Santa’s elves travel to what is essentially California to see whether or not people still believe in Santa Claus. It reminds you that you are living in America. Happy Holidays!įestive Aura Produced: A confidently arranged nativity scene on your neighbor’s front lawn. What the F*ck Moment: Our protagonist is a self-proclaimed nihilist who had his parents murdered before his very eyes. One could argue that this continues the Rankin-Bass obsession with magic spirits and wizards, but we are not getting into that right now.įestive Moment: Having a child play the drums for you would suck as a Christmas gift today, but I’m sure in Ancient Babylonia it was pretty sick. While it does not ooze the red-and-green pine-scented holiday cheer of other specials, I suppose “Little Drummer Boy” gets appropriate points for actually having to do with Jesus. Thus, a Biblically-inspired stop-motion film. Like a group of enraged Bible Belters protesting disposable coffee cups, Rankin-Bass would like us to remember that Christmas is a Christian holiday. Holiday Aura Produced: Sitting by the fire and opening presents while not being able to really move past Woodstock. She then lets down her hair and takes us all on a psychedelic trip through her jacked-up imagination.
Claus has a sexual awakening when Santa gives her a doll. What the F*ck Moment: The soon-to-be Mrs. However, the film does mark the beginning of two strange Rankin-Bass traditions: Villainization of Europeans (the oppressively Teutonic Burgermeister Meisterburger) and a bizarre obsession with occult magic, manifest here in the very creatively named Winter Warlock.įestive Moment: Kris Kringle sings and gives toys to children (yes, the children are required to kiss him afterward, but 1970 was a different time…we think. A family of elves, fondness for children, deep and abiding love for wooden toys - this is pretty festive stuff. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town’ is your standard non-denominational origin story. Holiday Aura Produced: A yule log wrapped in peppermint bark, garnished with a sprig of mistletoe. What the F*ck Moment: While some might be unsettled by Yukon Cornelius’ near madness for gold, the most disturbing part of “Rudolph” is that we see an entire society of adorable elves and reindeer brutally mock a child for his birth defect. Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 35 Films the Director Wants You to Seeįestive Moment: While it’s nigh-on impossible to choose just one, the climactic sleigh ride on Christmas Eve still fills even the most bitter hearts with holiday cheer.
Christmas artoon series#
'Obi-Wan Kenobi': Everything You Need to Know About the Disney+ Series Last-Minute Gifts for the Holidays: A Shop-by-Price Guide for Every Budget 'All Creatures Great and Small': Lockdown Writing and Great Dog Performance Create Perfect S2 Ending Elves make toys, Santa gives the toys to children, reindeer fly - everything makes (relative) sense here. You can’t get any more appropriately festive than “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The first Rankin-Bass special is still the purest representation of the holiday spirit there is. Indiewire gathered up nine of Rankin-Bass’s most memorable Christmas classics and put them on a scale ranging from appropriately festive to absolutely, unquestionably effed up. Starting with “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” in 1964 and continuing into the late ’80s, Rankin-Bass produced a solid list of now-classics that, while festive, are also confusing, disturbing and, at times, deeply upsetting.
Christmas artoon tv#
With December rearing its giant festive head once again, there is one thing that TV audiences can count on, and that’s the endless running and re-running of Rankin-Bass stop-motion Christmas specials. READ MORE: Indiewire’s 2015 Holiday Gift Guide: 17+ Goodies for the Film Lover in Your Life
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