My Top 10 Favorite Disney Christmas Shorts

Way back when I was just a little kid, it always excited me to combine two things I loved into one offering, and for today’s topic it’s animated Disney shorts with a magical Christmas make-over. Oh boy, I loved Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck cartoons so much as a kid, and when you put them in a holiday themed scenario ... it’s instant gold. Their Christmas shorts are among some of their most nostalgic, and I find myself watching them every year. So for this countdown, I’ll be listing my personal 10 favorite Disney Christmas shorts, but only the ones with Mickey Mouse and friends. 

#10 Mickey Mouse Cartoon: "On Ice"

Kicking off my countdown is a special ensemble short that brings together all five of our principal Disney characters for a series of misadventures out at an ice rink. Mickey teaches Minnie how to skate, Donald Duck inflicts his practical jokes on Pluto, and Goofy is having trouble catching fish when the catch of the day seems a tad smarter than he is. In general, I like these anthology shorts, in which characters can overlap into another’s story, and it’s fun to see what kind of antics can ensue in a single setting like a frozen lake. One questionable bit of content is seeing Goofy using tobacco as a means to bate the fish, and Donald is surprisingly unlikable in the way he pesters poor Pluto. Aside from that, there’s enough warm winter atmosphere, and fun moments to make this a memorable little Disney outing. 

#9 Mickey Mouse Cartoon: “The Nutcracker” 

So, we've gone from the music of the Nutcracker in "Fantasia", to a strait forward story variation, just with our favorite Disney characters in the roles. The jokes in this short are hit and miss, and there’s some moments that make me cringe, but still, seeing Micky Mouse in the role of the Nutcracker is appealing, and there’s just enough charm to the whole set-up. John Cleese is the narrator, and he never fails to bring the laughs. I also like seeing Donald Duck in the role of the evil Mouse King. The highlight is the energized remix of the classic music, which fits along with the animated action sequences. While not without faults, I just couldn’t keep this silly little Mickey Mouse adventure off my list.

#8 Donald Duck Cartoon: “Toy Tinkers”

In this Oscar Nominated short film, Chip N’ Dale find themselves stumbling into the house of Donald Duck on Christmas … and they like what he’s got. What starts as light theft in munchies soon escalates into a full-out combat situation, with Donald’s decorative living room gradually becoming a battle ground. The concept of Donald and our favorite mischievous chipmunks waging war inside the house is already a fun concept, but having set among all the gifts and decorations makes it a lot more fun, and opens the door for a number of enjoyable slap-stick and set pieces. Funny enough, both concepts of Chip N’ Dale entering a house on Christmas and Donald waging war against a holiday back-drop will be covered again in two other shorts on my list, but this one combined them both fairly well, and is an enjoyable Disney Christmas treat.         

#7 "Mickey's Good Deed"  

Set on Christmas Eve, Mickey and his dog Pluto are out on the street, and trying to get food. However, despite being stuck in the cold, Mickey feels even more sympathetic for a family whose home is in rough shape, and a number of kids won’t be getting anything for Christmas. Being the kind soul that he is, Mickey dose the unthinkable, and sells his dog Pluto for money to provide both supplies and toys to the kids in the rundown house. This was one of the original Black and White shorts, has sense been colorized, and despite some questionable imagery … this is still quiet the Christmas episode. It’s great to see Mickey act so selflessly, and there’s an effective level of pathos on display for an animated Disney short. While some of this episode can be hard to watch, it clearly still has a heart, and shouldn’t be overlooked.       

#6 “Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas” 

The 1999 Disney Christmas anthology titled “Mickeys Once Upon a Christmas” was a great way for me and my little sister to be introduced to various classic stories. In the case of this short, neither of us knew of the formula from “Groundhog Day”, but we’ll always remember it first from this charming little Donald Duck cartoon. It’s Christmas morning and Donald’s three little boys couldn’t be more excited. Unfortunately, the fun has to stop somewhere, and their favorite holiday is over all too soon. Itching for more, the boys make a magical wish that it could be Christmas every day. Thus, the next morning they find nothing’s changed, presents still wrapped, no meal eaten, and no one else has any recollection of the previous day. At first, it’s a dream come true, but the longer this endless Christmas loop continues, the worse things get. In the end, the boys need to learn a valuable lesion, and put aside their self-centered nature by treating everyone else in the family to the greatest Christmas they’ve ever experienced. All around, this is a delightful little short, with a great premise, and a meaningful moral to expose to kids during the holiday season. 

#5 “Donald's Snow Fight”

When a massive snowfall hits the area, Donald Duck finds himself eager to enjoy the winter landscape. Naturally it doesn’t take him long to get into trouble with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but this time we’re rooting for the kids to fight back against Donald, who’s spoiling their snow day. It all culminates into the mother of snow-fights, to the point where they have ice-sculpted battle ships waging war against one another. When it comes to Disney’s winter themed offerings, I’ve always fond this one to be the most fun, with all kinds of creative animation on display depicting how the two parties battle each other. This one also puts me in the Christmas mood, largely thanks to the opening scene with Donald singing “Jingle-Bells”. It’s just a straightforward, fun winter themed, action-comedy offering from Donald Duck … and sometimes that’s all I need. 

#4 “A Very Goofy Christmas” 

It’s Christmas time at Goofy’s home, and his son Max is itching to get a special gift from Santa. However, he’s also coming around to that age when children no longer believe in Santa, and thus he beings to slip into a little depression. The ever-optimistic Goofy tries all in his power to prove that Santa is real and aims to bring Christmas cheer back to his son. Sadly, all his efforts fail, and all the disappointment leads to Goofy himself falling into a glum state. Now the tables are reversed, as Max is now the one trying to make his dad happy. For a Christmas themed Goofy cartoon, this could have so easily resorted to nothing but comedic slapstick, but it also has a lot of quiet moments, and touching moments, and just a wonderful story about how a father and son try all in their power to bring joy to one another. Now there is some comedy present, but that too is also handled well, and there’s some legit funny scenes. I love this opening shopping mall sequence where Goofy’s attempts to retrieve a Christmas letter becomes the equivalent of an “Indiana Jones” adventure. This is also a gorgeous looking short, with lots of warm holiday colors, and Christmas decorations everywhere you look.

#3 “Pluto's Christmas Tree” 

When it comes to the classic, old school Mickey Mouse Christmas shorts, this particular one has always stood out as something special. The time has come to decorate the house for Christmas, so the ever-positive Mickey Mouse goes out into the woods to cut down a tree. The one he selects just happens to be the home of the mischievous chipmunks Chip N Dale. While decorating, Mickeys dog Pluto discovers the two and tries his best to get them out of their new Christmas tree before they cause any more trouble. For an old 1950’s cartoon, the animation looks really good, and nearly every frame of this short is popping with all the right Christmas visuals and colors. It’s cool to venture through the interiors of a lit-up Christmas tree, and there’s some entertaining holiday hi-jinx along the way. The final scene features cameo appearances from various other Disney cartoon classics like Donald, Goofy and Mini, who all come together to sing Christmas carols, and it’s the perfect holiday icing for this cake.    

#2 “Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi” 

Once again “Mickeys Once Upon a Christmas” is responsible for introducing me and my sister to a classic tail at a young age, and for this short it comes in the form of “Gift of the Magi”. As one would expect, it’s the strait forward telling of the classic tail, just with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in the respected leading roles of the two lovers determined to give the other a special gift. The one catch is that they both have to make personal sacrifices in order to give something to the person they love. In general, Mickey and Minnie never did much for me as a couple, but this short alone makes me want to rank them both among Disney’s cutest couples. It’s so simple, so genuine, so heart felt, and they're just the perfect wide-eyed innocents to fill the role of this story. There’re also several individual highlights including Mickey Mouse putting on a concert for a charity drive, and a great scene in which Mickey stands up to his wicked boss Mr. Pete in order to aide a desperate family, even though he knows he’ll lose his job for it. Being perfectly honest, I’d rank this among my top 3 absolute favorite Mickey Mouse cartoons ever made.  

Before I reveal my #1 favorite, here are some quick honorable mentions …

Donald Duck cartoon “Donald on Ice”

Pluto cartoon "Lend a Paw"

Donald Duck cartoon "Corn Chips"

Pluto cartoon "Rescue Dog" 

Donald Duck cartoon "The Clock Watcher" 

#1 “Mickey's Christmas Carol” 

In truth, this was one of the very first specials that introduced me to the Dickens classic at a young age, and what a great way for kids to be exposed to its incredible source material. It’s basically the strait forward telling of “A Christmas Carol”, but animated, and with all the classic Disney characters in the principle roles. Seeing Scrooge McDuck in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge is about as fitting as they get, and all the other famous Disney characters fit right in with the other roles. It gives children a fresh perspective of the characters from the book and allows us to fully appreciate seeing them in later live action renditions. I especially love how this special is only 30 minutes long, and it captures the atmosphere, tone and spirit of its source beautifully. Heck, this short even delivers all the right emotional moments, and that’s no small accomplishment. Bottom line, if you have kids that have never even heard of “A Christmas Carol”, this is a great version to introduce them to it. To call this my favorite Disney Christmas short might be a little too simple, because along with the likes of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, I think this is one of the all time greatest animated Christmas specials.

Thanks for reading my countdown ... and continue to enjoy both the Christmas and Holiday specials you Love!  

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Christmas Episodes

  October 2018 marked the premier of a new live action Sabrina series on Netflix, and the event got me feeling nostalgic for the live action 90’s ABC “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” TV show that I grew up with when I was a kid. Thus, I posted a little review of the show, and specifically singled out the individual Halloween episodes in light of the Holiday season. 

Well, I figured sense I did Halloween, I might just as well continue by going through all her Christmas episodes next. While I can’t say with a straight face that this series holds up as anything great, it was still a lot of fun to watch as a kid, and I can’t help but have some hidden nostalgia reserved for it. Sense the show revolved around a family of witches living in a suburban environment, it allowed for more cartoony visuals and bizarre plots that no other sitcom had. More to the point, the annual Christmas episodes always stood out from the Christmas episodes of other sitcoms. Other shows would certainly get decorative, but with our Witch main character, these Christmas episodes had no boundaries for how over the top, goofy and drenched in the holiday they could get. Once again like in October, I haven’t watched anything of these episodes sense I graduated from elementary, but I’m feeling nostalgic, and I’m curious to see if anything holds up. So, here is every Christmas episode from the seven seasons of “Sabrina: The Teenage Witch”.    

“A Girl and Her Cat” (Season 1: Ep. 11) 

  Tis the holiday season, everyone is happy, that is with the one exception of the enchanted, talking house cat Salem, who’s acting like more of a grump than ever. The cats self-centered loathing gets on everyone’s nerves, and after interrupting a potential kiss under the mistletoe, Sabrina leaves Salem in an ally where he can be miserable by himself. While this brings some much-needed peace to everyone in the house, there’s still a downside to leaving your pet all alone … like how anyone could just pick him out of the gutter. Sure enough, a little boy takes the cat home, and he refuses to give Salem up to anyone. Thus, a holiday chase is on as the family try to find their missing cat, while Salem tries to escape the clutches of this nasty child. For a Christmas themed episode, this one is a lot subtler then most of the others. In fact, it could almost pass for just another episode, but it has its Christmas highlights.

We have a funny musical montage in which the family visit multiple homes in the hopes of finding their cat, only to encounter various odd people celebrating the season. We also get an amusing ending in which Sabrina dresses as Santa in order to rescue her cat from the boy. The downside to this episode is that most of the jokes come off as set-ups with no payoff. We get a random guest appearance from Coolio, but the episode doesn’t do anything especially funny with him. There’re also these odd house guests who all have an eccentric quirk, but again, they just don’t have anything funny to say. One nice detail is how this episode reunites Melissa Joan Hart and Joe O'Connor since their previous roles in “Clarissa Explains It All”, so there’s that. Fans may find charm in seeing Sabrina’s friendship with her cat explored, but there’s more recommendable holiday themed episodes then this.

“Sabrina Claus” (Season 2: Ep. 36) 

  When the Christmas season comes around once again, Sabrina’s wish list gets a little out of hand, and she becomes noticeably greedier. As a result, Sabrina is cursed to never receive a single present until she learns to be more thoughtful. Her aunts help by calling on a friend named Bob to teach her a lesson in charity. After an unfortunate accident, Bob injures his leg, and it’s revealed that he was in fact Santa Claus the whole time. So, with the jolly one out of commission, Sabrina assumes the role, and spends the night delivering gifts all around the world. 

While the message is obvious from scene one, it’s thankfully not as syrupy as in other specials, and keeps the moral alive while spliced with a sense of charm and fun. This is the kind of goofy holiday premise I love seeing in this show, and there’s some funny Christmas highlights. We see Sabrina stuck in the workshop with some quirky elves, there’s a very funny appearance from Johnny Mathis, there’s another musical montage, and my favorite joke of the episode revolves around a goofy daydream Sabrina has during class. Melissa Joan Hart once again is unavoidably likable in her lead role, and seems to have a clever comeback for any given situation. All around, this is a perfectly charming little holiday episode, with a simple yet poignant message, and has a healthy dose of quirky hummer. 

      

“Christmas Amnesia” (Season 3: Ep. 61) 

  You can never get too much Christmas in one season … or wait, maybe you can. At this festive time of the year, Sabrina finds herself exhausted with the over-abundance of Christmas all around her, and she just wants to take a break from it all. Thus, she goes to what is supposedly a fun, Christmas-free party in the Witches realm, only to discover that it’s a heartless, anti- Christmas party. Disgusted by the whole thing, she tries to make a statement and leaves in a huff, but little dose she know that Christmas is no-longer waiting for her back home. Apparently, her actions at the party have completely erased Christmas from ever happening. Now Sabrina is left alone to take action and find some way to restore the holiday, or she’ll spend the rest of her life in a world full of grumps. 

Now this is a great premise for a holiday themed episode in this show, and it takes full advantage of everything at its disposal. It basically utilizes elements from “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but gives it an original spin, which to my knowledge I haven’t seen in any other Christmas program. The comedy is some of the best the show has ever produced, including an especially funny running joke with characters leaping through glass windows. I love the scenes with Sabrina trying to bring the holiday back to the people she loves, and the resolution at the end, while a pinch predictable is still given a fresh and uplifting spin. Also, this is the best-looking Christmas episode of the show by far. I mean … holly cow, there is just Christmas in every frame of this episode, from an overly decorated house, to another upbeat musical montage and even the outfits are all drenched in warm holiday cheer. This is easily my favorite Christmas episode of the series, and I may even recommend it to non-fans of the show, just for a short and sweet little Christmas episode.     

“Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose” (Season 4: Ep. 87) 

  The Christmas season approaches yet again, and Sabrina shockingly is in a bad mood. However, it’s thankfully not the holiday that’s getting her down, it’s the non-stop snowing that’s threatening her holiday vacation to Jamaica. Desperate to escape the freezing weather, Sabrina tries to use her magic to stop the snow fall, only to get on Mother Nature’s bad side. As a result, Sabrina gets turned into a snowman, and Mother Nature gives her an ultimatum, by giving Sabrina the task of cheering up her grouchiest foe, Mr. Kraft, the school principle. At first she’s reluctant, as the guy has given her nothing but disgust. Still, she commits to her task and tires to bring a cheerful Christmas to her enemy. The result is a colorful sequence of the two traveling through time and viewing Mr. Kraft’s child hood past, only to discover that he never once had a good holiday. The time travel scenes are done with great style, as everything is black and white, with the exception of our two mains. In the end, Sabrina makes a selfless choice to invite her grouchy principle with them on their holiday, in hopes that for once he’ll actually have a wonderful Christmas. Meanwhile, Salem receives a magical variety pack of “The 12 Days of Christmas”, which all come to life in some literal form. 

Also, Aunts Hilda and Zelda hire a pair of Christmas elves to help out with the holiday rush, only to find out they're little thieves. In short, there’s a lot going on in this Christmas episode, but there’s a natural flow and rhythm to the whole thing where every story fits into place, and it all comes together in one big musical Christmas party. This is a close second favorite Christmas episode, I like the arc revolving around our two leads, I love seeing how both change at the end, there’s a sustained holiday atmosphere, the jokes are all funny, and there’s some memorable visuals. Seeing Sabrina transformed into a talking snowman has always stuck with me as one of the most unforgettable scenes in all of the Christmas episodes. It’s all around an episode with heart, music, laughs, and unique situations that separate this from other Christmas episodes. 

"Sabrina's Perfect Christmas" (Season 5: Ep. 107) 

  In the hopes of avoiding the annual insanity of another family Christmas with her Aunts, Sabrina decides to spend the holiday with her roommate Morgan, and what seem to be a picture-perfect family. However, the longer she stays in their cabin, the more she discovers the ugly secrets behind her best friend's parents, and how every Christmas season is a nightmare. The enchanted cat Salem also stowed away in Sabrina’s luggage, and now he finds himself at the mercy of a grown, cat obsessed man-child. As things get more heated, Sabrina encourages her friend to stand up for herself, and possibly even fix this unhappy family.

Meanwhile, Sabrina’s Aunts discover that their second roommate named Roxie has been all but abandoned by her parents, and in light of Sabrina’s absence, they decide to treat her to a perfect, normal Christmas. When compared to the previous Christmas episodes, this one is like a warm cup of hot chocolate, as it puts aside the magical oddities, and just treats itself like a normal holiday sit-com. There’re some funny scenes, subtle scenes, and the tone feels consistent within the realms of the show without going too over the top silly or too sentimental. I love seeing Sabrina stand up for her friend, I really love seeing the Aunts treat the roommate to a splendid yet simple Christmas, and there are still some silly highlights, including a Christmas card that comes to life, a lost reindeer, and Sabrina’s fantasy of a perfect holiday is the equivalent of an animated Hallmark card. All around, it may not have an enjoyably goofy premise like many of the others, but that’s why it stands out with its own simple charm.    

"It's a Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Christmas" (Season 7: Ep. 150) 

  Season 6 didn’t have a Christmas themed episode, so we jump to the following season 7 for the very last Christmas themed episode of the series. Sabrina and her two roommates Roxie and Morgan decide to leave the cold weather behind and vacation in Miami to celebrate Christmas. However, not everything is sunny in paradise as Roxie runs into her mother, who’s an ex-con, and to say they’ve had a rocky relationship is an understatement. Roxie’s mother Candy really just wants a second chance at life, and hopefully turn a new leaf with her doubter. Sabrina, being the ever-devoted friend wants to perform a Christmas miracle by bringing these two broken souls back together, but without the aid of magic. Unfortunately, a curve ball is thrown in the mix when their condo gets robbed, Candy gets accused, and the family turmoil reboots once again. This ultimately leaves Sabrina and the Cat Salem to travel back in time to discover the real culprit, clear Roxie’s mother of the charges, and possibly grant her best friend the only Christmas wish she ever had ... to have a beautiful holiday with her mom. 

So, once again we have a Christmas themed episode with a family rift in the center, and just like before, this is another good one. Kate Jackson guest stars as Roxie’s mother Candy, and the two actresses pull of a believable chemistry without getting overly emotional. Also, I’m usually not a fan of sunny vacation settings for a Christmas episode, but it’s still decorated very well, sustains just enough of a humble holiday atmosphere, and for every silly joke that doesn’t work, there’s another one that dose. I especially love this running gag involving a group of Christmas carolers who just pop out of no-where throughout the episode. One of my favorite details is the time travel scene, in which Sabrina goes a little too far back to the age of the dinosaurs. This is an especially memorable moment because the dinosaur footage is actually from a 1980’s video documentary hosted by Christopher Reeve simply titled “Dinosaur”. It was a special I watched all the time as a kid, in fact I still have the beaten old VHS tape, and it was just cool to see footage of it in this show. While season seven was my least favorite of the shows run, this was thankfully another perfectly good Christmas episode, and a good one to end things on.

If I were to quickly rank these episodes in order of favorite to least favorite, it would go like this ...

 

#1 “Christmas Amnesia”  

#2 “Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose”

#3 "Sabrina's Perfect Christmas"

#4 “Sabrina Claus”

#5 "It's a Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Christmas"

#6 “A Girl and Her Cat”

  That wraps up all of Sabrina's Christmas episodes, and it's been a nostalgic little throw back. For those who also grew up with the series, I hope it was fun looking back, or if you’re a holiday junky just looking for any random Christmas special, maybe this will give you something to look into.

Thanks for reading my countdown ... and continue to enjoy the Christmas or Holiday specials you love!       

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) (TV Special Review)

    The books of Dr. Seuss are an important staple of the youth, and something no child should be without. When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of them, and as an adult I’ve begun to appreciate them from a different perspective, as there’s so much more to them then just colorful characters and creative rhymes. Many of his stories convey important life lesions that are meaningful for kids, and sense they were so unforgettable with their presentation, they continue to stick with us as adults. Along with all the Dr. Seuss books I grew up with, I also had just about every TV special based around these books on home video. These included “The Cat in the Hat”, “Daisy Head Mayzie”, “The Lorax”, “Horton Hears a Who” and even obscure ones like “The Butter Battle Book”. Of course, my absolute favorite of them all was the 1966 TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, adapted from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. It’s certainly the most famous of all the TV specials based around his books, to the point where it’s more celebrated and cherished then the book itself. While the other TV specials adapted from his books were all very good in their own right, they never overshadowed the actual books in terms of popularity. Truthfully, the 1966 TV special achieved something immortalizing and has sense been regarded as one of the absolute greatest Christmas specials of all time.

   For my feelings, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is my absolute favorite holiday special ever made, but why is that, what is the magic ingredient that makes this short little special surpass other Dr. Seuss adaptions, and how has it withstood the test of time? Describing the plot is almost pointless as it’s so popular, but I pride myself on being a profession with my reviews, so here’s the quick synopsis. 

Whoville is a small town populated with creatures called “Who’s”, and they love Christmas with a burning passion. Every year they celebrate the holiday with music, laughter, games, and everyone is happy. Yet, there’s still one bitter creature who lives up on the heist mountain alone and absolutely hates the whole Christmas season. This miserable creature naturally is … the Grinch, and after countless years, he’s hatching a plan to put an end to the holiday once and for all. The bulk of this episode mainly focuses on watching the Grinch stealing the gifts and decorations from the people of Whoville, which on paper sounds like a negative experience, and yet everything about this special really works. Animator and director Chuck Jones gives the special a bouncy and fun flair, with lots of creativity and imagination on display. Even when focusing on something as simple and negative as one-character robing from the innocent, the special maintains this infectious sense of fun and I really think it’s a case of all the right talents coming together for one project.

   Naturally, right along with Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life", The Grinch is one of the all time great Christmas characters. Of course, I have to acknowledge one Boris Karloff who supplies both the voice of the Grinch and is the narrator of the special. 

Now most people know Boris Karloff best for his classic horror movie roles, like playing the lead monster in “Frankenstein”, “The Mummy” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. Yet, I’ve always loved his contribution to the Grinch the most, as he’s incredibly dignified as the storyteller of this special, and gives it this warm atmosphere, which is on par with a grandfather reading to their grandkids. Now despite the rich source material from Dr. Seuss, I truly believe that it’s the animation, writing and directing of Chuck Jones that really gives this TV special life. Naturally, Chuck Jones is a legend in the realms of animation, as he gave life to such cartoon classics as “The Loony Toons” and “Tom and Jerry”. The one thing he always excels at is the character animation, as many of his cartoon characters rarely spoke and conveyed most of their personalities through both facial features and body posturing.

This is where the character of the Grinch really shines, as the animation on him alone is bursting with both charm and personality. When I say this is one of my all-time favorite performances from an animated character, I’m not just referring to the voice actor, … I’m also talking about the animators and the performance they give to the character. It may seem like a minor thing to praise, but the animation of the Grinch really is one of the most important things this special got right. Unlike any other Christmas special, this is the only one that solely put its focus on a villain character. Granted we had some cute characters like the dog Max and the little Who Girl named Cindy Lu, but they were just minor parts. The Grinch from beginning to end is the only character we have, so the animation on him really needed to appeal to kids, and in this regard, it’s an absolute success.

  This also marks arguably the specials greatest contribution that surpasses its literary source material, which is the characters re-design. We always think back on the Grinch with his green fur, and big head, which wasn’t his original design in the book. 

Initially his colors were black and white, with solid red eyes and a smaller head. So, I’ve praised the character animation, but what about the actual animation for everything else. Personally, I think “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is the absolute best-looking animated Christmas special ever made. While the animation in the other Dr. Seuss specials was fine, there is just something about the colors, the design and layout of this special that puts it on a higher level of quality. These colors are so vibrant, and decorative that the animation just pops before your eyes, and still looks wonderful all these years later. No other winter sky has looked more blue, and no other Christmas tree greener then in this special. I love the details to the homes, the decorations, the odd contraptions, and even the snowflakes have a very distinct look that stands out. The background illustrator was Maurice Noble, who had frequently collaborated with Chuck Jones, providing some of the greatest imagery for any of the Looney Toons shorts, and I'd argue his work on the Grinch is his magnum opus.   

  With the animation addressed, lets finally talk about the specials next immortalizing contribution … the songs. While the other Dr. Seuss TV specials had there share of songs, nothing even came close to leaving as big an impact on our pop culture then the villain song titled “You’re a Mean One Mister Grinch”. To call this one of the most iconic villain songs ever is something of an understatement, as it’s achieved a status as a classic Christmas song in its own right, which is no simple feat for a bad guy song in a 30-minute long TV special. While all the rhymes from the book carried over to this special, the lyrics in this song were original, yet carried the same mannerism and charm of Seuss speech. My personal favorite song is the “Welcome Christmas” song heard at both the opening and closing of the film. Like most kids, I was introduced to popular Christmas songs like “Jingle Bells”, “Deck the Halls”, and “We wish you a Merry Christmas”, yet I distinctly remember liking the Who’s “Welcome Christmas” more then any other song I heard during the holiday season. There’s just something warm, and inviting about this song that’s just stuck with me through the years. Right from the opening title card, the music starts chiming, and it instantly wins me over. The opening scene introducing the Who’s decorating the town for Christmas might actually be one of my favorite little animated sequences put to a Christmas cartoon. Again, it’s the combination of this music with these colors that carries this infectious appeal, and just gets the ball rolling. 

   However, the absolute best scene obviously is the ending, in which our villain finally realizes that … “Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more”. It’s one of the simplest, yet touching scenes I’ve ever experienced in an animated production, and it still gets to me even as an adult. I think it works because it doesn’t come off as overly preachy with the delivery of its message. It just conveys it’s moral, we see how it impacts our villain, and we see what he takes from the lesson he learns. It’s so humble and simple that it’s actually gotten me teary eyed, which I don’t say lightly. The only other Christmas special I can think of that’s actually gotten me teary eyed was Disney’s short “The Little Match Girl”, but those tears seemed more warranted, as there was some real drama and loss there. Yet, though its own humble warmth, and appeal, this special brought out the exact same emotional response in me, and continues to do so over the years.  

  The story of the Grinch in general is one my absolute favorites of the holiday season, and this short little animated TV special is my favorite version of it by far. To label it as a holiday classic is almost too simple for its own good ... because it truly is my absolute favorite animated Christmas special, and probably one of my top 3 Christmas … anything's. I love the rhymes, I love the animation, I love the story, I love the main character, I love the music, I love the simplicity of its moral … I just love it all around. Rightfully, it's become a yuletide tradition for families all over the world, and it’s our job to make sure it remains as such. There have been countless other Grinch spin-off shorts and theatrical movie adaptions, to the point where I’m almost afraid this special may slip from younger children getting exposed to the holiday. While other versions aren’t without some charm and appeal, lets always remember the golden child that really started it all, and the Christmas special that I firmly believe no family should be without.    

 

Thanks for reading my review of the 1966 TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” … and continue to enjoy the Christmas and holiday Specials you Love!