Seventh Day of Holiday Movies

On the seventh day of Christmas, the holiday movie recommendation I present to you…

Is… ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (1976), which is an animated TV special produced by Rankin/Bass.  This is the production company that brought to life many of the animated TV specials from the 1960’s and 1970’s that are still beloved today.  This one just happens to be my favorite.

In this story, mice and humans have similar worlds and lead similar lives but don’t often intersect.  That is until Santa has decided not to include their town, Junctionville, on his annual Christmas ride.  In order to ensure Santa makes his Christmas deliveries to the good girls and boys, the humans and the mice have to work together to convince him that they still believe.  The famous poem often referred to by same name by Clements Moore, serves as the beginning and end of this animated special.  But before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s best to start at the beginning.

I am a child of the 80’s and I admit that Rankin/Bass Productions were a staple for all holiday TV specials.  The animation style is not of the quality we are accustomed to today but the story is worth it.  Like many Rankin/Bass productions, the film includes several musical numbers.  This is where I admit to not only watching this every year but to also owning it on record.  For those of you unacquainted youngsters, this was a thing that they did so you could listen to the TV special over and over again since VCRs weren’t widely available yet.  It worked on me at least.  I used to be able to recite the whole special from memory.  In college in the mid-90’s, my roommates and I had a record player so I brought this one down not realizing that my friends loved Rankin/Bass as much as I.  There were times that we would wind up singing bits of the songs from this special to each other.  And so I say to you, “Even a Miracle Needs a Hand.”

Since this recommendation is a short-one, I recommend pairing it with some of Rankin/Bass’ other famous Christmas TV specials (both animated and stop motion).  Here are just a few that I’d recommend: 

• ·         Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) with Burl Ives as the snowman narrator and his Silver & Gold song and a memorable cast of supporting characters
• ·         Frosty the Snowman (1969) with narration by Jimmy Durante the story follows the song
• ·         Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (1970) with Fred Astaire as the mailman narrator and who can forget the Burgermeister Meisterburger
• ·         The Year Without A Santa Claus (1974) with the fan favorite Miser Brothers - Heat Miser and Snow Miser and their catchy tune
• ·         Jack Frost (1979) with narration by Buddy Hackett and the fabulous song “Just What I Always Wanted” which my husband and I quote from all the time as an in-joke between us