vaguely from seeing it as a kid, but the one comment makes me think it would be interesting to see again.
The Mr. Magoo does show up every year on cable, I believe. I’ve seen it and listened carefully for Morey Amsterdam, but AFAICT he has only one line. IIRC it’s from one of the men talking about going to Scrooge’s funeral.
And I’d love to see the uncut Muppet Family Christmas.
I must find this.
Thanks for the head’s up!!
the Hallmark Hall of Fame
presents
AMAL
and the
NIGHT VISITORS
Well, I think Henson was Jewish, so good luck with that.
OTOH, most of them appear to be wearing pants of some sort, so, how would you tell?
Christian Scientist, actually. Which may have played a part in his demise — he had come down with a severe Streptococcus infection, and delayed getting medical help until he was critical.
IMDB shows him as having two roles, Brady and James…but offhand I don’t know who either of those characters is. Presumably one of them is the character in the scene you referred to, who does only have one or two lines. Oddly, the cast list doesn’t include any of the characters from my favorite scene: the charwoman, the laundress, the undertaker, and the pawnbroker! I was amazed to learn just now from IMDB that the song “People” (as in “People who need people…”) was originally written for this show but missed the deadline.
The undertaker is, I’m 99% certain, voiced by Paul Frees.
My holy trinity of Christmas specials: Magoo, Claymation and Grinch.
That was an April Fools Joke at StompTokyo.com
And then there was Mr. T’s Christmas Special. It was based on that Mr T Saturday cartoon, with the gymnasts, white boy acting like Mr. T, and a dog with a mohawk.
I came in to say The Muppet Family Christmas, but then you reminded me of my most favorite movie of all, The Christmas Toy. I watched that all year round. I sooooo loved Rugby.
Am I the only one who remembers A Merry Mirthworm Christmas?
It is about 3 aliens (I equated them with the wisemen) who come down to find out about this ‘Christmas’ thing…
I recall watching it a couple times as a youngster, but never see it show up in the TV guide. It appears to be obscure at best. It doesn’t look like it has ever been released for purchase. My memories of almost 30 years ago suggest that it was ‘interesting’. Maybe that is why it isn’t available.