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Post by kds on Dec 16, 2019 14:00:17 GMT
The other night, my wife and I were watching the Rankin Bass classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
It got me thinking about Christmas pop culture in general.
We've talked a lot about Christmas music, and I think that Christmas music has declined in general, just as music itself has.
But, what about TV specials? Rankin Bass produced a slow of classic stop motion and animated shows, but that pretty much stopped in 1979. When was the last great TV special? Charlie Brown and The Grinch were from the mid 60s. I'd probably have to say A Garfield Christmas, which is a somewhat forgotten gem from 1987.
Sure, there are good Christmas episodes of TV shows. The Simpsons first episode was a Christmas Special in 1989 (yeah, that's two years after Garfield, but was it really a "special"?). Seinfeld's final holiday themed episode gave us a new holiday - Festivus - in 1997. The Office (US) gave us some great Christmas episodes during its run from 2005-13. Even the somewhat uneven final season gave us a classic Christmas show.
How about movies? You have the old B&W standards (It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th St, etc), and the classic comedies of the 80s and 90s (A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone). But, it's been a while since a Christmas movie really left a mark. I'd think two comedies from 2003 did just that. Elf hit most of the beats of a throwback family Christmas movie. While, Bad Santa offered a more cynical, but still surprisingly sweet, take on Christmas. But, not much since. Krampus and The Night Before were entertaining, but not really in the same league. And, a lot of people have seemingly accepted the mediocre ultra sweet Hallmark Christmas movies.
So, while watching Rudolph, I couldn't help but think that the modern era is really lacking in contributions to Christmas culture. Have I missed anything of the 21st Century that's bound to be beloved, and replayed every December for the next half century?
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Post by jk on Dec 16, 2019 14:10:36 GMT
This is the big one in our house. It's not about Christmas specifically but the Christmas feeling is all over it. The original version of The Snowman let the images and the music tell the story. It was fine for our kids (and now for their kids) with Dutch commentary (by Santa Claus) but at the end of the day it works perfectly well without it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowman
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 16, 2019 16:12:30 GMT
The Family Stone (2005) is a good one, but it's a tearjerker.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 16, 2019 16:30:46 GMT
It’s a good question: why no (or few) new canonical Christmas movies or shows? I have two guesses that I think both probably factor in. No doubt there are others, but these are my best guesses. 1. There are so many long-established classics that many people love year after year, and the screen time for this sort of thing is relatively limited. Most people don’t watch these all year long. Most people probably don’t really binge for days on end. I’m guessing most people watch a handful of things during December. If somebody is making a point of watching four or five Christmas themed shows or movies, it’s just hard to unseat A Christmas Story or Miracle on 34th Street or whatever else. 2. Totally contrary to the first point, there is no shortage whatsoever of supply. There are new shows, movies, and specials every single year—and a lot of them. But I don’t think they’re approached in the same way that other “serious” work is: they’re a novelty, just like a Christmas album is a novelty album. Plots are thin and clichéd. It doesn’t feel like anyone is really invested in them. They feel disposable. And what the heck, how about a third guess? 3. Shared experiences don’t seem to be valued generally anymore. People are increasingly used to getting the things they want, for them, as they like them. Christmas movies are often as much about the experience—the family crowding together on the couch on a cold winter night to laugh again at the jokes you’ve heard 20 times before or tear up at that same touching moment you’ve teared up 20 times before, all over treats and hot cocoa. If media is increasingly designed for and consumed by individuals, it’s hard to see how they would result in truly universal shared experiences over time.
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Post by kds on Dec 16, 2019 16:40:55 GMT
I think all three are valid points.
1. The limited time, and wanting to watch the classics is something I can relate to. I know my wife really wanted to check out the new movie Christmas Chronicles last December, but we didn't have the time, and when we did find 90 spare minutes, we opted for The Muppets Christmas Carol.
2. Perhaps there's so much new Christmas stuff that it's impossible for something to really stick out, and became a permanent part of Christmas culture. With Hallmark churning out 40 movies a year for example, the next A Christmas Story could be among them (doubtful, but just for argument's sake), but it would be lost in the shuffle.
3. I could see that. My wife and I were talking about how exciting it used to be when the classic specials came on TV. It was one night a year, and unless you recorded it (I was a kid at the dawn of the VCR age), you had to watch it that night, or it was gone for another year. There was an event feel to it, and that's no longer the case.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 17, 2019 17:49:40 GMT
I am happy that the major networks continue to air A Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Rudolph, Frosty, and some others. I thought they might've been phased out due to the advent of VHS tapes, DVDs, YouTube, and all of the other media. I can't explain it and there's no logic behind it, but I still enjoy tuning in and watching them on TV rather than pulling out a DVD whenever I want.
I have to give the Hallmark Channel credit for the way they broadcast those Christmas movies around the clock. I don't really watch them, but apparently somebody does! And, they appear to be clean, wholesome, family entertainment.
This year PBS is airing a brand new Christmas special along the lines of their "oldies shows" featuring artists from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. If you like Christmas music from the likes of Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Perry Como, and Bing Crosby, then this show is for you. Oh, they also show a vintage clip from a certain group from Hawthorne, California. And, Ronnie Spector is featured in a 2019 performance of "Frosty The Snowman" and "Sleigh Ride", complete with a PBS Wrecking Crew.
getTV, Channel 245 where I live, has been showing old vintage Christmas specials from Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, Perry Como, Mac Davis, and Sonny & Cher. Great period pieces.
As someone who watched those old Rankin & Bass Christmas Specials from the time they were first broadcast in the 1960's, I have seen and lived through the changes in our Christmas culture, and our culture in general. Values have changed. Happiness is now found in many more different places. Buy, gather, collect, obtain, and play. Toys. More toys. And more toys. The end of the innocence.
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Post by kds on Dec 17, 2019 18:51:56 GMT
Unfortunately, the 1987 Garfield Christmas has, for whatever reason, fallen by the wayside. I guess it never achieved the same popularity as the Rankin Bass classics, Charlie Brown, or The Grinch.
I think the Hallmark Christmas movies appeal to two sets of people: those who genuinely enjoy the sweet, predictable movies and people who watch them because they're "so bad, they're good." The SyFy Channel has banked on the latter, why not another basic cable channel. I love schmaltzy Christmas fare, but those movies are a little much for my taste.
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Post by kds on Nov 30, 2020 17:04:17 GMT
I've decided to bump this thread. Since 2020 has been an absolute shit show, I'm really getting into Christmas this year. I've already been listening to Christmas music for the last week and a half, and have starting watching some Christmas stuff.
So, here are my Top Ten Christmas specials.
10. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970) - One of the classic Rankin Bass Christmas specials, featuring the origin story of Santa Claus.
9. Frosty the Snowman (1969) - A Rankin Bass classic that features traditional animation instead of stop motion.
8. A Chipmunk Christmas (1981) - This animated special led to the successful Saturday morning cartoon in the 1980s, but like a couple others on my list, seems to have been forgotten.
7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) - Why so low? For one reason or another, this one was never a perennial favorite in my house as a kid. It's one that I honestly didn't appreciate until adulthood.
6. The Bestest Present (1985) - An animated version of the comic strip For Better or For Worse, featuring a young girl who loses a beloved stuffed bunny which was homemade by her late grandmother. Another lost classic. It's on YouTube.
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) - All the remakes and reboots will never touch the original cartoon.
4. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) - More of a cult classic than the other Rankin Bass shows, but my personal favorite. Probably most memorable for the Miser Brothers.
3. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - My introduction to the Dickens classic, a brisk version featuring many familiar Disney characters. This one did come out during Disney's "dark period," so some sequences are definitely not for the little ones.
2. A Garfield Christmas (1987) - Why this special hasn't aired in over 20 years is a total mystery. Both this and Garfield's Halloween Adventure should be yearly traditions. A great mix of humor and Christmas sentimentality.
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - Iconic.
Honorable Mentions
Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974) - Another Rankin Bass favorite of mine.
Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976) - A very good sequel to the original Frosty, though not specifically set at Christmas.
The Simpsons Christmas Special (1989) - Technically, it's the pilot for the long running TV show, but it originally aired as a stand alone special.
Shrek the Halls (2007) - The cast of the movie franchise does a half hour Christmas special. One of the better modern Christmas shows.
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Post by kds on Dec 1, 2020 14:23:25 GMT
On this date in 1989, 31 years ago, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was released.
It almost instantly became a Christmas classic.
Plus, it's funny to me that Hallmark releases a keepsake ornament every year for a movie that features the classic line "Merry Christmas, the shitter was full."
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 1, 2020 14:48:03 GMT
There aren't many Christmas movies I care about in the slightest, but Vacation was one of them. Loved it. To me, along with the all-time greatest A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out), it's head and shoulders above most others.
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Post by kds on Dec 1, 2020 14:55:10 GMT
There aren't many Christmas movies I care about in the slightest, but Vacation was one of them. Loved it. To me, along with the all-time greatest A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out), it's head and shoulders above most others. I personally place Christmas Vacation above A Christmas Story, but not by much. Granted, I'm biased because I grew up in the 80s, but the 1980s into the early 1990s gave us some great Christmas movies - Christmas Vacation (1983), A Christmas Story (1983), Scrooged (1988), and Home Alone (1990) are in my Top 10....maybe even Top 5. A Christmas Carol (1984 version with George C Scott) and A Muppets Christmas Carol (1992) are also both really good.
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2020 17:18:41 GMT
Last year, I talked about 21st Century Contributions to Christmas Culture. This year, I'm giving a short run down of 21st Century Christmas movies and TV shows that I've seen, and my thoughts on them.
Elf (2003) - By far, the best bet on becoming an enduring, iconic Christmas movie. It might be already. It's funny, it's sweet, it's definitely a throwback.
Bad Santa (2003) - Released the same year as Elf, but with a far more cynical sense of humor. It still manages to fit in some sweetness, kind of like a perfectly balanced whiskey cocktail.
The Polar Express (2004) - The CGI actually looks a little wonky in this adaptation of the children's book. But, the story is pretty good.
The Office (US) (2005-2013) - The NBC show ran for nine seasons, and did seven Christmas shows. Each of them are classic episodes, even the post Steve Carell years.
Robot Chicken (2005 - Present) - The Cartoon Network show has a ton of Christmas themed short segments offering parodies of Rudolph, Home Alone, The Grinch, etc etc.
Black Christmas (2006) - Avoid. It's a lame remake of the 1974 cult horror movie. I really had no intention to watch this, but my roommate put it on one year. 90 minutes I'd love to have back.
The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006) - Ron Howard's The Grinch should have put a stop to live action, feature length versions of beloved Christmas specials. A good cast, including John Goodman, Harvey Firestein, Michael McKean, and Ethan Suplee, can't salvage this mess.
Shrek the Halls (2007) - Mentioned earlier, but a funny and charming special from the popular movie franchise.
The Miser Brother's Christmas (2008) - Another attempt by ABC/Disney to capitalize on The Year Without a Santa Claus. They at least try to use Rankin Bass style stop motion, but the special lacks any real charm.
A Christmas Carol (2009) - A CGI Disney version of the Dickens tale, voiced almost entirely by Jim Carrey, actually is pretty good until it goes off the rails in the Christmas Future sequence. Credit for not delivering another paint by numbers version, as the 1951 and 1984 versions are already great. Actually genuinely creepy in spots.
Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas (2014) - A shorter, animated, musical version of Elf with Jim Parsons as the voice of Buddy. Skip it, and watch the movie instead.
Krampus (2015) - An effective horror comedy about the Bavarian anti Santa.
The Night Before (2015) - A Christmas movie from the makers of Super Bad. If you're into movies like that, you'll enjoy it. It's typical of movies from the Judd Apatow universe in that it's vulgar, but does have some warmth.
Bad Santa 2 (2016) - Every mark the original hits, this one misses.
A Christmas Carol (2019) - From the BBC, aired in the US on FX, a more horror infused take on the classic, but it really could've been shorter. They really take some liberties and the Christmas Past sequence far longer than it needed to be. But, like the 2009 version, credit for doing something different with the source material.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 2, 2020 19:25:52 GMT
Elf (2003) - By far, the best bet on becoming an enduring, iconic Christmas movie. It might be already. It's funny, it's sweet, it's definitely a throwback. The Polar Express (2004) - The CGI actually looks a little wonky in this adaptation of the children's book. But, the story is pretty good. A Christmas Carol (2009) - A CGI Disney version of the Dickens tale, voiced almost entirely by Jim Carrey, actually is pretty good until it goes off the rails in the Christmas Future sequence. Credit for not delivering another paint by numbers version, as the 1951 and 1984 versions are already great. Actually genuinely creepy in spots. Ron Howard's The Grinch should have put a stop to live action, feature length versions of beloved Christmas specials. These are the only movies on your list that I've seen. I think Elf is already a classic. It seems very well regarded. Despite not being much of a Will Farrell fan, I still enjoy and appreciate it. I've watched it a few times. The Polar Express (2004) and A Christmas Carol (2009) are part of my collection. I don't necessarily watch both every Christmas season, but at least every few years. The appeal of The Polar Express was our tradition of reading the book every Christmas eve. Also, it being narrated by Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Part of my interest in A Christmas Carol was that I loved Jim Carrey in The Grinch. I watch The Grinch pretty much every year. I'm actually having trouble thinking of many other 21st Century Christmas movies that I've seen. I've seen the sequels to The Santa Clause. Also, Tim Allen's Christmas With The Kranks and Danny DeVito's Deck The Halls. Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell was pretty good. I noticed that a sequel was recently released. I think I might watch both this year.
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2020 19:34:39 GMT
Elf (2003) - By far, the best bet on becoming an enduring, iconic Christmas movie. It might be already. It's funny, it's sweet, it's definitely a throwback. The Polar Express (2004) - The CGI actually looks a little wonky in this adaptation of the children's book. But, the story is pretty good. A Christmas Carol (2009) - A CGI Disney version of the Dickens tale, voiced almost entirely by Jim Carrey, actually is pretty good until it goes off the rails in the Christmas Future sequence. Credit for not delivering another paint by numbers version, as the 1951 and 1984 versions are already great. Actually genuinely creepy in spots. Ron Howard's The Grinch should have put a stop to live action, feature length versions of beloved Christmas specials. These are the only movies on your list that I've seen. I think Elf is already a classic. It seems very well regarded. Despite not being much of a Will Farrell fan, I still enjoy and appreciate it. I've watched it a few times. The Polar Express (2004) and A Christmas Carol (2009) are part of my collection. I don't necessarily watch both every Christmas season, but at least every few years. The appeal of The Polar Express was our tradition of reading the book every Christmas eve. Also, it being narrated by Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Part of my interest in A Christmas Carol is that I loved Jim Carrey in The Grinch. Not to replace the original, of course. I watch it pretty much every year. I'm actually having trouble thinking of many other 21st Century Christmas movies that I've seen. I've seen the sequels to The Santa Clause. Also, Tim Allen's Christmas With The Kranks and Danny DeVito's Deck The Halls. Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell was pretty good. I noticed that a sequel was recently released. I think I might watch both this year. I thought Carrey was decent in The Grinch, but I just hated the movie. On the 2009 A Christmas Carol, my wife and I watched it several years ago on TV. I thought it was OK until that weird sequence with the future section. So, I never added it to my collection, especially since I have four movies based on the Dickens classic that I much prefer - the movie versions with Alastair Sim (1951) and George C Scott (1984) along with the highly underappreciated Bill Murray movie Scrooged (1988) and The Muppets Christmas Carol. Certainly not awful, but with so little time to devote to Christmas movies, it's not something I'm likely to watch again anytime soon. I also recently came around on the original Santa Clause movie, and never saw the sequels. I've never seen the Kranks or Halls movies, but they look like fun, silly movies that I'd probably enjoy despite their yearly inclusion on Worst Xmas Films lists (Jingle All the Way also cracks those lists each year, and I love that movie). I heard really good things about The Christmas Chronicles. We said we were going to check it out last year, maybe this year.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 2, 2020 19:49:00 GMT
Oh, I'm a big fan of The Santa Clause and Jingle All The Way! I mean, I was a '90s kid, so perfect timing. I watched Home Improvement and Schwarzenegger movies. I wonder if age played a role in your disliking of The Grinch? My siblings and I were probably the perfect age to enjoy it. We still reference it to this day.
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