1) How the Grinch stole Christmas - Chuck Jones/Boris Karloff/Warner
2) Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Rankin/Bass
3) A Charlie Brown Christmas - Peanuts/Schultz/Vince Guaraldi
4) The Toy that saved Christmas - VeggieTales
5) Frosty The Snowman - Rankin/Bass
http://www.stuffintheair.com - learn stuff about weather
1) Rudolph's Shiny New Year
2) Frosty's Winter Wonderland
3) Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
4) Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
5) Santa and the Three Bears
in no order:
1. the grinch
2. Charlie Brown
3. rudolph
4. A year without a santa claus
5 .Frosty (the first one, 2nd was terrible)
(6. the simpsons ones)
(7. Santa Claus is coming to town)
One of my favorites is the Venture Bros. 'A Very Venture Christmas' that references A Christmas Carol, Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, and It's a Wonderful Life, all before the opening titles (then tosses in a quick ref to the Star Wars Holiday Special in the bargain)...offensive on so many levels, but also mentions the religious aspect of the holiday, not seen in 99.99999% of these specials. Also introduced me to the Krampus!
share1. A Charlie Brown Christmas-- Gets the nod since it recognizes the real meaning of Christmas...you know...Jesus.
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas-- 1966 cartoon version. Simply amazing. Paints the picture of Christmas.
3. Mickey's Christmas Carol-- Great memories watching this as a kid. Does a good job telling the story. Also, they used to show it with other Christmas shorts that were amazing. Wish they still showed this every year. Glad I have it on video, scratchy screen and all. Also, remember those 7up commercials with Santa? Totally awesome. Anyway....
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-- I'll admit, I have to look past the terrible lines that say..."We'll have to cancel Christmas this year." You don't cancel Christmas. They whiffed on this one. That aside, it's a great story and Burl Ives is fantastic.
5. Looney Tunes Christmas Carol-- Another one that used to be shown with other Looney Tune-themed Christmas shorts that were amazing. One of the shorts was the actual story of the nativity--it was done VERY well by the animators. They don't do cartoons like this anymore and it's sad. Yosemite Sam as Scrooge is great. Doesn't stick to the story quite as well, but Bugs dressed as a ghost chasing him around is still a good scene. Another one they don't show anymore but should.
Nearly missing the cut is the Little Drummer Boy since it talks about the birth of Christ. Santa clause is comin' to town isn't too bad either, but I can't do without seeing those mentioned above every year. Sorry for the length...great thread.
There's How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) and then there's everything else.
Second would have to be the animated Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim.
Third A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The Rankin/Bass ones are cute, but they don't still appeal to me like the above 3.
1. The Little Drummer Boy - ashamed of the networks for burying this to only one showing at 7am on some random day. It is one of the only Christmas shows for kids and adults to really show the nativity and the reason for the season, the birth of Christ. While the first two songs are kind of lame, and the animation lacking by today's standards (as most of the "classics" are), the story is simply so incredibly well done it is genius. To weave a song about a fictional character into the story of the nativity and flesh out the plot the way they did was outstanding story development. Not for the faint of heart but some beautiful lessons and themes are explored. Hatred is wrong, giving out of pure love, etc. Overcoming such difficulty as Aaron does and finding within him a REAL reason to put his gift on display is rewarded beautifully. Absolutely must see TV.
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas - like anything of value, you often have to look beyond the obvious or the surface to find the real meaning...kind of like Christmas itself...the same goes for this story. What a wonderful example and metaphor for the Christmas holiday itself and for the real meaning of Christmas. Besides questioning the meaning and the over commercialization, there are so many parallels to the nativity and the significance of the birth of Christ. Amazing storytelling.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - maybe not as subtle as Schultz was with his symbolism and message, Seuss nevertheless captures the “Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more....” so beautifully and with such a wonderful whimsical romp. Celebrating both the fun and wackiness of the holiday yet keeping alive the spirit and the meaning of the season. Incredibly quotable.
4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Nice back story on Santa...while not always on target they do a great job of storytelling and developing "answers" to the legend and history of Santa Claus/St. Nicholas. Fun and visually striking. I especially like the marriage sequence where the elves and animals decorate the trees in the forest.
5. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - again great story telling. Creating an entire back story and adventure from a Christmas song. Be yourself and respect the differences among us all. Nice thoughts for Christmas and year round!
Here's my top 5
1) A Charlie Brown Christmas
2) Santa Claus is Coming to Town
3) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
4) The Grinch that Stole Christmas
5) Frosty the Snowman