Casper’s First Christmas (1979) Review

Casper’s First Christmas (1979) Review

Casper the Friendly Ghost is a pretty well-known cartoon character, who had a life on television long before this Christmas special originally aired, but he had never before been paired with a stable of Hanna-Barbera’s most-popular characters. 

Casper lives in an old rundown house with his fellow ghost friend Hairy Scary, who has a big red nose and isn’t much scarier than Casper himself. The house is set to be demolished on Christmas Eve, which has Hairy Scary rattled and not in the best sprits (oof, sorry about the pun), so they go out to look for a new home. While they’re gone, an unlikely group of characters arrive. There’s Yogi Bear and Booboo, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, and Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddie. They are lost, but decide to spruce up the old house and celebrate Christmas just the same. When Casper and Hairy Scary come back, Casper is overjoyed, but Hairy Scary is not. 

It’s fun to see all of these characters come together in one half-hour program. Though it features one of those annoyingly over-the-top laugh tracks, it doesn’t do much to diminish the enjoyment. All of the characters get a moment to shine, but Casper’s part in the story sometimes feels a bit minimal, especially considering he’s in the title. Casper and Hairy Scary originally came from the series Casper and the Angels, which was on TV at the same time this special was released, but when I saw it for the first time as a kid, I didn’t yet know them from anything else. 

Casper’s First Christmas is pretty squarely aimed at kids, so if you’re watching it for the first time as a teen or adult, go in with that mindset, and you’ll likely enjoy it more. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a Hanna-Barbera fan, and the way it tackles the Christmas theme is admirable, if not particularly original. It sort of feels like an excuse to have all these characters together, but it’s still fun regardless.  

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) Review

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) Review

Rankin/Bass Productions was responsible for a number of stop-motion Christmas classics. The most notable ones are Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman (though the latter is one of their animated features), but instead of talking about the ones everyone knows about, I’m going to take a look at ones that haven’t remained as prominent over time. First up, this odd little tale of the most-famous Christmas ass since Dominick the Donkey, which probably isn’t saying a lot.

The story takes place in the Roman Empire. Nestor is a young donkey with really long ears, and he gets made fun of all the time, much like Rudolph with his red nose.  Nestor’s mother gets him socks to keep his ears warm during the cold winter nights. After a mix-up with some soldiers trying to buy a bunch of donkeys from the stable in which they live, Nestor and his mother end up alone in the middle of a blizzard. Nestor’s mom shields him from the snow, and she promises everything will be fine. 

Well damn, guess what? Everything won’t be fine. THE MOM DIES. What kind of a cheerful Christmas specials is this?! It isn’t cheerful, it’s the darkest thing to ever happen in any Christmas show, I reckon. 

With his mom dead, Nestor is guided through the desert by a Cherub, and arrives in Bethlehem, where he is purchased by Mary and Joseph. He helps them get to the stable where Jesus is born, even wrapping Mary in his long ears to protect her. I don’t think bible thumpers consider this story canon. 

Besides having an extremely unexpected and depressing moment halfway through, Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is an average Christmas program. It’s short and (mostly) sweet, but isn’t that tightly focused on Christmas until the end, and lacks the whimsy of the best Rankin/Bass productions. Still, if you like donkeys and Christmas, then this brings them together in likely the best way possible.   

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Review

 A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) Review

Why am I reviewing this beloved animated classic? Who out there doesn’t know about the Charlie Brown Christmas special, which has aired every holiday season since it first premiered? Well, I’m willing to bet there are people out there who may have never seen it—or, more likely, haven’t seen it in a number of years. Here is why you need to take the time to watch it this year, whether you’ve seen it as recently as last year or fall into one of the two categories I mentioned prior. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas is shockingly relevant in today’s age. As a kid, I didn’t get why Charlie Brown got depressed during the holidays. What kid didn’t like Christmas? Now that I’m an adult, I get it. All the prep work and gift buying and constant bombardment of songs and merriment can get to be a bit much, even though it’s all supposed to be joyous. It’s fairly high-concept for what’s supposed to be a simple holiday special for children. 

One of the aspects I like the most is the approach to the story. It would have been easy to have all the kids attend a Christmas party, or a family gathering, or something generic, but they participate in the school Christmas play. Not only have I never seen this particular concept executed in any other Christmas special, it allows for plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (mostly from Snoopy, of course) and a range of characters interactions.  

But it’s not all jokes and silliness. Things get real when Charlie flips his lid and demands an explanation: just what, exactly, is Christmas really all about? Linus steps up to the mic and drops some knowledge on all the kids, reminding them (and viewers) that it’s really about celebrating the birth of Christ. For real though, after all the years and over-commercialization since the release of this show, it’s unfortunate how many people have actually forgotten that. What a nicer way to remind them than to wrap it up in an animated short like this? It’s utterly perfect. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas has the classic jazz music, the charming peanuts animation style, and the timeless characters, but that’s really all just trimmings over an emotionally resonant core. This is without a doubt one of the best Christmas specials ever made. To skip it would be a minor holiday crime, as far as I’m concerned. So treat yourself.