Okay, maybe watching specials from my child hood will make me a little less emotional.
Mickey's Christmas Carol: Uncle Scrooge is probably one of my favorite Disney Characters. Thus, I love this special a lot. It keeps the story very simple but it works with what it has very well.
What I love here is how much it has going on while still working. The music is great, the animation is lovely, and the voice-acting is impeccable. I remember watching this growing up and there would be a promo on the next big Disney movie along with a couple of classic Disney Cartoons.
But I think my Main Reason to watch this one this year is Alan Young, the voice actor for Uncle Scrooge, passed away recently. David Tennant will be taking over the role in the upcoming Duck Tales animated series but I'm still saddened by all this. It makes The Ghost of Christmas Future extra macabre.
The Year Without a Santa Claus: Mrs. Claus is potentially one of the most interesting characters in the Santa Lore. So little is done with her so she practically a blank canvas. That's part of why I love The Year Without a Santa Claus: Mrs. Claus gets to shine!
That all said, The Miser brothers are the ones who really star here. When you come to watch this special, they're the ones. The music is fun and their personalities are bombastic. This is actually one of the more musical specials for that matter. Tons of music that I like so woo there.
Non-Viewing Thoughts: "Marshmallow World" might be the Christmas Song I most enjoy that you never hear.
Late Christmas Ideas: Then again, New Egg Gift cards would also work more than a little okay for me.
Notable Commercials:John Lithgow is really pushing Progresso soup these days. I mean, it makes it look really good. I'm normally a Campbell's guy and prefer Progresso for brother and stock but this is still pretty decent looking.
Tally Mountain Dews Left: 6 Cans Coca-Colas Left: 2 Cans Kickstarts Left: 0 Cans Coffee Left: 1 Bottle Pumpkin Pie Left: 1/2 Sanity Rating: (1 being A Year Without a Santa Claus, 10 being The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold): 6
Viewing Thoughts: Animation should make me feel better. It doesn't.
A Flintstone Christmas: I seriously don't see how this works. Christ isn't even born yet. What kind of time travel insanity is involved here? Did I miss the part of the Bible where Jesus went back in time to pre-save people? Anyway, this is the one that came out in the 90s. Apparently Pebbles and Bam-Bam got married and are coming home for Christmas. Some kid robs Fred and apparently he's... "cave-less." Seriously! Apparently there's a lot of time travel since the homeless kid was rejected by Ghandi and Judaism as well. There's some conversations about "Charlie Manson-stone" and I start zoneing out since the bad jokes are getting completely freaking insane and Wilma takes in the kid who steals the Rubble's tree.
Wilma's an idiot since she trusts the runaway kid. Fred tells the kid to try to enjoy Christmas and not to ruin it. They go to see Santa who goes a little mad talking about losing his old job. Fred gets decked with a Christmas Tree. I start going insane about these Rock Puns. The kid kidnaps Fred's boss so Fred can be Santa Claus in a parade and my teeth start to rot from the saccharine nature of it all. Fred and Wilma adopt the homeless kid. Two days later everything in their house is missing and the Flintstones are dead in their beds. I may have made up that last bit.
Doesn't care for Orphans.
The Scooby-Doo Show: Ah crap, Scrappy-Doo.The gang (without Velma) is putting together a Christmas pageant for some annoying children including an annoying girl named Tiny Tina. Greedy McSourpants and his talking car show up to buy the orphanage. The madame won't sell so he's probably going to back in a rubber mask later to try to scare them off. The pagent makes no sense since it has Scrooge and a Sugar-Plum fairy. A ghost pops up (The Ghost of Christmas Never if you care) and chases the gang off who then show up dressed as elves to get rid of the ghost. I kinda hope Tiny Tina is just a midget out to rob the orphanage.The gang goes to investigate and after getting a tip from a random French maid, they over here Greedy McSourpants talking about a priceless emerald at the Children's Home.They find a clue saying the Emerald is in the pagent's star. They go to investigate and the Ghost shows up and tries to kill Scooby and Shaggy.
The gang escapes and almost catches the Ghost. Grumpy McSourpants shows up with an order to condemn the house. The convenient French Maid is taking tickets as Grumpy comes to gloat. The gang dresses up for the Nutcracker Suite with Shaggy in Drag. Tiny Tina saves Grumpy's cat, probably leading to him deciding to let them keep the house. The Ghost steals the nutcracker from the tree, it turns out it's the maid, nobody is surprised. Also, the Emerald was hidden between the Nutcracker's legs. Also, predictably Grumpy McSourpants likes kids now and I envy Tina Tina's parents where ever they are.
The Year Without a Santa Claus: I covered this one a few year's back but I still love this one. I love all the Rankin-Bass Christmas Specials but this one is just extra special due to the Miser Brothers and because it's one of the few ones where Mrs. Claus gets her due. Mrs. Claus is probably the Christmas Character who never gets her due. She's always in the background, never a lead character except here. I think Mrs. Claus deserves her own special or movie. Half the time I'm sure she's the brains behind it all.
Notable Commercials: I keep seeing this anti-bullying ad on Cartoon Network. I hate bullying and it's never a funny subject BUT it looks like the bully is about to try to make out with the guy he's calling short. I mean, seriously, it looks like it might be in some kinda movie of a more... triple-X variety.
Late Christmas Ideas: I kinda want something to work out once in awhile.
The Tally
Mountain Dews Left: 22
Energy Drinks Left: 4
Cups of Coffee drank: 0
Pumpkin Pie Left: 2/3rd of pie
Sanity Rating (1 being Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman, 10 being Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol ): 5
Viewing Thoughts: Let's see how random we can get, shall we?
iCarly: Well, this might be the true nadir of the day. I am vaguely knowledgeable about what this show is. Basically, kid has a web show she tapes in her attic. It's not good by any stretch of the imagination In the opening alone, she subjects one her friends to playing a flashlight. She goes downstairs and her brother made an electromagnetic Christmas tree. He is kinda awesome. I wish I had an older brother like that. For Carly, this isn't good enough. Also, apparently Carly's blond friend is a bitch. She has nothing better to do than antagonize Carly's male, possibly gay friend. The awesome tree burst into flames, burning the presents. Carly wishes her brother was normal and... yeah, a George Bailey is happening only Clarence is a midget.Yeah, this isn't going to stop hurting, is it?
So, wish is granted, Carly's apartment is normal, brother is dating a cougar which apparently passes for normal is this weird world, and Carly goes to school. Oh, and Carly's gay friend Freddy is in a closeted relationship with a mega bitch. Oh, and Carly is dating some... I dunno what. Apparently I would get it if I watched this show on a regular basis. Oh, and the studio doesn't exist anymore because her brother isn't weird. So, even though Carly has learned her lesson, it can't be reversed until the angel gets it's wings and the bitchy friend, Sam, is in juvey. Someone decided that juvey is just like prison. Carly regains Sam's trust by knowing too much stuff. I will admit though, wanting to become an invisibly ninja is cool. Oh, and I change my mind. Carly's alternate reality boyfriend is uber-gay. Carly has a nervous breakdown and proves herself to be a bitch ("I want my brother back." "I want you to be single and lonely." "I want you to leave the country." "Nobody even likes you.") and thankfully, this is the clincher to righting reality.Carly realizes her brother is the only one on this show other than kinda bitchy girl that counts as a functional human being that I would ever hand out with. Everything is right and apparently angels get their powers from Chicken wings. Yeah, the angel did it all for a large plate of Buffalo wings. That was pointless. Then they mock A Charlie Brown Christmas by doing the humming at the tree thing. Yeah... really? This show sucks. The only redeeming feature is Sam The Bitchy Chick. Without her, I probably would have ran for the hills about the time it turned into It's a Wonderful Life. For that matter, anyone notice that any of these shows that happen with that scenario, the character who it happens to has never seen that crappy movie?
The Year Without Santa Claus: This is one my favorites. I always loved the Rankin-Bass stop motion specials. There's just something about it that gives it more charm than many of the others. Maybe it Snow and Heat Miser. Maybe it's because Mrs. Claus gets to do something. I dunno, but it gets me. Plus the voice acting is first rate including Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus. Mind you most of the songs aren't very memorable with the exception of the Miser Brother's songs. Those are the most remarkable character in the special really. The two elves, Jingle and Jangle, are kinda bland. Next time you watch this special though, pay attention. During a song at about the halfway point, Charlie Chaplin is in the background.
The Miser Brothers are definitely the stars of this special. They also apparently have cloned themselves some mini-mes because both brothers minions are the splitting images of themselves and they all have dancing lessons. I think the Miser Brothers might be gay. Hear me out here. They're momma's boys both, something of a stereotype back in the day. To top matters, both brothers are a little fey. It pretty much all adds up to one thing: Snow Miser is Camp Gay while Heat Miser is a Bear. It all makes sense.
Notable Commercials: Remember when the Wilson Brothers were both notable actors? Yeah, now we have Luke mostly just appearing in commercials for AT&T. It's kinda sad when a celebrity falls into this state. At least when Catherine Zeta-Jones did it, it was because she was already in the contract and was just a spokewoman. Luke, Luke is just kinda there, doing it because it's there as an offer.
I hate this Brittney Spears perfume commercial. It might be the attempts to be arty, most likely it's the fact that she gets hit with an arrow and survives.
Late Christmas Ideas: Outside of a vacation, I want my very own song and dance number. Hmmmm, that might be in the works if I can get my hand on a camera.
The Tally Mountain Dews Left: 9
Energy Drinks Left: 3
Cups of Coffee drank: 0
Sanity Rating (1 being a normal child, 10 being one who has stared into the Deadlights): 6
