12. Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas. I know this movie has been skewered by reviewers, but I always had a soft spot for it. It doesn't belong in the continuity of the original (thanks Vixen for explaining that the original took place in only three days, the montage really made me lose track of time), but I don't care. It's like how Kingdom Hearts screws with continuity; in fact Tim Curry's character is pretty much doing the same thing Xaldin was tasked with in KH2, although for a different reason. In addition to Tim Curry, there's also Bernadette Peters, and who can say no to that?
11. Shrek the Halls. Shrek never celebrated Christmas before, and now he feels pressured to put on the perfect one for his family while all their friends have an out-of-control party at their house. Although I laughed at some parts of the other Christmas specials the Shrek franchise produced after the release of the fourth movie, I like this one the best because of its heart and how crazy everyone can get at this time of the year.
10. Grinch (2000). Yes, the one with Jim Carrey. As far as his character acting goes in regard to kids movies, this is one of his more memorable performances IMO. I like this one for the soundtrack as well, and that includes Jim Carrey's musical numbers. The film really gives us more of a perspective on the Grinch as a character outside the original half-hour Dr. Seuss cartoon(s).
9. Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. This one is nostalgic gold for me. It's enjoyable for anyone who liked the old series, but maybe not for purists of the original story, as the woman in the beginning tells the children that it's a retelling of the ballet told to her by the Care Bears, whom she may or may not have met. That being said, I like it because I have never seen the ballet or any other version I was more pleased with. It's sort of similar to the Alice in Wonderland adaptation they did, but this one isn't as mind-numbingly bad. Instead, it's sugary-sweet but falls just short of giving you diabetes.
8. It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special. This is the Tiny Toon Adventures version of It's a Wonderful Life, if that had not been made clear by the title. Montana Max sabotages the Christmas pageant being put on by Buster and ends up getting him fired by bribing the network executives who've come to oversee the dress rehearsal. The Replacements did something similar, but this is a direct parody, complete with Bugs Bunny as Buster's mentor/guardian angel, who keeps him from committing cartoon-suicide. Both in the alternate universe and reality, the show is failing without him, so he must return and make things right.
7. I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger. This is the episode where Zedd tries to either steal or take over Christmas, and the Power Rangers must stop them. Fortunately, no one's powers work at the North Pole so they have to improvise once they get there. A Season to Remember would be another good one, but I didn't like Zeo all that much to begin with.
6. A Christmas Carol. Any version, pretty much, though my favorites are the Muppet version and the made-for-TV(?) musical starring Kelsey Grammer. I didn't like the Jim Carrey version of this very much though, which is why Grinch is on this list specifically. Once again, the songs in the Muppet and Grammer versions are the reasons for their specific placement on this list, and who doesn't love A Christmas Carol ?
5. Billy and Mandy Save Christmas. Christmas must have been saved more times than Princess Peach, even though it only comes once a year. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy throw in vampires, including one voiced by Malcolm McDowall, and a Gilbert Gottfried Santa (this was before everyone turned on him for his joke about Japan). The only thing that bugs me is that it was made during a time when Cartoon Network encouraged its shows to run epilogue sequences during the end credits, but in recent years they've gone back to cutting them off in favor of more commercials. I miss seeing the epilogue to this where Grim jumps into a pile of presents and Mandy throws her lump of coal at him.
4. Merry Christmas Kenan. My favorite episode of Kenan & Kel ever is this Christmas episode - I even have the novelization. Kenan's boss salvages a robot Santa from a dumpster, but then once activated it proceeds to beat the tar out of him while a crowd gathers to watch and cheer it on. Meanwhile, Kenan and Kel play a department store Santa and his elf while trying to earn Kenan enough money to buy himself a mountain bike for Christmas, but Kenan ends up buying bikes for two needy children instead. Drake and Josh's hour-long special was good too, but this is a classic.
3. Big Time Christmas. BTR a.k.a. the boy band my brother says is way better than the Jonas Brothers. I may not like all their songs, but I have to agree with him on that. I don't hate the Jonas Brothers, but I don't like their music; they were worth watching on an episode of Hannah Montana and a featurette on the Night at the Museum 2 DVD, though, and that was because both of them involved Nerf-type weapons. As I said before, I'm not part of their target audience (and when I was, when I told my friend that "nothing says Christmas like vampires" I was talking about the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy Christmas special), but I would've been the type who liked Logan. In fact, my favorite part of the Big Time Christmas special was in the beginning when Logan almost get kidnapped from the store in the very beginning. Grif is the most horrible producer ever, making them do a last-minute Christmas album. They parody Alvin and the Chipmunks nicely, and I think there was even a nod to Stephen Colbert's Christmas special (yes, Miranda, bears are funny). I could watch this stuff over and over and still not get tired of it yet. It's original and entertaining, and the musical numbers aren't bad either. That's a sign of an enduring holiday standard.
2. The Christmas Aliens. TMNT was one of the few shows 4Kids got right. In the Christmas episode, Mikey's so bundled up against the cold that no one would mistake him for a mutant turtle (though as the audience we know better). He's out playing and finds a stray kitty he decides to adopt, but then he catches some thugs hijacking a truckload of toys being delivered to an orphanage and takes matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, everyone else including almost every minor character to appear in the show up to this point is gathered in the lair for a Christmas party, which Master Splinter insists cannot start until Mikey gets home. I'd say there were a couple subtle nods to Next Mutation, but that would really piss some people off.
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is a year-round treat, but especially popular during the weeks between October and December. Jack's not a bad guy, but he's just bored of the same old routine and decides to give Christmas a try. Too bad everything goes horribly wrong for him as he's overly excited and ignores the words of advice from Sally, and he sends a trio of tricksters who keep switching sides from Jack to Oogie and back again.
And that's that. My favorite classic to listen to is Carol of the Bells, especially the version played by
the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. My favorite classic to parody is The Twelve Days of Christmas, my favorites being The Twelve Pains of Christmas and Shrek's Twelve Days of Christmas. And there's this other song that's been stuck in my head ever since I heard it called Merry Frickin' Christmas.
One year, I saw a little Christmas tree that looked like Luna's dress from Half-Blood Prince. I know that was Slughorn's Christmas party and Yule Ball was in Goblet of Fire, but whatever, I'm segueing to this anyway. If I could invite anyone to a yule party, real or fictional, it would be my friends and tv.com friends, and Ryou, of course. After that, Luna herself and possibly Hermione. If I lived in the Potterverse, I hope I could call them friends. Then there's Abby and McGee from NCIS. Hopefully Abby would bring Caf-Nog and gingerbread Abby cookies. :P Finally, there would be several Power Rangers invited: Tommy, Zack, Rocky, Adam, Kimberly, Billy, and possibly a few others. If I had one wish, it would be to reunite Ansem and his apprentices and bring Christmas back to Radiant Garden. That would truly be a miracle. In real life, I'm still holding out for a full-time job and world peace. Neither one is looking too likely right now.
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