I love animation, comic art, comic books and comic strips. Always have.
I love the work of Gerald Scarfe, Ralph Bakshi, the work of Hayao Miyazaki, and the advances made by Pixar. Growing up a ten minute drive from the Museum of Cartoon Art when it was located in Rye Brook, NY, I would wander the exhibits for hours, and spend time sitting in the viewing rooms watching things like the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoons (absolutely brilliant animation, by the way).
For me, as a youth, part of the magic of the holidays (be it Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas), was the animated specials. For me, there have been a handful of greats, some classic, some relatively new, but destined to be classic.
These are, for my money, the best animated Christmas specials...
10. South Park - Technically, this isn't a Christmas special done for television, but was an animated short done for animation festivals like Spike and Mike's, and is directed at adults. But there are few Christmas related things funnier than the scene in this first South Park animated piece when Jesus shows up and yells at Santa, "Kringle, you ruined my birthday!" To which Claus replies, "there can be only one," as he whips out a samurai sword.
9. Frosty the Snowman - Not my cup of tea anymore, but a sweet piece about the enchantment and magic of Christmas for any kid.8. Year Without a Santa Claus - Gotta give this one props for bringing us the cultural icons Heat and Cold Miser. I still find myself occasionally singing the Heat Miser song.
7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Five words...The Land of Misfit Toys. I don't think I need to say anything else.
6. A Claymation Christmas Celebration -This was a result of the anno
ying California Raisin commercials in the 1980's and they do indeed make an appearance. In spite of that, this is a pretty entertaining collection of Christmas carols coordinated to claymation.
4. Justice League: Comfort and Joy - If you haven't caught this one, find it. This is amongst the best of the animated series Christmas specials. Nothing says Christmas like the Flash and the Ultra-Humanite.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The classic Seussian Christmas complete with song and narration from Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff.
2. A Wish for Wings that Work - Of all, probably my favorite, and the one I think as the best. Based on the Berkeley Breathed kids book, this features old Bloom County favorites Opus and Bill the Cat in a story as much about accepting who you are, as it is about the goodwill of the season.
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas - The sentimental favorite, the music and story is tinged with that little bit of angst that creeps in to the edges of the season for so many. More religious than I tend to like for a holiday that co-opted the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, but it still comes back to the goodwill message of Christmas. Besides...it's Charlie Brown.
Yeah, the Simpsons had some good episodes, and there were other South Park episodes, but right now, these are what I'm putting on my list. I'm sure I've forgotten shows I would want to include on the list, but anything I missed, feel free to remind me.
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