A Christmas Cartoon Specials Advent Calendar (2017)

[Hollywood Duo]

It's that time of year again to start counting down the days until the big fat man in a red suit comes a knocking.

And I figured what's a better way to countdown to Christmas than with an advent calendar full of Christmas Cartoons and Christmas Specials?

Everyday I will post a Christmas Cartoon for you to track down, watch, hopefully enjoy and discuss, There are numerous ways you can attempt to watch it, find the special playing on TV, watch it on a catch upservice, trawl through your Netflix or amazon prime video players and see if it's there, buy it from Itunes or maybe even dust off the old VHS or DVD that has it recorded.

Now please note, these are going to be Western Animated Christmas Specials only, so don't beexpecting any mentions of Gremlins, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Tokyo Godfathers or Die Hard on this advent calendar (You should go and watch those sometime over the Christmas period though, they are all great.)

This list will be a mix of Christmas classics of old,some newer more recent Christmas specials and some hidden gems that deserve more attentions than they have. If you have seen them, or once you'vefinished watching, feel free to discuss about thespecial and any other Christmas specials you enjoy (Be aware there is a chance that special may show up in the calender on a later day though!)

Day 1:
The Simpsons: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)

Let's start with a special everyone should be familiar with, the first full-length episode of The Simpsons, whilst the animation in this special hasn't aged that well, the story of Homer going all the way to make his family have a nice Christmas despite all the financial problems still holds up really well.

posted for KillstealWolf

 

[KillstealWolf]

Thanks for posting up this topic Hollywood Duo. Still waiting for those thread posting rights to clear, I believe I get it on the 27th this month, which if I posted this topic then, it'll be a little on the late end for Christmas. I'll use this post as a Table of Contents so there is an easy link for every day.

Day 1: The Simpsons: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)
Day 2: Bojack Horseman Christmas Special: Sabrina's Christmas Wish (2014)
Day 3: Chirstmas Carol Sundays - Animaniacs - A Christmas Plotz/Little Drummer Warners (1993)
Day 4: A Wish for Wings that work (1991)
Day 5: The Loud House: 11 Louds a Leapin' (2016)
Day 6: Batman The Animated Series: Heart of Ice (1992)
Day 7: A Lump of Animated Coal. - Smurfs Christmas Special (1982)
Day 8: The Small One (1978)
Day 9: Hey Arnold: Arnold's Christmas (1996)
Day 10: Christmas Carol Sundays - A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
Day 11: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Hearth's Warming Eve (2011)
Day 12: Wander Over Yonder - The Gift 2: The Giftening/ The Gift (2014)
Day 13: Futurama: A Tale of Two Santas (2001)
Day 14: A Lump of Animated Coal - Grandma got run over by a reindeer (2000)
Day 15: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Day 16: The Snowman (1982)
Day 17: Christmas Carol Sundays - The REAL Ghostbusters - X-Mas Marks the Spot (1986)
Day 18: Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (2010)
Day 19: A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)
Day 20: Shaun the Sheep - Snowed In / We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas (2010)
Day 21: A Christmas Cartoon Lump of Coal - The Christmas Tree (1991)
Day 22: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Day 23: The Nutcracker Prince (1990)
Christmas Eve: Christmas Carol Sundays - Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
Christmas Day: Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)
Day 26: The Forgotten Toys: The Night after Christmas (1995)
Day 27: Toy Story that Time Forgot (2014)
Day 28: Codename: Kids Next Door - Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y. (2005)
Day 29: Invader Zim - The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever! (2002)
Day 30: A Pinky and the Brain Christmas (1995)
New Year's Eve: Christmas is Here Again (2007)

As for time of upload, no promises I can keep to a consistant schedule, I guess I can aim for sometime between 7:00pm and 10:00pm GMT but no promises it will always be during that timeframe, some days it'll be posted earlier, other days later, I will try to have the one cartoon for you to watch each day though. That list has already been decided upon.

 

[Deleted member 1378]

nice idea. will participate

 

[Surface of Me]

Heck yeah. Gonna give Olive, the Other Reindeer any love?

 

[Xe4]

Cool idea for a thread. It's been a while since I've seen that episode. This is the only thing I remember from it, haha.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Will be lots of fun for sure

 

[Dr_LawyerCop]

Cool idea. My favorite nostalgia is Christmas specials from my youth. My personal favorites are the Garfield Christmas Special and A Claymation Christmas Celebration, which ironically I just learned from Wikipedia were played back to back on CBS for years. I watched Garfield on YouTube a couple days ago and I believe A Claymation Christmas Celebration is on there as well. I absolutely love Claymation and Will Vinton's stuff.

 

[Extra Sauce]

Cool idea.

Spoiler

We also need a Ciné-Cadeau thread.

 

[Deleted member 401]

Just wanna give a shout-out to Olive the Other Reindeer, a Matt Groening-produced special that's an early stylistic experiment with CG. Here's Michael Stipe singing "I've Got a Dream" "We're Not So Bad."



Also probably the first thing I ever watched that made reference to "dirty magazines."

 

[KalBalboa]

 

[KillstealWolf]

It might be on the list, it might not, I guess you will just have to hit that Watch Thread button and find out...

My only rule for this is only one special from each show, so there won't be any other Simpsons Episodes on this list (And there's a lot of good ones that lost out, sorry Grift of the Magi, Holidays of Future Passed and She of Little Faith). If it's a spin-off of a show though, that's fair game (Not that I'm implying anything about list picks there or anything.)

 

[Zan]

Can some of them be poor quality? Or do they all have to be good?

 

[Septimus Prime]

I just realized that this guy:

Click to shrink...

must be the prototype for this guy:

 

[KillstealWolf]

Can some of them be poor quality? Or do they all have to be good?

Click to shrink...

I do have plans for some "Lumps of Coal" showcases during the calendar as well, we have to take the good along with the bad after all.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

I just realized that this guy:

must be the prototype for this guy:

Click to shrink...

Certainly seems like it

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 2: Bojack Horseman Christmas Special: Sabrina's Christmas Wish (2014)
CONTENT WARNING: Strong Language

This special is interesting as it's one of those "show within a show" deals. Bojack and Todd watching a christmas special from the show Bojack starred in back in the the 80's, Horsin' Around. It's an amusing parody and homage to the christmas specials of the 80's, poking fun at some of the tropes of the time but also telling a sweet yet sombre story the way only Bojack Horseman can.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Hmm I didn't know there was a Bojack special. Interested to give this one a watch.

 

[Deleted member 401]

Hmm I didn't know there was a Bojack special. Interested to give this one a watch.

Click to shrink...

It's standalone on Netflix, not part of any of the seasons.

 

[MDSVeritas]

I absolutely love this idea. This kinda stuff is exactly what I need to help me get into the spirit. I'll try to make some time for these episodes through the month. Also, on-topic I love Bojack and haven't seen the special yet, gotta give it a look!

 

[Xe4]

I still have to watch Bojack dammit. It's on my list, with like a hundred other animated shows.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

It's standalone on Netflix, not part of any of the seasons.

Click to shrink...

Apparently, I watched it earlier today. Pretty solid stuff. Scratched all the Christmas special tropes.

 

[bgbball31]

Aww man, this reminds me that I used to have a VHS with 12 hours of Christmas cartoons on it. When I was young I watched it every Christmas Eve to try to make the day go faster. Garfield Christmas, Rudolph, Island of Misfit Toys, Sante Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty, etc. I wonder if I still have it somewhere.

On topic, I haven't actually seen either of the first two shows posted, so I might seek them out when I get home tonight.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 3:
Animaniacs - A Christmas Plotz/Little Drummer Warners (1993)

There are far too many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, enough to fill a whole calendar on their own if need be, That's why every Sunday will be "Christmas Carol Sunday", sharing with you some of the more memorable ones. Starting off Christmas Carol Sundays will be with the Animaniacs Take on the story, Thaddeus Plotz already makes for a great Scrooge and I shouldn't need to explain how the Warners handle the three spirits.

Also attached to this episode is Little Drummer Warners, a musical medley of the nativity story with the Warners taking on the roles of the shepherds.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 4:
A Wish for Wings that work (1991)

Here's a quirky special that seems to have fallen off the radar, based on the childrens book of the same name by Berkeley Breathed (which itself is based of his own comic strips Bloom County and Outland) this special see Opus trying to make his dream come true and fly, not the easiest thing in the world when you are penguin. Breathed himself actually didn't like the special himself, but I give my recommendations to watching it due to the animation, the voice acting and it's own unique style of comedy.

 

[Rokal]

Cool thread idea! I've been hitting up some of my favorite Christmas special episodes this year (Hey Arnold, Simpsons, etc.) and will be happy to watch this and follow along.

 

[Xe4]

I actually had no clue there was a Christmas special based on Berkely Breathed comics.Thanks for that recommendation, I'll check this one out.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 5:
The Loud House: 11 Louds a Leapin' (2016)

I wanted to put at least one special that came out last year, and not only was The Loud House is one of the breakout new shows of last year, it's Christmas Specials was one of my fav from last years batch as well, perfect choice for the list. This also featured the reveal of the parents faces as well which had remained hidden up to the initial airing of this episode.

 

[Starmud]

Nice to see a few post about the Garfield Christmas special. It's seems long forgotten.

 

[RC.]

Nice to see a few post about the Garfield Christmas special. It's seems long forgotten.

Click to shrink...

Not with me.
It wouldn't be Christmas without a Garfield Christmas Special.

 

[Skillet the Squirrel]

Love this thread. Keep em coming.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 6:
Batman The Animated Series: Heart of Ice (1992)

I know what you are saying, "Why not Christmas with the Joker, Heart of Ice isn't even Christmas Related, it takes place in August!" And that is true, but whilst Christmas with the joker is a fine episode, Heart of Ice is one of the shows best episodes and became the go-to story for one of Gotham's more tragic villains Mr. Freeze. Even Batman and Robin couldn't 100% screw up Mr Freeze after this episode (Still it did get pretty close though).

I guess you can also watch Christmas with the Joker as well...

 

[Yams]

What about the He-Man & She-ra: A Christmas Special?

 

[mclem]

Rooting for "Christmas Comes to Pac-Land"

(Also, The Christmas Raccoons)

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Day 6:
Batman The Animated Series: Heart of Ice (1992)

I know what you are saying, "Why not Christmas with the Joker, Heart of Ice isn't even Christmas Related, it takes place in August!" And that is true, but whilst Christmas with the joker is a fine episode, Heart of Ice is one of the shows best episodes and became the go-to story for one of Gotham's more tragic villains Mr. Freeze. Even Batman and Robin couldn't 100% screw up Mr Freeze after this episode (Still it did get pretty close though).

I guess you can also watch Christmas with the Joker as well...

Click to shrink...

Amazing episode. Great choice.

 

[Xe4]

Heart of Ice is so fucking amazing.
Like, it completely redefined Freeze and his origins story from a C/D tier villain to one of the most memorable villains in Batman ever.

Here's a pretty good video about Batman-TAS


Such a good damn show.

 

[Valkerion]

Batman TAS has a ton of good episodes and their xmas ones nailed it. I liked their episode that went through the villians holiday lol.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 7
A Christmas Cartoon Lump of Coal. - The Smurfs Christmas Special (1982)

Unfortunately not all Christmas Specials can be good, we have plenty of bad ones out there, and every thursday I'm going to showcase some of the worst ones I know.

I'm starting things off a little on the light end of the bad here with one of The Smurf specials. This one... is pretty mediocre for the most part. It's not entirely terrible but there's nothing that makes it good either.

The reason it's in the Advent Calendar is because of the character known as "The Stranger" in this special, I won't spoil who he actually is, and the cartoon itself doesn't say the name entirely, but who they heavily imply the stranger to be will leave you with a with a "What the hell" impression at the end of it all.

 

[KillstealWolf]

I'll be out tonight with friends so I'm posting todays entry a little earlier than usual.

Day 8:
The Small One (1978)

Here's an animation from Don Bluth during his time at Disney, The Small One is a cute little story about a boy and favourite donkey in the family stable known as Small One, but Small One is getting old and tired, and must be sold at the market. The boy and Small One must depart, but the boy will make sure Small One goes to a good owner… if there is good owner in the city.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 9:
Hey Arnold: Arnold's Christmas (1996)

With the recent release of The Jungle Movie I'm sure everyone has Hey Arnold on their minds recently, so how about we go back to it's Christmas Special? Christmas is a time to be with your family, but… oh boy the reason why Mr. Hyunh got seperated with his daughter are quite depressing. It's up to Arnold to do the impossible and try to find his daughter and reunite them for christmas. Can he complete this task in time?

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 10:
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

Flintstones has a fun take on a Christmas Carol in that it's being performed as a play to the people of Bedrock, with Fred getting a little too into the character of Scrooge during the performance. There is also a flu called the Bedrock Bug going around forcing some last minute changes to the performance making for some hilarious laughs.

Now let's not ask the question of how bedrock even has A Christmas Carol, you'll want to be saving those types of questions for the next carol, trust me.

 

[DeeDogg]

Day 9:
Hey Arnold: Arnold's Christmas (1996)

With the recent release of The Jungle Movie I'm sure everyone has Hey Arnold on their minds recently, so how about we go back to it's Christmas Special? Christmas is a time to be with your family, but… oh boy the reason why Mr. Hyunh got seperated with his daughter are quite depressing. It's up to Arnold to do the impossible and try to find his daughter and reunite them for christmas. Can he complete this task in time?

Click to shrink...

One of my favorite episodes!
Always puts me in the Christmas mood

 

[Whitemex]

I hope you do "Christmas in the Car" one of the best Bob's Burger episodes filled with great jokes all around

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 11:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Hearth's Warming Eve (2011)

The ponies of equestria also performed a play in one of their christmas specials, their play covers the founding of equestria and their universe's christmas equivalent, Hearth's Warming Day. There has been 3 Hearth's Warming specials in Friendship is Magic so far, Hearth's Warming, a Hearth's Warming Tail and Hearthbreakers, and I've gone with the one that kicked things off. Great animation as always with MLP:FIM, as well as good comedy as the characters bounce off eachother. Only downside is that it's song… could be better. If you want the good MLP Christmas Songs you'll need to watch their Christmas Carol themed episode instead (And the christmas carol list is full enough as is).

The one question I have though, where does Celestia and Luna fit into the founding of equestria?

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 12:
Wander Over Yonder - The Gift 2: The Giftening/ The Gift (2014)

Please note the viewing order for this one, you should watch The Gift 2: The Giftening first, and then watch The Gift, this special has the fun of different perspectives on the same story, what appears as a Christmas Special for Wonder and Silvia, plays out more like a Halloween Special for Lord Hater and Commander Peepers. After all, what does Lord Hater hate more than Happiness?

 

[Sadsic]

Can the Community Christmas Special be used? It's like 50% animated lol

 

[Xe4]

Wander Over Yonder was the greatest, especially the intro.

Don't really remember the Christmas special in particular though.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Day 13:
Futurama: A Tale of Two Santas (2001)
CONTENT WARNING: Strong Language

In the year 3001 Santa is a robot made by corporations to deliver gifts for the good boys and girls and punish the naughty, unfortunately someone set that nice standards way too high so everyone in the world (with maybe one exception) is listed as naughty, and this robot is packing an entire robotic arsenal of guns and missiles with him. Now all live in fear of this Robot Santa every Christmas. This is the second Futurama Christmas Special with Fry, Leela and Bender trying to overthrow the Robot Santa and return Christmas back to what it was when Fry was alive, you have 3 guesses on how well that goes.

 

[Xe4]

I like that episode, but the first Christmas special was probably my favorite.
"Your mistletoe has no chance against my Tow Missile!"
This one had a pretty good song though.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Day 11:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Hearth's Warming Eve (2011)

The ponies of equestria also performed a play in one of their christmas specials, their play covers the founding of equestria and their universe's christmas equivalent, Hearth's Warming Day. There has been 3 Hearth's Warming specials in Friendship is Magic so far, Hearth's Warming, a Hearth's Warming Tail and Hearthbreakers, and I've gone with the one that kicked things off. Great animation as always with MLP:FIM, as well as good comedy as the characters bounce off eachother. Only downside is that it's song… could be better. If you want the good MLP Christmas Songs you'll need to watch their Christmas Carol themed episode instead (And the christmas carol list is full enough as is).

The one question I have though, where does Celestia and Luna fit into the founding of equestria?

Click to shrink...

Glad to see an MLP episode got included. The present day section has some odd writing, but the play is a lot of fun. It was clever how they managed to combine a holiday story with a nation founding story. The song is pretty out of place, especially since none of the character singers actually sing it, but I thought it was alright. The songs in the most recent holiday special, "A Hearth's Warming Tail", are definitely much better, though.

Speaking of which, I recommend checking out the official holiday album, which has some great covers of Christmas songs, some songs from the show, and an original song.

About Celestia and Luna, supplemental media has presented them as coming to Equestria as children some time after it was founded. Them being on the flag probably comes from the play being done in the present.

 

[JABEE]

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol with music written by Julie Styne and Bob Merrill is one of the greatest Christmas specials.