Thanksgiving Double Feature - The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't & Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz

Let's give thanks for holiday specials with these two rarities. While there have been animated specials revolving around Thanksgiving since the 1960's, most of them aren't as well-remembered today as A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I vaguely remember seeing Oz on cable as a child in the 1980's, but definitely didn't recall it as an adult, and I never heard of Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't until last week. How do they look now for a new generation of animation lovers? Let's start with Hanna-Barbara's entry as two modern families - human and squirrel - gather for dinner and find out...

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

Hanna-Barbara, 1972

Voices of Bobby Riha, Kevin Cooper, Hal Smith, and June Foray

Directed by Joseph Hanna and William Barbara

Music and Lyrics by various

The Story: Little Bear (Cooper), son of Chief Massasoit, and young pilgrim Johnny Cooke (Riha) get lost in the woods just before Thanksgiving dinner. They encounter many dangers, from rapids to wolves, in their attempt to find their way back to the pilgrim village in time for the big feast. A chatty squirrel (Smith) and his woodland friends lend them a paw in their quest.

The Animation: Pretty typical of what Hanna-Barbara did for Saturday morning at the time, with bright colors and limited movement. In fact, it looks a lot like a Scooby Doo cartoon with more realistic animal designs. Some of the music from Scooby Doo, Where Are You? even kicks in during a chase scene towards the end of the special.

The Song and Dance: Funny little special with a few good chase scenes, especially later on, and decent voice work from the two boys. It's actually interesting to see a special involving the Pilgrims that only mentions their difficult journey, and isn't focused on food, either. This one is all about the kids, Jeremy Squirrel, and their antics. I appreciate how Little Bear is portrayed. He's as curious and inventive - and hilarious - as his pilgrim friend. 

Favorite Number: The catchy opening number over the credits, "This Is Thanksgiving Day," is a real ear worm that'll keep you singing through your own dinner. The boys say "Let's Take the Shortest Road Home" as they strut through the woods with Jeremy leading the way. Jeremy Squirrel and the boys say "I'm Thankful" for food, turkey legs, and friends and family.

What I Don't Like: This is pretty goofy for a Thanksgiving special. There's plot holes galore, starting with the kids don't even question it when the squirrel starts talking to them. None of the other animals in the special talk, either, including the wolf. Some of the gags in the woods don't really have much function besides filler, too. 

The Big Finale: Funny piece of fluff is worth throwing on to amuse kids before or after the big meal.

Home Media: Currently on free streaming site Tubi with ads.

Tubi

Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz

CBS/Muller-Rosen Productions, 1980

Voices of Mischa Bond, Sid Caesar, Bob Ridgley, and Frank Nelson

Directed by Fred Wolf and Charles Swenson

Music by Stephen Lawrence; Lyrics by Romeo Muller

The Story: Dorothy's (Bond) upset because she and her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry will have to be separated the day after Thanksgiving. She chases a thief who stole her aunt's mince pie, only to discover it's the former Wizard (Caesar). His giant green turkey balloon ends up taking Dorothy and Toto back to Oz. They have to steal the Powder of Life back from Tyrone the Terrible Toy Tinker (Ridgley) before he can make a whole army of toys. Helping her along are Jack Pumpkinhead (Ridgely), Tik-Tok the Mechanical Man (Joan Garber) and the Hungry Tiger (Nelson), who would eat anything if his conscience would let him.

The Animation: Typical of the Murikami Swenson films, with its more subdued color and simple lines. The characters do move well enough, and there's even a a little bit of special effects with the Green Gobbler balloon coming to life. 

The Song and Dance: This has some things in common with the Disney film Return to Oz from five years later. Here too, no one believes Dorothy about Oz and its citizens, she goes up against a bearded villain who lives in a mountain, and meets Jack Pumpkinhead, Ozma, and Tik-Tok. The Oz pedigree makes the story a bit stronger than usual for holiday fare. Bond and Ridgely do the best as an unusually feisty Dorothy and bumpkin Jack. Caesar has fun as the Wizard and the multiple-accented mince pie UN Krust, too, and even gets the short's best song, "Beans In Your Button."

Favorite Number: Dorothy and Toto fly over the rainbow on the end of the Green Gobbler to the tune of the dreamy "Everything That Oz Can Be." "Beans In Your Button" is the catchy number for the Wizard as he explains how Dorothy and her crew compare to the settlers who came to Dorothy's native Kansas. Dorothy's slightly syrupy ballad "Christmas, Toys, and Oz" convinces Tyrone that his toys will be better off making children happy than frightening them.

Trivia: Most current copies remove the references to Thanksgiving, though not the ones to Christmas or being thankful for what we have and can do. 

What I Don't Like: I like the story so much, I wish it were longer. We barely see the much vaunted Green Gobbler. Tyrone doesn't get much to do until the end, either, and then he mostly just threatens Dorothy. They could have done so much more with this, including expanding Dorothy's journey to the Emerald City and her time with Tyrone. It all seems really rushed. And yeah, the connections to Thanksgiving are tenuous at best and kind of shoehorned in when they do appear. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out during the holidays for Oz and fantasy fans or those who loved Romero's other fantasy specials from the 70's and 80's. 

Home Media: Currently on DVD packaged with the Swenson-Muller Easter special Peter and the Magic Egg.

Peter and the Magic Egg/Dorothy In the Land of Oz