Animation Celebration Saturday - Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

CBS, 1986

Voices of Chad Allen, Jeremy Miller, Kristie Baker, and Melissa Guzzi

Directed by Bill Melendez and Sam James

Music by Desiree Goyette; Lyrics by Ed Bogas

Let's join the Peanuts in one of their few full musical specials to celebrate the end of 2023. Though The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show only lasted about a year on Saturday morning, the holiday shows continued to be institutions in prime-time. This would be their last holiday special until 1992, and the second to last one on CBS. How does Charlie Brown's difficult New Year look nowadays? Let's begin at school the day before Christmas vacation begins and find out...

The Story: Charlie Brown (Allen) is horrified when he's given the massive War and Peace to read over Christmas break for a book report. He's constantly distracted by the preparations for Peppermint Patty's (Baker) New Year's Eve party,  including a dance lesson. He does somehow manage to invite the Little Red Haired Girl, but Peppermint Patty thinks he's her date. Meanwhile, Sally (Elizabeth Lyn Fraser) wishes her "sweet baboo" Linus (Miller) would ask her, and Lucy (Guzzi) tries to get Schroder's (Aron Mandelbaum) attention away from him playing the music at the party.

The Animation: Pretty similar to all of the Peanuts specials, and most Saturday morning cartoons from this time. Admittedly, some of the backgrounds look nifty, especially when they get to the party and the kids are decorating. The characters move relatively well and look like their comic strip counterparts at the time, which is really all this franchise needs.

The Song and Dance: One of the better Peanuts specials of the 1980's. There's some great gags with Charlie's attempts to read War and Peace, and especially how he tries getting around it early on. Peppermint Patty also has some funny moments when she gets Charlie to the dance studio, and there's his attempt to ask the Little Red Haired Girl out. 

Favorite Number: "Slow, Slow, Quick Quick" is most of the lyrics for the song heard when the kids take their dance lesson at the studio. The melody still manages to be catchy as Peppermint Patty whirls Charlie around the floor. Patty also sings "Musical Chairs" when the kids play that game during the party. The song is so catchy that the kids are often still dancing along when the music stops. The traditional "Auld Lang Syne" comes in at midnight, as the kids all sing along...except for Charlie, who is sleeping outside.

What I Don't Like: The whole thing with the book report annoys me. Who the heck gives kids who aren't more than 11 a book that many adults can't get through to do a report on? The slightly episodic structure lacks some of the heart of earlier, more story-oriented entries like A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

The Big Finale: One of the more underrated Peanuts specials is worth checking out with the kids before the ball drops on New Year's Eve. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD with I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, and on Apple TV with a subscription. 

DVD - I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown

Apple TV 

And here's hoping all of my readers have a happy and healthy 2024!

Animation Celebration Extra - Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Hanna-Barbara/Warner Bros, 2017

Voices of Spike Brandt, Lincoln Melcher, JP Karliak, and Jess Harnell

Directed by Spike Brandt

Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

Yes, this is the other movie Warner Bros developed to keep the rights to the Wonka franchise. Hanna-Barbara had been plopping the cat and mouse duo into a series of increasingly strange crossovers with fairy tales or other Warners properties like Sherlock Holmes and The Wizard of Oz (twice) since 2002. How well do they work in the story of five children who find golden tickets and get the right to explore a fantastic candy factory and meet its reclusive owner? Let's begin exactly the same as the original film, with the kids running to the local candy shop for Wonka bars, and find out...

The Story: Tom (Brandt) and Jerry (Brandt) are hungry street critters who badly want a bar of chocolate. So does poor but honest newsboy Charlie Buckett (Melcher), who stops Tom from eating Jerry and stealing a box of chocolate bars. Charlie's Grandpa Joe (Harnell) tells them about how the reclusive Willy Wonka (Karliak) shut his factory to avoid spies who wanted to steal his chocolate recipes.

Everyone is shocked when Wonka announces that whomever finds five golden tickets in his chocolate bars will get a lifetime supply of chocolate and to visit the factory. Tom and Jerry do manage to make money to buy a bar of chocolate, but Charlie ends up with the coin and the last winning bar. To the trio's horror, they discover that rival chocolate factory owner Mr. Slugworth (Mick Wingert) intends to use the children to steal Wonka's secret recipes. With the help of assistant Oompa-Loompa Tuffy (Kath Soucie), the cat and the mouse follow Charlie into the factory and dodge its many wonders to tell Wonka about his rival's plot.

The Animation: It looks like what it is - a direct-to-home-media version of a live-action film. It's colorful and cute, and the characters move well enough. Some of the locations are also recreated fairly well, and there's a few attempts to make a cat and mouse sized version of Wonka's world that's good for a few chuckles. 

The Song and Dance: This isn't a great movie - or even a good one - but there are a few things that work. I appreciate that we actually see Slugworth get punished for lying and leading everyone around by the nose (even if it was on his boss' orders) and Veruca for behaving so badly, especially given in the original book, the worst that happens to Veruca is getting covered in garbage. Tom and Jerry do have a few funny gags, notably when they're trying to earn money for that chocolate bar and get into the factory.

Favorite Number: As in the original movie, we open with Bill the candy store owner (Harnell) singing "The Candy Man" while he sells the local kids Wonka bars. Tom and Jerry spend the number chasing each other and the bar of chocolate Jerry has. We hear "I Want It Now" twice. Slugworth sings it the first time in a rather freaky sequence when he's trying to force Tom, Jerry, and Charlie into helping him get Wonka's secrets. Veruca sings it later in the goose room when she's whining because her Wonka won't sell her father one of the chocolate egg-laying poultry.

Grandpa Joe and Charlie are joined by Tom and Jerry for their rollicking "I've Got a Golden Ticket." Wonka sings "Pure Imagination" as Tom and Jerry try to dodge everyone eating their way through the Chocolate Room and Wonka describes the delights they're experiencing. "Pure Imagination" returns in the finale as everyone - including Tom and Jerry - find a way to fly home.

What I Don't Like: This movie is exactly what it was made to be - a cheap cash-grab placeholder. Tom and Jerry are inserted awkwardly into a story that isn't theirs and a world where they simply don't fit. Their gags  don't work with this whimsical franchise, and the plot isn't crying out for comic relief animals. In fact, we barely get to see the other kids besides Veruca or the parents because the movie is too busy focusing on the cat and mouse antics, which means we don't care like we should when they vanish. We don't see the all-important contract signing sequence, either, though Wonka refers to it in the end. Not to mention, there's still the problem with the solution to the Slugworth side plot being rather anti-climatic. Wingert's annoyingly over-the-top performance makes it even worse. 

The Big Finale: I can understand why this is Warners' last attempt to cross Tom and Jerry with a another franchise to date and their last direct-to-home-media movie with the characters until 2022. Even more than most of the other Tom and Jerry direct-to-home-media crossovers, this is totally unnecessary and is only for their most ardent fans. Everyone else would be fine with the three live-action Wonka films. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, often for under $10. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Wonka

Warner Bros, 2023

Starring Timothee Chalamet, Calah Lane, Paterson Joseph, and Keegan-Michael Key

Directed by Paul King 

Music and Lyrics by Neil Hannon

This week, we're going to look at two recent and unusual adaptations of the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starting with the one that's currently in theaters. Truthfully, they were both originally developed so Warners could retain the rights to the franchise. Many critics questioned the need for another version of the story after the 1971 and the 2005 Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while others wondered how Chalamet could compete with Gene Wilder's iconic performance as Wonka and Johnny Depp's memorably creepy one. Why don't we begin with the young Wonka's (Chalamet) arrival in an unnamed vaguely European city around the mid 1940's and find out...

The Story: Wonka, a magician and aspiring chocolatier, arrives in town to set up a shop at the famous Galleries Gourmet, just the way his mother (Sally Hawkins) dreamed of when he was a child. Trouble is, it's mainly run by Slugworth (Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Ficklegruber (Matthew Baynton), whose Chocolate Cartel controls all of the chocolate sales in town. The corrupt Chief of Police (Key) confiscates his earnings. To make matters worse, on his first night, he was tricked into staying at a hotel run by Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), who forces guests into virtual slavery in her laundry rooms. 

Wonka manages to escape with the help of Noodle (Lane), an orphan who was abandoned in the laundry chute. The two bond over their orphan status, and with the help of the other workers at the laundry, manage to sell chocolates on the street without the Cartel or the Chief of Police catching on at first. The Cartel, however, is determined to eliminate this whimsical rival. They band together with Mrs. Scrubbit, her associate Mr. Bleacher (Tom Davis), and corrupt chocolate-addicted priest Father Julius (Rowan Atikson) to take him down. Wonka, however, has his friends to help see him through, including pretentious Lofty the Oompa-Loompa (Hugh Grant) who just wants Wonka to return the cacao beans he inadvertently stole. 

The Song and Dance: You can tell this was made by the same director who did the two Paddington movies from a few years ago. This shares many elements with those films, including a sweet story taken from beloved British children's literature, a naive young protagonist whose presence shakes up a lot of people's dull lives, and an exciting but slightly tacked-on action climax. It also has a lot in common with Jingle Jangle - a magical inventor goes on an adventure with a little girl in order to save his shop, rekindle his faith, and prove that a wealthy executive is a thief. Only here, it's the inventor who is teaching the child how to believe in magic. Keegan Michael Key is a villain in both films. They even open with very similar ensemble chorus numbers in from of the magical shops. 

While Chalamet is adorable as the wide-eyed Wonka who only wants to share his chocolate-making abilities with the world, it's the supporting cast where this really shines. Lane is a delight as the browbeaten orphan who becomes Wonka's biggest supporter, especially later after the destruction of the shop and he's ready to pack it in, and Atkinson has a few funny moments late in the film as the chocolate-loving reverend. 

Hugh Grant's dislike of the film and his role actually lends a gravity to the rather snooty Lofty and works with his character. Joseph is especially hissable as the most seen and nastiest of the Chocolate Cartel owners who are determined to keep the really sweet profits to themselves. Gorgeous production too, mostly filmed in England. Special kudos to the colorful costumes and sets, elegant Dickensian backdrops set against the dapper polka-dots, pinstripes, and fanciful beribboned hats of the mid-20th century.

Favorite Number: We open with Wonka singing about "A Hatful of Dreams" as he debarks from the boat that took him around the world and into town. His dream of becoming a great chocolate maker turns into a fanciful chorus routine, complete with people under umbrellas dancing and extolling his wares. He tries to convince the Chocolate Cartel that "You've Never Had Chocolate Like This" and gives them candy that can make them fly. They don't feel the effects...right then. People get a lot more into the song and the confections when Wonka and his new friends reprise the number as they run all over town, selling his unique products.

"Scrub Scrub" is the lament of the workers at Mrs. Scrubbit's, as they're forced to do her laundry all day long. The Chocolate Cartel sings of using the Chief's considerable "Sweet Tooth" to bribe him into keeping Wonka out of the candy business. Wonka and Noodle celebrate what can happen when they let their guard down "For a Moment" and have fun at the zoo and all over town. 

Lofty sings two versions of "The Oompa Loompa Song," one when Wonka catches him to explain why he keeps stealing his chocolate, and one when he runs a film over the credits that explains what happened to everyone later. "A World of Your Own" is the big number at Wonka's shop as he extols its many fanciful virtues, from cotton candy clouds to edible plates, and how wonderful it is to have a place where you can be what you want to be. "Pure Imagination" pops up briefly in the ending, as Wonka explains what he wants to do and how he'll do it. "Sorry Noodle" is his leaving on the boat, apologizing to his little friend for running out.

Trivia: Other young men in the running for the title role included Tom Holland, Ezra Miller, Ryan Gosling, and Donald Glover. 

What I Don't Like: It also shares some of the same problems as Jingle Jangle...namely, it runs too long and includes some unnecessary action sequences that slow down the last third. Despite the Cartel being pretty nasty characters, the film is so sweet, it lacks some of the weirder edges in the previous adaptations. Chalamet's Wonka is more of a naive child than a trickster, at least before he begins to wise up towards the end of the film. It has way too much going on, with far too many subplots. Some of the fat-phobic jokes with Key's character in the second half border on annoying, too.

The Big Finale: If you're willing to travel down a sweeter path with the young Willy Wonka and his new friends, this is one candy-coated journey that's well worth heading to the theater for.

Home Media: It's currently available for pre-order at Amazon. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K

Amazon Prime (Buy Only)

Merry Christmas! - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) & The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas, one and all! This year for our closest review to the big day, we're covering one of the most beloved holiday TV specials of all time, and one that's not as well-known today. Do they still deserve a place at your holiday gatherings? Let's start down in Whoville as the Whos begin preparations for their own celebration and find out...

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

CBS, 1966

Voices of Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft, June Foray, and Dallas McKennon

Directed by Chuck Jones and Ben Washam

Music by Alfred Hague; Lyrics by Dr. Seuss

The Story: All the Whos down in Whoville like Christmas a lot...too much, if you ask the Grinch (Karloff). He finds their noise to be annoying and their Christmas cheer, especially their big Christmas Day gathering around the town tree, to be sickening. Fed up with the noise and sentiment, he makes himself a Santa Claus outfit, puts horns on his dog Max, and rides a sleigh down to Whoville to steal their holiday goodies. He thinks this will put a damper on their Christmas cheer. Not even a tree-stealing Grinch can stop the true holiday spirit, though, finally teaching the Grinch that "Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

The Animation: Chuck Jones' signature style is all over this special. I don't think anyone can see the Grinch without thinking of that evil yellow grin and those expressive heavy eyebrows. The Whos, by contrast, are tiny and adorable, with their little child faces and slender teardrop bodies. Their pastel Christmas in the opening is wonderful to look at, with something nifty in every frame. And the Grinch may have found them unbearably noisy, but I did love the creative designs of their toys when he's complaining about how loud Christmas morning is.

The Song and Dance: Jones' animation and Seuss' classic script makes this one of the all-time great TV Christmas specials. The Grinch is a hoot to watch, especially just how he gets away with stealing everything and his defrosting afterwards. His dog Max has great moments of his own. I love his wide-eyed expression when the Grinch ties that horn on his head. Cindy Lou catching him is just adorable - I love how big that ornament is compared to her. 

Favorite Number: "Welcome Christmas" is the Who's song. This gentle greeting opens and closes the special and shows us why the Whos' holiday is so special to them...and why it annoys the Grinch. The first rendition of "Welcome" goes straight into "Trim Up the Tree," a Seuss tongue-twister showing off both the Who's unique decorations and Seuss' creative words for them. 

Of course, the big one here is the song heard throughout the special. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is given extra weight by Thurl Ravenscroft's menacing bass and the constantly escalating lyrics. Some of the most creative insults and villain descriptions ever heard on TV come from this song. It perfectly captures what the Grinch is doing as he makes his plans and takes the Whos' goodies.

What I Don't Like: Honestly, the book isn't that long. There's a bit of slapstick padding with Max and the Grinch getting the sleigh down to Whoville, though it's not nearly as intrusive as similar sequences in the live-action and feature-length animated films. 

The Big Finale: This is one of the most famous holiday specials of all time for good reason. If you haven't watched it yet this season, do so, especially if you have younger children who will enjoy the Grinch's antics.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats; frequently runs on TV and cable during December as well.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree

NBC, 1979

Voices of Ron McLarty, Gabriela Glatzer, Jonathan Lewis, and Pat Lysinger 

Directed by Mordecai Gerstein

Music by Elliot Lawrence; Lyrics by Stan Bernstein

The Story: Papa Bear (McLarty) is determined to find the perfect Christmas tree, "a tree to show how Christmassy we are." Mama (Lysinger) recommends buying one from the local tree lot, but Papa takes their cubs Sister (Glatzer) and Brother (Lewis) into the mountains to find a real tree. What Papa didn't consider is  those mountain trees are home to wild animals who don't want to lose their residences for the holidays. If they're not being chased by angry critters, they're being pelted by the snow storm Papa claimed wasn't coming. They're disappointed when they finally get back down the mountain, until Sister notices something glowing at their own tree house...

The Animation: Not nearly as expressive as Jones' work on The Grinch, but there's still a lot of nice details here. I especially love the opening sequence as Papa carries his salmon through town and the snowstorm when they're in the mountains. The characters move less well, but they do largely resemble their book counterparts at the time, which is really all this franchise needs. 

The Song and Dance: The first Bears special gives us Papa in full-on goofy mode. In fact, other than the occasional comment from the cubs, this is almost entirely Papa's show. McLarty puts in likely his best performance as lovable Papa, who may be a bumbler, but can always be counted on to do the right thing in the end. (Eventually.) He gets most of the best moments, whether they're dodging an eagle throwing an ax or skiing and rolling back down the mountains. Some of the rhymes are almost as twisty as those in the Seuss special, especially in the "Christmas Tree" number going up the mountain. 

Favorite Number: We open with Papa strolling through a bustling Bear Town and wrecking havoc with his waving fishing hook as the rest of town sings that "Christmas Day Is Here." Papa and the cubs march along to "A Christmas Tree" as they describe the perfect tree they want to find. The finale has everyone, bears and wild animals, singing about how "The Christmas Star" that glitters over the tree house has brought them together. 

What I Don't Like: We don't really see much of the rest of the family. Mama is only in the beginning and just barely in the end. The cubs don't have that much to do besides pester their father to finally, FINALLY chop down something. Really, if you don't like Papa's antics, you probably won't be into this one.

The Big Finale: Charming comic tale is worth looking around for if you want to find a Christmas special for younger kids or have fans of the older Bears books at home. 

Home Media: On DVD bundled with episodes of the 1985 TV series. 

DVD

And here's hoping all of you have the very merriest of holiday seasons! 

Musicals on Streaming - Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Netflix, 2020

Starring Madalen Mills, Forrest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, and Anika Noni Rose

Directed by David E. Talbert

Music and Lyrics by various

Jingle Jangle was one of the major Netflix releases for the mixed-up holiday season of 2020, when home media was often the only way anyone could see a new film. It seems to have fallen through the cracks somewhat on the website since then. Should it be ignored, or does it deserve a second chance to soar? Let's begin with a grandmother (Phylicia Rashad) reading a very unique pop-up book to her imaginative grandchildren and find out...

The Story: Jeronicus Jangle (Justin Cornwell) is an inventor and toy maker who is adored by his wife Joanne (Sharon Rose) and daughter Jessica (Diana Babincova). His shop Jangles and Things is known for its amazing toys and magic seemingly around every corner. He creates a matador doll, Diego (Ricky Martin), that can walk and talk and think on its own. Unfortunately, that ability also gives it a very large ego. Horrified at the idea of being mass-produced, Diego convinces Jeronicus' assistant Gustafson (Key) to steal him and his boss' book of inventions. 

Unable to prove the theft and heartbroken when Joanne dies, Jeronicus falls into despair and loses his magic and creative spark. He also grows distant from Jessica (Rose), who walks out. She eventually has a daughter, Journey (Mills), who shares her grandfather's curiosity and love of inventing. Journey goes to her grandfather's to spend the holidays with him, only to find that Jangles and Things is now a pawnshop. 

She and his assistant Edison (Kieron L. Dyer) discover a robot Jessica had worked on, the Buddy 3000, hidden in the attic. Having exhausted the inventions in the book, Gustafason steals Buddy. The kids follow him, and Jeronicus follows them. After Buddy's damaged, it'll take all three Jangles to repair him, and learn about faith, hope, and healing in the process.

The Song and Dance: What a lovely, joyous movie! There are delights bursting from every overstuffed frame, from the mechanical steampunk playthings in Jangles and Things in the opening to the gears and eerie green tunnels of Gustafson's factory. The entire production glows like a Technicolor MGM musical of the 1950's. Special mention to the colorful and historically accurate costumes that nicely reflect the mid-late 19th century, including the most use of plaid I've seen in a production not set in Scotland. 

Some terrific performances here, too. Mills is an energetic wonder as Journey, who is delighted to meet people who have the same spark of creativity as her. Whitaker more than matches her as her grandfather, especially in the first half, when he's still angry and avoiding her. Rose radiates strength and sorrow as Jessica, and Key nearly steals the film as the frustrated inventor who would rather feed off someone else's creativity. I also appreciate how magic and science aren't mutually exclusive here. Here, science IS magic, and it's actually explained in a way that makes it understandable and real.

Favorite Number: The movie opens with the rousing R&B chorus number "This Day" as the young Jeronicus, his family, and all of his customers celebrate the arrival of that one special part that could revolutionize his store. Diego encourages Gustafson to steal him...er, "Borrow Indefinitely" in his big solo. Mailwoman Ms. Johnson (Lisa Davina Phillip) eagerly claims she travels "Miles and Miles," but her only real interest is Jeronicus. Journey is thrilled that she's "Not the Only One" when she hopes he'll be a kindred spirit. Gustafson unveils his latest toy as he revels in being "Magic Man G" in the other big chorus number...at least until his Twirly Whirly attacks the crowd. 

"Square Root of Possible" is Journey's other big solo after she finds her grandfather's inventions and revels in everything they can create together. Jeronicus sadly recalls "Over and Over" how he lost his family and business and regrets that he can't change the past and be something more. He and Jessica get a strong duet, "Make It Work," when she arrives and they start to understand the damage his pushing her away did. 

What I Don't Like: At almost 2 hours, the movie is way too long. There's too many subplots and way too much going on. A lot of the middle section where he rescues the kids from the factory feels like it was added to give the movie more typical action and pad things out and really could have been trimmed. It also takes a while to get where its going. Journey doesn't even turn up until nearly 20 minutes in. Also, I will admit that it doesn't really feel all that Christmas-y. It probably could have been set at any time of the year without missing a beat.

The Big Finale: An absolute delight from start to finish, this may be one of the best musicals on Netflix, and certainly one of the better holiday movies made in the last decade. A must for musical and R&B lovers and families with Netflix looking for something different to watch during the holidays.

Home Media: At this writing, this is a Netflix exclusive. 

Netflix

Animation Celebration Extra - The Polar Express

Warner Bros, 2004

Voices of Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, and Jimmy Bennett

Directed by Robert Zemekis

Music by Alan Silvestri; Lyrics by Glen Ballard

We celebrate the holidays this week with musicals and TV specials for the whole family. The book The Polar Express by Chris Van Alsburg originally debuted in 1985. It immediately became a favorite Christmas picture book, due to its soothing story and dreamy winter artwork. It even won the Caldecott Medal for best picture book in 1986. 

Hanks had wanted to appear as the conductor and Santa Claus since 1999; Zemekis came on board in 2000. He was the one who insisted on the new motion capture animation technology, claiming that a live-action version would be too expensive. How does the movie look now, after many CGI movies have come and gone? Let's begin in a typical neighborhood in Alsburg's native Grand Rapids, Michigan on a snowy Christmas Eve and find out...

The Story: The Polar Express stops and picks up a boy (Sabara) who is starting to doubt the existence of Santa. The lavish train is taking a group of children to see Santa at the North Pole, including a feisty little girl (Gaye), an obnoxious know-it-all of a boy (Eddie Deezen), and lonely Billy (Bennett). The boy makes sure that the girl has her ticket when she loses it. While following her, he runs across a bum riding on top of the train (Hanks) who helps him get to the engine. She's actually working the engine while the engineers (Michael Jeter) fixes the throttle that slows the train. They almost run into a reindeer and barely avoid plunging into an icy lake.

Even when they arrive at the North Pole, the little boy remains doubtful about Santa's existence. He accidentally uncouples their car, and they end up in Santa's workshop. The kids first have to find their way back to Santa and his elves in the first courtyard. He'll choose the child who will receive the first gift there. It takes a very special gift only he can hear to make the boy understand the importance of believing in the things we can't see.

The Animation: This was the first full movie done in computer motion capture. The train itself, based on a real train housed at Michigan State University, is nearly as much of a character as the kids and conductor. The details on the engine itself and inside the cars, are incredible. You see every bit of chrome and ironwork, every coal in the fire. The North Pole is pretty amazing, too, with its towering brick buildings. It's the humans where this falters. They all look too much alike - even the kids - are way too uncanny, and really lack expression. Even characters who aren't supposed to be creepy, like the children, come off that way.

The Song and Dance: This simple adventure still has a lot going for it. Fans of Hanks will really love this. In addition to the conductor, he's the voice of the bum on top of the train, the Scrooge puppet the boy runs into, the boy as an adult, and Santa. He's believable as every single one, with a totally different voice for each character. Some of the other voices are well-done too. Gaye and Bennett sound wholly believable as kids on their way to an adventure, and Deezen has a few good moments as the obnoxious know-it-all who discovers that there are things even he hasn't learned about yet.

The action sequences are especially well-done. The animation swoops and soars as the train goes out of control and the kid runs along the top of the train with that strange hobo. The scene where they barely make it across that cracking ice really gives you the shivers, it's so realistically cold.

Favorite Number: Our first big number has Hanks and the dining car waiters and chefs bringing the kids "Hot Chocolate." Their ode to that favorite warming beverage turns into a rollicking dance routine with the waiters dancing on makeshift "tables" and soaring around brass hot drinks machines. Hanks also performs the title song as the little boy comes on the train. Billy and the little girl sing about what they think will happen "When Christmas Comes to Town" in their touching number on the observation car before they arrive at the North Pole. "Spirit of the Season" and "Seeing Is Believing" are huge largely instrumental chorus numbers for the elves as they dance, do acrobatics, and prepare for Santa's arrival in the square. Stephen Tyler and a band of hard rock elves party on after Santa leaves with "Rockin' on Top of the World."

The big number here is the credits song, "Believe," performed by Josh Grogan. It was a fair-sized hit in late 2004 and would be nominated for an Oscar in 2005. It still turns up on the radio from time to time during the holiday season, despite it really being rather syrupy, even for Christmas fare.

Trivia: Final film of stage actor Michael Jeter.

The Polar Express is based on a real train, the Pere Marquette 1225, which was on display at Michigan State University.

Many of the buildings seen in the film are based after real ones in Grand Rapids, including homes, the massive station at the North Pole, and a department store that the Express passes. 

What I Don't Like: Unlike the book, which was largely dreamy without being too frightening, this one can be plain scary in some places. The train car full of marionettes, including the Scrooge puppet, is downright creepy, as is the entire deal with the hobo. The motion capture animation did great with the train and the backgrounds, but they still had a hard time with accurately depicting human emotions. Most of the humans move stiffly and have little expression. There's also a ton of padding in the middle and end of the film. The book is pretty much the train leaving and arriving at the North Pole. Though the action scenes are well done, they also feel out of place with some of the quieter sequences. 

The Big Finale: The uncanny valley animation and some of the noisier action scenes makes this most appropriate for older elementary school and pre-teen fantasy lovers who are just starting to have their own doubts about Santa.

Home Media: As one of the most popular Christmas films of the last 20 years or so, this is easily found in every format. 

DVD

4K Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - I Believe In Santa Claus (J'ai Recontre Le Pere Noel)

Acteurs Auteurs Associes, 1984

Starring Emeric Chapuis, Karen Cheryl, Armand Meffre, and Alexia Haudot

Directed by Christian Gion

Music by Francis Lai; Lyrics by Pierre-Andre Dousset

We travel across time and Europe from 1865 Holland to 1984 France for our next holiday movie. I first ran across this one on a dusty video I picked up when the local grocery store cleared out their tapes. I'd never heard of it before, and it wasn't online at that point. Now that it's on Tubi, I figured the time is right to finally share one of the strangest holiday movies I've ever seen. How bizarre is the story of a boy who asks Santa to find his missing parents for Christmas? Let's start with Simon (Chapuis) in the school yard and find out...

The Story: The only thing Simon wants for Christmas is for his parents, who are political prisoners in Africa, to come home. He writes a letter to Santa (Meffre) and sends it via his teacher (Cheryl). During a field trip to an airport, he and his best friend Elodie (Haudot) manage to sneak onto a plane and travel to Lapland to make sure Santa got the letter. 

Santa can't find Simon's parents alone. He recruits the Christmas fairy Maryellen (Cheryl) to help him convince the African guerrillas to release them. Meanwhile, Simon and Elodie wander in the woods and are captured by the nasty ogre (Dominique Hulin) who eats little children and looks an awful lot like the mean janitor who locked Simon in the closet when another child claimed he broke something and he didn't. When Santa and Maryellen return from Africa, they end up rescuing the two children, too.

The Song and Dance: Very unique French fantasy makes copious use of its European and African settings. It really was filmed in a small town in France and in the real Africa, and those are actual African locals playing the freedom fighters and people Santa asks directions from. Love the cinematography, especially the shots of cold, icy Lapland and wide open shots of desolate Africa. 

I also enjoy seeing holiday customs from France. I've never heard of a fairy helping Santa instead of Mrs. Claus, for instance. Kids put out their shoes for Santa instead of stockings, and Simon and Elodie help Santa cover presents in garland instead of wrapping paper. Everyone in the town goes to a midnight mass when the kids return. Some of the simple songs are real earworms, too. I can't get "'Cause There's a Father Christmas" out of my head for days after I watch this.

Favorite Number: Our first number is "Getting Ready for Christmas" as the kids write notes to Santa and the teacher helps them prepare their class for the holiday. The incredibly catchy "'Cause There's a Father Christmas" is the teacher's number with the kids as they take the bus to the airport. The kids are taken to "The Toy Factory" after they arrive in Lapland, where the see Santa's elves make the toys and Maryellen supervise. "Land of the Midnight Sun" is Maryellen's number when, dressed in a peasant outfit and cape, she travels through Lapland to rescue Simon and Elodie from the ogre. The kids join the teacher and their town at Midnight Mass for the carol "Christmas, a Child."

Trivia: The African scenes were filmed on location in Senegal. 

My original New World Pictures video from 1985 was titled Here Comes Santa Claus. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention how weird this is? Very bizarre and low-budget. There are plot holes big enough to drive Santa's sleigh through. As far as I can tell, this isn't played as "it was all a dream." While I appreciate them not going for the cliche, it doesn't explain how they get away with sneaking off to Lapland without a single adult realizing something's wrong, or how Maryellen and the ogre look like the teacher and the janitor. There's also the janitor abusing Simon and locking him in the closet in the opening. Nowadays, he'd be brought up on abuse and assault charges, not just ignored or merely suspected of doing harm. Not to mention, Maryellen's magic seems to work at the writer's whim. 

The directing is so awkward, "Christmas, a Child" and "Land of the Midnight Sun" are cut off abruptly. The synchronization is terrible, too. The lips frequently don't match the words on the English dub. Santa and Maryellen do have some amusing banter in Africa...but fairies and Santa and ogres really don't belong in a story about political prisoners who want to return to their son. The African guerrillas are not played for laughs. The whole thing with the ogre gets pretty dark, too, including him actually eating a puppy (off-camera, but it's insinuated that he did). 

The Big Finale: The catchy Euro-pop music and unique story makes this one of my favorite holiday guilty pleasures, but it's definitely not for everyone. This one is best for true lovers of 80's cheese and older kids who'll appreciate something seriously weird in their Christmas viewing and still be able to ignore the plot holes and technical bobbles.

Home Media: The DVD is hard to find and expensive when it does appear. You're better off streaming this one. Tubi and Amazon Prime currently have it for free with ads.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Tubi

Musicals On TV - Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates (1969)

NBC, 1969

Starring Robin Askwith, Eleanor Parker, Roberta Tovey, and John Gregson

Directed by Robert Scheerer

Music and Lyrics by Moose Charlap

The book Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates has been a beloved children's novel since its release in 1865. The story of poor Dutch boy Hans, his sister Gretel, and their attempt to win the title skates in a big local skating contest has been made into a movie at least four times on TV, including two musicals and two different Disney versions. We're discussing the second musical version from 1969. It first debuted on NBC as a Christmas special and ran on cable frequently during the 80's and 90's. Is it still worthy of those silver skates today, or should it be left behind? Let's begin with how Hans' father Raff (Gregson) had the accident that left his family in poverty and find out...

The Story: Raff fell from a dike and suffered head trauma. He frequently doesn't recognize his family, and when he does, he often suffers violent spells. Hans tries to get a job to earn money for his family, but the residents of his small town look down on him for being poor, and his pride won't allow him to take charity. He's also sweet on pretty and wealthy Annie (Sheila Whitmill), though his mother and hers wishes they'd cool things down a little and avoid the town's gossip. 

Hans whittles wooden skates for him and his sister Gretel (Tovey) in the hope that they might win the New Year's Day skating contest and have skates of their own. He earns enough money carving to join a group of boys from the town in Amsterdam and hire renown physician Dr. Boekman (Richard Basehart). Hans is able to talk Boekman into it, but he cautions that it could prove fatal. Now, Hans and Gretel really have high hopes for the Christmas holiday, not only to win the big skating contest, but for their father to get well.

The Song and Dance: Unlike many TV movies of this time period, this was filmed on location in the real Netherlands. It goes a long way to giving the movie authentic Dutch charm and grace, especially the many shots of long Dutch canals in all their blue frozen beauty. Parker is lovely and elegant as Peter's concerned mother, and Cyril Ritchard steals the show as the fussy innkeeper who teaches Hans and his country friends a memorable musical lesson in manners. 

Favorite Number: We open with the chorus singing about the delights of of "Holland" as Gretel admires her family's small but cozy home. Dame Brinker reminds her children that "There's Always a Way" to make your dreams come true. The children in the town are delighted to be "Free" to join their friends on the frozen pond in the first big skating number. Upset after one of her husband's violent outbursts, his wife recalls the "Golden Tomorrow" of their early courtship. 

Hans and the other boys in town are thrilled when they arrive in the big city of "Amsterdam" as they practice skating for the contest. Innkeeper Mijnheer Kleef (Ritchard) tries to teach the boys "Proper Manners" when they sit at the table, but they keep grabbing at the food and having food fights when his back is turned. Hans and Annie wonder what happens "When He/She Speaks" as they stroll through a Dutch winter wonderland hand-in-hand. It's hard for Hans and Gretel to enjoy "A Hymn to St Nicholas" at Annie's big Christmas Eve party, even when the kindly old bishop himself appears, due to their worries about their father's surgery. 

Trivia: This is the second time the book was adapted into a TV musical. Hallmark Hall of Fame originally did this one in 1958 with Tab Hunter as Hans and Olympic figure skater Dick Button as one of his friends. Disney also did two non-musical TV versions, a more traditional one in 1962 for their Wonderful World of Color and the modernized 1998 Disney Channel movie Brink!

What I Don't Like: Charming though this is, it can also come off as a bit stiff and cold, especially in the first half when Hans' pride has him turning away many friend who could help him. Ritchard's number is such a showstopper that the others, mostly ballads and chorus routines, suffer by comparison. And if you haven't read the book (of which this is a fairly accurate adaptation) and/or aren't into older children's novels, you may find a lot of this slow going or overly melodramatic, especially the end with how the father gets well. 

The Big Finale: Charming tale may be a tad slow and stiff, but it's still highly recommended for fans of Ritchard or the book or those looking for a sweet family musical on a cold Christmas night.

Home Media: The DVD is available, but hard to find. You're better off watching this one online; it can currently be found on YouTube. 

DVD

YouTube

Say One for Me

20th Century Fox, 1959

Starring Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, and Ray Walston

Directed by Frank Tashlin

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

We kick off our first full week of holiday reviews with a musical so obscure, I never heard of it until I found the soundtrack record last year. After White Christmas was biggest hit of 1954, it was likely inevitable that Bing Crosby would turn up in a holiday musical again. 20th Century Fox opted to grab Crosby after he left Paramount and borrow Reynolds from MGM, along with picking up handsome newcomer Wagner. 

They tossed White Christmas, Crosby's earlier Oscar-winning turn as a priest in Going My Way, and Crosby's dramatic turn in The Country Girl into a blender and came up with the story of a priest in New York's Theater District who gets involved in the lives of his parishioners. Does this holiday mash-up still work today? Let's begin with Father Conroy (Crosby) and church-going college girl Holly LeMaise (Reynolds) as they prepare for a holiday show and find out...

The Story: Holly takes a job as a chorus girl in a local dive club when her father, former vaudevillian Harry LeMaise (Les Tremayne), becomes desperately sick. Tony Vincent (Wagner), the ambitious young singer at the club, hires Holly as part of his act. He's taken with her, but she finds him terribly obnoxious and forward at first. 

Holly's not the only one in Tony's orbit Father Conroy ends up helping. He befriends Tony's pianist Phil Stanley (Walston), an alcoholic songwriter who is now reduced to playing piano for Tony's act. Tony wants him and Holly to come along when he's booked for a show in Miami, but Father Conroy doesn't approve. He doesn't think Tony's right for Holly. It takes Tony becoming the godparent to the infant son of chorus girl Mary (Connie Gilchrist) and Conroy offering him a spot on his Christmas charity TV special for Tony to understand what real love is about.

The Song and Dance: I'm a bit surprised at how dark this story is for the late 50's. The side stories with Mary and her baby and Phils alcoholism are taken seriously and not played for comedy. This is unusually intense for a cheery MGM-style musical with big numbers and gorgeous color. Reynolds in particular runs with the drama; Bing plays off her fairly well as the priest who promised her father he'd look after her. The DeLuxe color and nifty costumes definitely give off that brassy 50's vibe, with some nice widescreen cinematography in the glowing numbers.

Favorite Number: The movie starts with its biggest assets on display before the credits even begin as Father Conroy and Holly rehearse the title song in the church. Tony hopes to woo Holly in her apartment with pizza and a song, but as Holly reminds him, "You Can't Love Them All." This is heard again later as a more traditional number for Tony and the chorus girls at the club. Tony and Holly joke about Holly's giving up college in their duo routine with Tony calling her "The Girl Most Likely to Succeed." They also get "Cha Cha Choo Choo" in a goofy Puerto Rican number at the club with the chorus girls and a cardboard train.

Bing joins Walston at the piano twice, to sing one of Phil's old hits, "I Couldn't Care Less," and to hear Phil perform the song Father Conroy inspired him to write, "The Secret of Christmas." The teen girl Tony turned down for his act earlier in the movie returns in the charity show to sing the pop spoof "The Night Rock and Roll Died." "Secret of Christmas" gets a full-on rendition in the finale, as Tony insists on Phil playing it and Father Conroy singing it. Holly ends up joining in as she watches them on TV.

What I Don't Like: Wagner seems to be playing a different movie entirely. He's doing tough-guy melodrama while Reynolds and Crosby are in a fluffy MGM musical. Tashlin can never decide if he wants this to be a big, brassy widescreen cartoon or a dark look at what it takes to get ahead in show business. Tony is such a jerk and so obnoxious to everyone around him, you can understand why Father Conroy doesn't want Holly near him. His last-minute conversion is too sudden and way too soppy. Other than "Secret of Christmas," the music isn't all that great, either. 

The Big Finale: The all-over tone and dull numbers make this for major fans of Crosby or Reynolds only.

Home Media: Only on DVD via the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - Yogi's First Christmas

Hanna-Barbara, 1980

Voices of Daws Butler, Don Messick, John Stephenson, and Janet Waldo

Directed by Ray Patterson

Music and Lyrics by various

We kick off this year's holiday reviews with Hanna-Barbara's second Yogi Bear movie. This became the first of four feature-length Yogi movies to debut in syndication, and their first movie with the character since Hey There, It's Yogi Bear in 1964. By this point, Hanna Barbara's comic animal characters were an institution on TV. There were three short-lived shows during the 70's that featured crossovers between Yogi and the other characters, but this would be the first film to do so. How well does Yogi's first Christmas awake look nowadays? Let's begin as Snagglepuss (Butler), Huckleberry Hound (Butler), Augie Doggy (Butler) and his Doggy Daddy (Stephenson) arrive at Jellystone Lodge and find out...

The Story: To their horror, the lodge's owner Mrs. Throckmorton (Waldo) intends to sell the lodge to developers building a highway over the mountain. She's coming for the big Christmas Festival and tree-trimming party with her nephew Snively (Marilyn Schreffer). Yogi (Butler) is woken up by the music they all made. He and Boo Boo (Messick) are hired by the Otto, the lodge's chef (Hal Smith), as bakers. Ranger Smith (Messick) intends to take them back to their caves to finish their hibernation, but Yogi inadvertently rescues Mrs. Throckmorton and Snively from an avalanche.

The avalanche was caused by Herman the Hermit (Messick), a nasty old grump who hates Christmas and wants to be left alone. The accidents Herman's been causing to get rid of the noise are the reason Mrs. Throckmorton wants to sell the lodge. To Herman's frustration, Yogi keeps rescuing Mrs. Throckmorton from every situation he throws at the lodge. Spoiled and obnoxious little Snively isn't happy that Yogi keeps beating him at every sports competition. Not only does his aunt approve and think Snively needs to be taught a lesson, she keeps promoting Yogi at every turn. It's not until Snively gets lost and finds Herman's cave that the two realize they have a lot in common and come together to try to take down Yogi's very first Christmas for good.

The Animation: Only slightly above their animated series at the time. There's a little more detail in the characters and their movements. The skiing and skating scenes in particular look decent for the time. Some of the backgrounds are also fairly well-done, particularly in the lodge and towards the end during the tree-trimming party.

The Song and Dance: If you're a fan of Yogi or the other Hanna-Barbara funny animal characters, you'll probably find something to love here. There's some great gags with how Yogi keeps rescuing Mrs. Throckmorton when Herman tries to get rid of her, or how he manages to best Snively at every game. Cindy Bear (Waldo) also gets a few amusing moments later in the movie when she tries to get Yogi under the mistletoe, but Yogi's having none of it. I'm also impressed with how much of a musical this is, with 8 songs including reprises. 

Favorite Number: We open with "Comin' Up Christmas Time," performed by the Hanna Barbara animals and the chorus over the credits as they drive to the lodge. They also tell Yogi and Boo about the wonders of the holiday season. After all, "It's Your First Christmas." Boo Boo reminds his best friend that "Hope" is one of the most important parts of the holiday season. Yogi's attempt to get everyone singing "Carols" goes badly, until Mrs. Throckmorton requests another female voice and Boo Boo brings out Cindy. Cindy hopes "The Mistletoe Song" will finally get her under one with her sweetheart. 

Herman and Snively are proud to be "Mean, Sour, Nasty, and Cruel." They want to ruin Christmas for everyone because they can, and because Herman just wants peace and quiet. The Hanna-Barbara animals are happier "Making a Big To-Do" over the tree-trimming party. Cindy's ecstatic when "I've Been Kissed" by her beloved Yogi. The big finale, "Christmas Is Here," has everyone holding torches as they ski up the mountain to return the bears to their caves and let them finish their hibernation.

Trivia: This is the first of three holiday TV specials featuring Yogi. The more traditional half-hour Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper came out in 1982, followed by Yogi the Easter Bear in 1994. 

"Comin' Up Christmas Time" and "Making a Big To-Do" were originally heard in Casper's First Christmas. "Hope" was written for A Christmas Story in 1972 and was also used in A Flintstones Christmas.

What I Don't Like: How much you enjoy this movie will depend entirely on how big of a Hanna-Barbara fan you are. If you love Yogi and the rest of the funny animal crew, you'll probably get a kick out of this. If you're not into Yogi and/or the Hanna Barbara funny animals. this is absolutely not the place for you. The save-the-lodge plot is cliched and silly, the songs are mostly cribbed from older specials, and the animation is nothing to write home about.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Yogi or the Hanna-Barbara funny animals, this is worth checking out for some fairly amusing gags alone.

Home Media: One of the earliest Warner Archive titles. It can also easily be found on streaming. It's currently free at Tubi with commercials. 

DVD

Tubi

Thank God It's Friday

Columbia Pictures, 1978

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Donna Summer, Debra Winger, and Ray Vitte

Directed by Robert Klane

Music and Lyrics by various

The phenomenal success of Saturday Night Fever sent the studios looking for any way to capitalize on this  new music fad. This was the first one out of the gate after Fever, and as such, is probably the most emblematic. Summer was already associated with disco, having released the hit singles "I Remember Yesterday" and "Love to Love You Baby." She and the R&B group the Commodores were brought in to anchor this story of one Friday night at a popular LA dance club. Is it worthy of the dance floor, or should it be booted out? Let's begin with music that's so catchy, even the Columbia Torch lady gets down with the beat, and find out...

The Story: The wildly popular dance club The Zoo is ready for business. Its owner Tony DiMarco (Goldblum) is pushing its big midnight dance contest, with the Commodores singing live. Everybody comes to the Zoo, from horny teenage boys looking for their first score to hopeful teen girls who need to earn money for tickets to a KISS concert. Uptight Sue and Dave come for their fifth wedding anniversary. Tony falls for Sue, and Dave eventually lets his hair down with drugged-out regular Jackie (Mews Small). 

Garment worker Marv (Chick Vennera) teaches shy Ken (John Friedrich) how to dance. Sweet Jennifer (Winger) is new in town. Her friend Maddy brings her to the disco in the hope that she'll meet a cute guy, but she vetoes every one she's interested in. Singer Nicole Sims (Summer) just wants a chance to perform for DJ Bobby Speed (Vitte). She may get her wish when the Commodores' roadie Malcolm Floyd (DeWayne Jessie) can't convince the cops that the instruments  he's delivering aren't stolen property.

The Song and Dance: Obviously, the song and dance are the thing here. This isn't going for story, but for atmosphere. Like Fever, it's only interest is in capturing the real mood of a certain time and place, and it does that in spades. This is another one where you really get the feel for the era of platform heels, mirror balls, and people who come to mix, mingle, and strut their stuff. The movie, like the people dancing the night away, isn't trying to win any awards. It's not even going for tough drama. Like several of its characters, all it wants to do is let its hair done and have fun. Frankly, the nightclub, with it's elaborate glittering interior, is more of a character than any of the actual characters besides Summer and maybe Goldblum. 

Favorite Number: We open with the title song under a montage of high school students dashing home and others leaving work in order to get to the Zoo on Friday night. Marv gets a nifty instrumental number, "Leatherman's Theme," when he's bouncing around on the top of cars as he teaches Ken how to dance. Floyd gets his own number, "Floyd's Theme," as he shows everyone what he can do on the drums. We also get the big finale, as everyone dances to the Commodores' "Too Hot ta Trot" and we see who gets eliminated from the contest and who makes it to the end.

The big numbers here both belong to Summer. When she finally manages to make it onstage, she belts out the Oscar-winning "Last Dance"...and it's a magical moment as everyone swirls in the lights, and she really gets into the song. Her other number, "With Your Love" is almost as good.

Trivia: This was filmed at a real nightclub, Osko's, in Los Angeles. It's since been demolished.

First major role for Debra Winger, only big screen appearance of the Commodores, and only acting role in a non-documentary for Donna Summer.

 

What I Don't Like: No wonder critics have been hard on this movie for years. The movie bounces from one group of characters to another with little rhyme or reason. It's so interested in showing you the life of every single darn person in that club, you don't get to know any of them that well...and the ones that you do aren't the most pleasant people except for maybe Summer. The story is non-existent, the dialogue stiff and often silly. There's also the scenes with several people taking recreational drugs in a PG movie. This was a big part of the disco scene in 1978, but it may offend some folks nowadays. 

The Big Finale: For all the problems, I still ended up enjoying the atmosphere and some great music. Recommended mostly for huge fans of Summer, The Commodores, or those who either remember or are interested in learning more about the disco scene of the late 70's.

Home Media: The DVD is a little pricey; you may be better off looking for it on streaming. It's currently free at YouTube with commercials.

DVD

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Saturday Night Fever

Paramount, 1977

Starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gornley, Donna Pescow, and Barry Miller

Directed by John Badham

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's dance into the holidays this week with two of the most popular movies made during the disco era. Disco got its start in gay black bars in the early 70's. By 1976, it had spread enough to other cultures in New York for an article to be written on it. The article was later discovered to be mostly fictional, but it was still interesting enough to inspire the characters in this film. Does it still own the dance floor today, or should it be booted out of the club? Let's start on the streets of Brooklyn with cocky resident Tony Manero (Travolta) and find out...

The Story: By day, Tony works in a tiny paint store and lives with his parents, who wish he'd do something with his life like his priest brother Frank (Val Bisoglio). It's at night where he truly shines. Every Saturday night, he and his friends Bobby (Miller), Joey (Joseph Cali), Double J (Paul Pape), and Gus (Bruce Ornstein) go to the 2001 Odyssey disco club and dance the night away. Annette (Pescow) is a friend of the guys who has a crush on Tony. She's thrilled when he asks her to join a dance contest at the club, but he ends up dumping her in favor of secretary and dance instructor Stephanie Mangaro (Gormley), who is frankly the better dancer.

Tony begins to question his life choices when his brother leaves the priesthood and encourages him to pursue dancing. His parents are horrified, but he's tired of living up to their expectations. He's also getting more than a little tired of his friends' immature antics and inability to take control of their lives. After a fight with a Puerto Rican gang leaves them all battered for no reason and Stephanie turns away his attempt to make out, Tony wonders if it's time he finally left Brooklyn to pursue the one thing he truly loves - dancing.

The Song and Dance: Wow. I was not expecting Fever to get this intense or this dark. Travolta earns his stardom, not only with his amazing moves on the dance floor, but with his tough performances as the cocky young man for whom dance is an escape and a way to show he has what it takes to be someone. Pescow and Miller are also excellent as the girl who loves Tony way more than he ever could and his buddy who is the only one with a car and who ends up having the most problems. Everything is filmed as realistically as possible for 1977, from location shooting in the actual Brooklyn and Manhattan to using a real Brooklyn nightclub for the disco, and it really goes a long way to bringing Tony's down-and-dirty world of white polyester suits and black boots with chunky heels to life.

Favorite Number: We begin with one of the most famous openings in musical film history. Tony struts down the street, eating two slices of pizza and comparing his boots to the fancy ones in a window as "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees plays in the background. A second montage to their "Night Fever" gives us Tony doing his hair and preparing for his night out. 

Tony gets his first big dance routine as he and Annette burn up the floor in the Trammps' "Disco Inferno." Stephanie catches Tony's eye when she and a random partner take to the floor with the instrumental David Shire number "Salsation." Tony joins two girls on the floor for an encore of "Night Fever"; one of the girls he kisses thinks he's Al Pacino. This turns into the closest thing the movie gets to a big chorus number as everyone else dances along in line.

Tony's brief instrumental rehearsal number with Annette doesn't go so well, which is why he ends up begging Stephanie to join him. They rehearse to Tavares' version of "More Than a Woman," and end up falling in love to it. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Ellerman becomes a second chorus number as we see everyone enjoying their time at the bar, including a topless dancer. That's none other than a young Fran Drescher getting Tony on the floor to a reprise of "Disco Inferno," before he goes into his iconic moves for "You Should Be Dancing" on that light-up floor.

Tony gets very jealous when he sees scuzzy Pete (Bert Michaels) dancing with Stephanie to "If I Can't Have You." Things go better at the dance contest. The first couple really get down in their billowing pants to "Open Sesame." Tony and Stephanie do their beautiful, graceful twirls to the Bee Gees' version of "More Than a Woman..." but Tony's right that the Puerto Rican couple's hot dance moves to "K-Jee" by MFSB are probably better.

Trivia: A stage version opened first in London in 1998, then at the Minskoff Theater on Broadway in 1999. Both shows were hits, with each running two years. The stage version seems to have made a slightly bigger impression in London. It toured the UK extensively and saw an equally popular revival in 2004. The US version turns up occasionally in regional theaters looking for darker material.

A PG-rated version with most of the darker elements - including strong language - eliminated was released to theaters in 1979 for teenagers who made up a large portion of the film's fan base. It was put out on video and seen on cable in the 1980's, but has not yet made it to DVD or streaming. 

The 2001 Odyssey Club was a real disco in Brooklyn that has since been demolished. Other locations used include the Verrazzo-Narrows Bridge, John J. Carty Park, a real paint store that operated in Bay Ridge, an actual Bay Ridge apartment home for the Manero's home, and a dance studio in Brockhurst.

What I Don't Like: This movie is so much of its time, that a lot of it - especially the treatment of the women in Tony's life - hasn't dated well. There's gang violence, group rape, attempted rape, and a visible suicide. Not only that, but Annette, at least, supposedly claims she wants the rape...but even the movie makes it clear that she's not as eager as the boys want to think. Not to mention, as per the characters and down-and-dirty New York milieu, almost everyone uses language that would make a sailor blush. No wonder they wanted to make a PG version for kids. For the original version and director's cut, I would heed that R rating. This is one disco that's for adults only. Start the kids off on the soundtrack before they come anywhere near here. 

The Big Finale: This one might be a little too dark for me to watch often, but I still recommend it for adult fans of Travolta, disco, or those who want to know what the disco era was really all about. 

Home Media: The R-rated version is easily found just about anywhere, including for free with a subscription at Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime.

DVD

Blu-Ray - Director's Cut

4K

Amazon Prime

Paramount Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Emperor's New Clothes (1972)

Rankin-Bass/ABC, 1972

Voices of Danny Kaye, Cyril Ritchard, Imogene Coca, and Allen Swift

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

Though Rankin-Bass is most associated with holidays nowadays, they did release specials at other times of the year. This was intended to be the first in a series of hour shows featuring Kaye narrating and appearing in various fairy tales. The series never came to fruition, but they did get this pilot special out. Kaye was still associated with Hans Christian Andersen after his success in the 1952 film of that title, so Rankin-Bass opted to adapt one of his stories. Did it come out as well as their holiday shows, or should it be dumped on the Boulevard of Rogues? Let's begin with Kaye in live-action as he explains what we're about to see and find out...

The Story: Kaye takes the role of Marmaduke, a con artist who makes his way to the Empire of Bibbin when he hears about a tailoring contest. Emperor Klochenlocher (Ritchard), who is obsessed with clothes since the death of his wife, is holding a contest for a tailor to make him the best suit. Though the prize is one million gold pieces, the Emperor's daughter Princess Jane (Coca) claims there's no money in the treasury. The Emperor's jester Jasper (Bob McFadden) encourages his master's clothes addiction so he'll focus on clothes and spend himself bankrupt, allowing him to pay the emperor's tailors starvation wages and get rich himself. He tries throwing Marmaduke and his partner Mufti (Swift) into the Boulevard of Rogues, but they're able to escape.

The duo tell the Emperor and his prime ministers they can make a suit out of an amazing cloth that's invisible to those who are fools or unfit to rule. The Emperor doesn't want to look unfit, so he claims he can see it. Meanwhile, the two con men and Bucky, the orphan they've adopted (Gary Shapiro), hide the gold coins in a cannon, not realizing that Jasper's man Ivan intends to use it to shoot at the Boulevard of Rogues! Marmaduke's fallen for Jane, too, but Jasper intends to marry her and take the throne for good.

The Animation: By this point, Rankin-Bass were at their height of success with their stop-motion specials. The character designs are creative and fun, especially Jasper and Mufti, and they move fairly well. Some of the special effects are decent as well, especially when they shoot out the coins towards the end!

The Song and Dance: Kaye is clearly having a ball here playing against type as the roguish anti-hero who intends to take the Emperor for all he's worth, until he finds out what Jasper's up to. Ritchard has almost as much fun as the befuddled ruler who learns the hard way that clothes don't always make the man. Coca also has some good lines as the sensible princess who just wants her father to pay attention to her. The live-action opening sequences, with Kaye cavorting among real children in Denmark, are adorable and fairly well-done.

Favorite Number: We open with Kaye and the kids in Denmark as Kaye sings "Come Along With Me" to a world of fantasy. Our first number in the animated sequence is Marmaduke explaining to Mufti why "Clothes Make the Man." The Emperor reveals why he's such an easy mark for Jasper and the con men in "I See What I Want to See," a creative 2-D animation sequence that shows how he can ignore everything but his wardrobe. The other tailors who have come to Bibbin for the contest sing "The Tailor's Song" for Marmaduke. He tells the Emperor how the "Creation" of a new suit is a breeze for him and Mufti. Jane claims that "All You Need Is Money to Be Rich," and Marmaduke certainly thinks so!

What I Don't Like: The songs are cute, but they're not as memorable as some of the standards Laws and Bass wrote for their holiday extravaganzas. Oh, and there's a lot that's changed from the original Andersen story, probably to pad this out to an hour and make Kaye's character more sympathetic. The con artists were after money and their own gain, pure and simple, and they got away scot-free with everything. There was no princess or evil jester; the Emperor himself was the one who taxed people for his wardrobe. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Rankin-Bass or are really into Kaye, this very funny fairy tale is worth parading the streets for. 

Home Media: Alas, this one is very hard to find on DVD nowadays and expensive when it does appear. You're best looking for it used. 

DVD

Tales of Hoffman (1951)

British Lion Films, 1951

Starring Robert Rousenville, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, and Pamela Brown

Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Music by Jaques Offenbach; English translation by Dennis Arundell, from the original libretto by Jules Barbier

For years, Powell had wanted to combine moving images and operatic music. The Red Shoes and its ballet sequence was one step to that goal. This is the culmination, a movie set to almost the entire soundtrack of the original opera. This is unique movie in many respects. It's a true opera film. Everything is danced and sung; there's no dialogue. We also have dubbed dancers or singers who can act, with a deliberately unreal stage set and stylized acting. Does Powell's gamble work, or should it be abandoned? Let's begin backstage, where ballerina Stella (Shearer) is being courted by student E.A Hoffman (Rousenville), and find out...

The Story: This is an opera anthology, so there's actually four stories: 

The first begins with Stella onstage, dancing in "The Ballet of the Enchanted Dragonfly." Wealthy Councillor Lindorf (Helpmann) intercepts Stella's message for Hoffman. He goes downstairs to a tavern with his friends, including boyish Nicklas (Brown), and proceeds to get drunk while telling stories of his past romances...

In the second story, we learn how Hoffman fell for Olympia (Shearer), a lifelike mechanical doll created by scientist Spalanzani (Leonide Massine) and inventor Coppelius (Helpmann). Thanks to a pair of magic spectacles that Coppelius puts on him, he truly believes she's real...until the two men tear her apart in a dispute, and he realizes what he's really in love with. 

The third story has Hoffman in love with the courtesan Giulietta (Ludmilla Tcherina), but her only interest in him is to steal his reflection for the evil magician Dapertutto (Helpmann).

The final story veers into tragedy as Hoffman travels to Greece, where he visits his beloved Antonia (Ann Ayers). Antonia has a fatal disease that doesn't allow her to sing. She's tormented by Dr. Miracle (Helpmann), who encourages her to perform the aria that could kill her...

The Song and Dance: And it's all about the song and dance here. As mentioned, this is a full-blown opera, without a bit of dialogue. And it's just gorgeous, as much as the previous Red Shoes. The Technicolor is absolutely radiant, cool and clear. The art direction is sumptuous, the costumes lavish and historically accurate to the 1820's. Helpmann and Rousenville dance off with the movie as they smarmy count who portrays the many variations on evil and the writer who can never seem to keep his lovers around for long. Shearer's even lovelier as the fickle dancer and the darling doll who is so real, she has a living man helplessly in love with her, and Ayers is in ravishing voice as the doomed Antonia.

Oh, and I appreciate that Powell had each person who dubbed a dancer appear alongside them in the end credits. That was an honest and classy touch. 

Favorite Number: Shearer dances "Ballet of the Enchanted Butterfly" with Edmund Audran. Their costumes are realistic, but rather grotesque, making them look almost skeletal as they flit around. She also has some enchanting dances as Olympia, both solo, and with a chorus in hoop skirts, painted white and red "masques," and suits with enormous ruffled shirts. Helpmann does his best work here, too, paired with effeminate Massine. Helpmann is also effective playing off slinky Tcherina. Ayers gets one of the best arias in the film towards the end of the Antonia sequence when she performs a trio with herself, her deceased mother (Joan Alexander), and Miracle.  

Trivia: This also got Oscar nominations for the color art direction and costumes; lost both to An American In Paris. 

What I Don't Like: Unlike the passionate Red Shoes, the opera sort of puts this one at a remove. It comes off as a bit colder compared to the warm and vital Shoes. Also, as mentioned, this is a through-sung opera. This isn't a typical girls-and-gags musical with spoken sequences between the dance routines. It's not even a rock opera. It's as typical of a grand opera as you're going to get on the big screen. If you're not an opera fan or aren't interested in opera, you probably won't be into this.

The Big Finale: This and The Red Shoes are required viewing for fans of opera and ballet, or even those who just want to see what can be done with Technicolor in imaginative hands. 

Home Media: This is also a part of the  Criterion Collection on DVD and Blu-Ray. It can currently be found streaming for free on Flex.

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The Red Shoes

Rank Film Distributors, 1948

Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, and Robert Helpmann

Music by various

Our reviews this week return us to the world of grand opera and ballet for two of the most beautiful films ever made in England. We start off with the rarefied world of ballet. This was originally conceived by Powell and producer Alexander Korda in the 30's as a vehicle for Korda's future wife Merle Oberon. 

Powell bought the rights from Korda and reactivated the project after the success of his drama Black Narcissus. They hired dancers who had acting ability, preferring that to actors who could dance. They even created their own ballet company for the 15-minute dance sequence mid-way through the film. Shearer hadn't originally wanted to do the movie, but she was finally convinced to do it. Was she right to blow this off, or does this ballerina deserve a chance to dance? Let's start at Covent Garden Opera House during a performance of Heart of Fire by the Ballet Lermontov and find out...

The Story: Victoria Page wants nothing more than to be a great ballerina. She's invited to a rehearsal by Boris Lermontov (Walbrook), the company's owner and manager. Another newcomer at the rehearsal is Julian Craster (Goring), who had confronted Lermontov over his former music teacher stealing Hearts of Fire. He ends up being hired as the company's conductor and composer. He and Vicky hit it off right away, even as Lermontov sees her potential. After lending her to the Ballet Rambert for Swan Lake, he invites her to join his ballet in Paris and Monte Carlo.

He's so taken by Vicky, he has a ballet created for her, The Ballet of the Red Shoes. Despite being put together in only three weeks, it's an instant success. Vicky is now the top ballerina in the company, and Lermonov wants more scores from Julian. Vicky and Julian fall in love, but try to keep their relationship a secret from Lermontov. He fires Julian when he finds out about it. Vicky goes with him. She and Julian marry...but she can't stay away from dancing for long, and soon the lure of the Red Shoes, and her greatest role, proves too much for her to bear...

The Song and Dance: Probably one of the most gorgeous movies ever made in England. English Technicolor tended to have a somewhat softer look than the process used in the US, more like pastel frosting than a jewel-toned candy box. This makes those temptingly scarlet slippers stand out all the more. Shearer is utterly exquisite as the young woman caught between the man she loves and her need to dance and show her talent to the world. Some of the dancing is wonderful, too, especially from Robert Helpmann as the ballet's choreographer who takes the role of the grotesque little man who sells the girl the shoes in the ballet. 

The stunning art direction, with its chalky white masks and heavily lashed eyes against the soft Technicolor pastel glow, is more than fully deserving of its Oscar win. It's use of German expressionism gives this the look of a horror films at time, especially in the second half and during the ballet when grotesque creatures grab at the girl in her brilliant footwear. 

Favorite Number: This could almost be considered a crash course in famous ballets. We open with Hearts On Fire, which was written directly for the film. Shearer is the mechanical girl to Helpmann's confused inventor in a sequence from Coppelia. She's the dying peasant girl Giselle in a scene from the ballet from that title, the dancing doll in love in La Boutique Fantasque, and Princess Odile during her success in Swan Lake. 

Of course, by far the most famous number is the Ballet of the Red Shoes. This 17 minute dance sequence takes up a good chunk of the movie, and is the best thing about it. The dancing is first rate, the costumes are gorgeous, and even the cinematography is exquisite. Where most movies about ballet would have a stationary camera filming the dancers, this one makes use of editing and techniques not available on the stage to show the dancing in a way that reveals what's going on in Shearer's head and how confused she is over the tug between her heart and her art.

Trivia: Also won for Best Score in 1948. 

A Broadway musical version with songs by Jules Styne debuted in 1993. Alas, it was very poorly received and closed after only five performances. 

What I Don't Like: Perhaps a bit long, and more than a little dark. Not for those hoping for a happy ending in their romances. It's pretty easy to guess that Vicky is doomed from the start. In fact, the finale is a tad too melodramatic for what comes before it.

The Big Finale: One of the most gorgeous movies ever made. If you have even a passing interest in ballet or have wanted to check out one of the Powell/Pressburger films, or just want to see a really good color movie, this is one of the best ever made and couldn't be recommended more. 

Home Media: The Criterion Collection put out UCLA's amazing restoration on disc in 2021. It's also free with ads on many streaming sites, including YouTube.

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Family Fun Saturday - Muppet Treasure Island

Disney, 1996

Starring The Muppets, Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop, and Billy Connolly

Directed by Brian Henson

Music by Barry Mann; Lyrics by Cynthia Weil

Muppet Christmas Carol wasn't a huge hit on release in November 1992, but it did well enough for Jim Henson Productions to consider a second adaptation of a classic British novel. This was hardly Disney's first go-around with Treasure Island. Their adaptation was their first live-action film in 1950. Robert Newton went over so well as roguish buccaneer Long John Silver, he was associated with the role for the rest of his life. Does the Muppet version reach the heights of that film and their previous movie, or should it be abandoned on a desert island? Let's begin over the credits as the infamous pirate Captain Flint buries his treasure and find out...

The Story: Young orphan Jim Hawkins (Bishop) and his peculiar friends Gonzo (Dave Golez) and Rizzo (Steve Whitmire) long to visit exotic places far from the inn where they work and demanding Mrs. Bluveridge (Jennifer Saunders). They get their chance when former pirate Billy Bones (Connolly) dies of a heart attack, leaving them the map that leads to Flint's treasure. They're barely able to dodge pirates after the map and get it to Squire Trelawney (Frank Oz), a sweet but rather clueless noble who talks to the little man in his finger. 

Trelawny and scientist Dr. Livensey (Golez) hire the sailing ship Hispaniola to get them to the island where the treasure is buried. Captain Smollett (Whitmire) and strict first mate Samuel Arrow (Oz) are trustworthy, but as Smollett points out, the rest of the crew is not. Jim does manage to befriend cook and former pirate Long John Silver (Curry) and his lobster Polly (Kevin Clash), who teaches him how to navigate by the stars and talks about his father to him. 

Silver, however, has ulterior motives. Jim and his two friends help Smollett avoid a mutiny, only for Jim to be captured by pirates and everyone else to be taken by pig natives. Turns out the natives are led by Smollet's old girlfriend Benjamina Gunn (Oz) and may be willing to help them find the treasure...if Silver and his crew don't get there first!

The Song and Dance: There's some very funny moments in this rip-roaring Muppet swashbuckler. I'm glad Fozzie and Sam have more to do in this one. They get some of the film's best lines as the silly squire who lets his thumb do the talking and the rules-obsessed first mate. In fact, this is probably Sam the Eagle's best role in any of the theatrical films, and one of Oz's best performances as the character. Curry's having an absolutely marvelous time as one of the most famous fictional buccaneers in history and milks his performance for all it's worth, especially after he outs himself as a pirate in the second half. Once again, terrific costumes and sets that (for the most part) accurately depicts seaside England and the Caribbean in the 1780's. 

Favorite Number: We open with "Shiver Me Timbers" under the credits as we see Flint and his men bury their treasure and what happened afterwards. Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo know they want "Something Better" than waiting on sailors at a seaside inn. Jim, Silver, Smollett, and the crew of the Hispaniola are excited to be "Sailing for Adventure" when they shove off. By the time they lose their wind mid-way through, they're all suffering from "Cabin Fever" in a wild Latin spoof that includes neon puff-sleeved shirts and sombreros. 

Even Silver flat-out says he wants to make the most of his big number with the pirate chorus as he encourages Jim to become "A Professional Pirate." Jim, of course, is having none of it. The natives get their own wacky chorus number, "Boom Shakalaka." as they prepare to roast the Hispaniola crew...until the head of their tribe gets a load of Smollett! Benjamina and Smollett are literally hanging by a limb when they sing the movie's big love ballad "Love Led Us Here." The movie ends with the Ziggy Marley reggae number "Love Power" over the credits as the tourist rats whom Rizzo brought on board retrieve the sunken treasure.

Trivia: Frank Oz was busy elsewhere, so that's Kevin Clash operating his usual Muppets. Oz dubbed his voice later. 

Tim Curry had been a huge Muppet fan for years. He relished working with them and later called Long John Silver one of his favorite roles.

Billy Connolly was proud to be the first person to die in a Muppet movie.

What I Don't Like: Due to this being a Muppet adaptation for children, this isn't quite as accurate book-wise as Christmas Carol was. Jim wasn't an orphan, for one thing. His mother was the one who ran the inn. Mr. Arrow really was pushed overboard, not just tricked. Benjamin Gunn was a former pirate who had been stranded on the island for so long, he'd gone crazy. 

While they got away with inserting Gonzo and Rizzo as narrators in Christmas Carol, they work less well as Jim's sidekicks here. Other than a scene where the pirates torture them to find out where the map is (and Gonzo enjoys it!), even they complain mid-way through the movie that they don't have much to do. Piggy's role as Benjamina is kind of shoehorned into the end to give her a better role than acting crazy. 

The Big Finale: I mildly prefer Christmas Carol, but this one has many charms as well for fans of Curry, pirate yarns, or the Muppets.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, often for under $5. Disney Plus has it with a subscription.

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Thanksgiving Short Subject Special - The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw

NBC, 1980

Voices of Ron McLarty, Pat Lysinger, Johnathan Lewis, and Gabriela Glatzer

Directed by Mordicai Gernstein and Al Kouzel

Music by Elliot Lawrence; Lyrics by Stan Berenstein 

This was the second holiday special featuring the Bears in the early 80's. The book series began in the early 60's with The Big Honey Hunt. By 1980, they were an institution, with Stan and Jan Berenstein churning out sometimes as many as five or six books a year. NBC took notice and commissioned these specials featuring bumbling Papa Bear, sensible Mama Bear, and their cubs Brother and Sister. How does the story of a scary Thanksgiving legend that isn't quite as frightening as it seems look today? Let's begin with Mama reading about the legend of Big Paw in the harvest honeycomb and find out...

The Story: The legend says, that if the bears are greedy, and not sufficiently kind to the needy and share what they have with those around them, Bigpaw will come down and devour Bear Country. Papa thinks it's silly, until a squirrel reports having seen an enormous, monstrous bear creature. He panics and has all of Bear Country up in arms, until Mama intervenes and reminds the citizens not to get carried away. A huge noise from Bigpaw's mountain and a massive shadow just sends Papa and the citizens off again. Brother and Sister know that Bigpaw isn't what he seems, and they're the only ones who can remind their father and the others that thanksgiving means being kind to all creatures, monsters included.

The Animation: On par with most Saturday morning cartoons of the time. It's not the fanciest, but it moves relatively well and closely resembles the books that were out then, which is really all this franchise needs anyway. 

The Song and Dance: Possibly the most action-packed of the 80's Berenstein Bears specials, with Papa and his mob trying to attack Bigpaw and Bigpaw almost attacking them. It also has a slightly darker and more sinister tone than the other specials, though it all ends happily. Bigpaw himself went over so well, he'd reappear in Berenstein Bears' Comic Valentine and the first TV show from 1985. Mama is the thing here; she gets two fun numbers and is even more important as the voice of reason than usual when she keeps the citizens of Bear Country from overreacting to the legend the first time.

Favorite Number: Mama performs "Thankfulness" with the Bear family's pet bird as she cleans the house for Thanksgiving and tells the bird what she's thankful for. She tries to explain that "A Stranger Is Just Somebody (You Don't Already Know)" to her husband and the citizens of Bear Country, but they're too terrified to really listen. Even the trees and the very ground around Brother and Sister tremble at the arrival of "Bigpaw" when they wander into Sinister Bog to get Papa's favorite mixed nuts for the Thanksgiving table.

What I Don't Like: This is slightly darker than the other Bears specials, what with Papa and the mob and Bigpaw almost trying to kill each other. It's telling that Papa's big comic routine in the opening with how much he likes holidays is spoken; this is the only special where he doesn't get a big goofy song that says how intelligent he thinks he is. Honestly, Papa's not the only one who thinks the legend sounds silly, too. I'm amazed the Bears panicked over it twice.

The Big Finale: Not my favorite of the Bears' holiday tales, but still worth checking out if you have fans of the books who want to see more or remember when this used to turn up a lot on cable for Thanksgiving in the early-mid 80's. 

Home Media: Currently the only Berenstein Bears holiday special not on DVD, due to a brief scene of the squirrel who tells the citizens about Bigpaw smoking a cigar to make it look scarier. It can be easily found on YouTube and other sharing sites. 

YouTube