Here Comes the Sun

In 1996, the Jim Henson Company produced a show based on the delightful universe created by Dr. Seuss known as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.  All sorts of familiar Seussian characters would learn life lessons in their funky new setting, and it was only a matter of time before they had their Christmas episode.  And while one of Dr. Seuss's most famous creations is heavily tied to Christmas (and his story is referenced in this episode), we instead focus on a different set of characters for this tale.

In "Mrs. Zabarelli's Holiday Baton," the citizens of... Seussville(?) gather for their Jingle Day Pageant.  Jingle Day is technically not Christmas (which is referenced during the pageant), but it occurs as part of the holiday season.  Jingle Day is the shortest day of the year, and the pageant occurs all night long.  At the end, when a little child tinks the Klink, the sun rises, signaling the end of the day.  As we begin the story, little Annie DeLoo has been selected to be the Klink Tinker, but she is nervous to carry on such a huge responsibility.

Yes, the Klink is just a misshapen triangle.  It's not that difficult.

Conductor and director Mrs. Zabarelli encourages little Annie, with the wise words, "We don't know what we can do until we try."  And sure enough, Annie raises the sun with her tinking.

Mrs. Zabarelli has kept the planet safe for another year.

Many years later, Annie DeLoo, now a young woman, is Mrs. Zabarelli's second-in-command, assisting her with the annual pageant.  However, Mrs. Z has been performing her duty for 49 years, and decides it is time to pass her baton to Annie.  The performers, who were already having trouble getting organized without Mrs. Z's presence, sink into chaos under Annie's command.

Although they managed to get organized for a song about how they wish Mrs. Z was with them.

One by one, the cast leaves the rehearsal process, until it is only Annie, Horton, and Horton's son Morton left to perform the pageant and tink the Klink.  Annie doubts herself, becoming quite depressed over the fact that she'll never be able to pull off something as grand as the Jingle Day Pageant.  But, with the repeated advice from Mrs. Z, she realizes that she has to try.

She also realizes that she looks like Deb from Napoleon Dynamite.

So, the three individuals start to perform to an empty audience.  But their music travels far across the town, and slowly, people are driven towards the sounds.  The rest of the cast joins in the show and by the end, Morton is able to tink the Klink (now with reassurance from Annie) and raise the sun.

Oooooooooh!

And so, Annie DeLoo got over her fears and gained confidence.  And 49 years later, she passed her baton down to the next anxious little girl.

It's a never-ending cycle.

Apart from the set dressings, this episode isn't necessarily Christmasy.  The plot could have occurred at any point in the year.  But it's still a sweet little story teaching us about responsibility.  Because, as we grow up, it becomes our turn to host holiday dinners and parties, rather than just attend them.  And with the memories and traditions remaining so wonderful in our minds, there can be a lot to live up to when we're placed in charge.  But Christmas will be Christmas, no matter how much we mess it up.  So relax, and try your best.  You'll be surprised at what you can do.

The First Sesame Street Christmas

There have been many Sesame Street Christmas specials, but none of them seem to top 1978's Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.  But even the first special wasn't completely original.  Three years earlier, Christmas came to Sesame Street via an album known as Merry Christmas from Sesame Street.

How did Bert even get into this mess?

For fans of the 1978 special, a lot of familiar elements appear on the album.  Oscar sings "I Hate Christmas," the cast sings "Keep Christmas With You," and Bert and Ernie's Gift of the Magi scenario actually originates here.  But this does not detract from the record (or the show) at all.  It still has an old-fashioned charm.  So whether you're hearing the "Sesame Street Christmas Overture" on the album or on television, you can rest comfortably knowing that good times are ahead.

There is the usual Christmas fare, with the cast singing as many Christmas tunes as they can possibly fit onto one record.  There are even TWO medleys of carols just to make sure nothing is missed.  So, fans of Sesame Street and Christmas are certainly getting their money's worth.

So much Christmas!

So what's unique to the album?  Well, Maria and Luis sing "Saludo (Aguinaldo)," a Puerto-Rican Christmas song about family celebration and "Arrurru," a Spanish lullaby that...doesn't have anything to do with Christmas but it's pleasant.  David sings a modernized version of "The Night Before Christmas," in which he lets Santa borrow his sled to deliver presents.  But the centerpiece of the album is "A Christmas Pageant."

Bert must suffer through being the tree in the Christmas pageant and, like any good radio play, no visuals are needed to get the vivid story across.  Like Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, there is no grand plot.  No one needs to save Christmas or learn the true meaning of the holiday.  It's just all of our friends, coming together, singing familiar songs and partaking in their traditions.  This album is like an audio version of A Muppet Family Christmas.

It doesn't need to be groundbreaking.  But it needs to be reliable.

Holiday Primer

Holiday traditions are weird.  You are born into a family and naturally accept whatever customs they practice because it happens every year since the moment you are born.  No time to question or wonder. These traditions are just a part of life.  So, when two people of different backgrounds meet for the first, there can be a culture clash.  And what better time of year to observe this holiday mashup than December?

In the special, Elmo's World: Happy Holidays, Elmo is excited because everyone on Sesame Street is gearing up for Christmas.  But he soon learns that Christmas is not the only holiday in town (although, judging by the presentation, it is clear that Christmas dominates the collective consciousness).

Christmas is all of the holidays, right?

With the help of his new friend, Mail Carrier Kelly Ripa, Elmo learns about the various practices of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and a few others.  The Christmas portion takes the longest, as we see various elements, like the Noodle family decorating a tree, a groups of carolers singing various Christmas songs, and Prairie Dawn's Nativity pageant.

As with most Sesame Street Pageants, many errors and slip-ups occur.  Cookie brings cookies instead of myrrh, Bert gets into a sneezing fit thanks to the manger's hay, and the casting choice of active Baby Natasha results in a missing Baby Jesus.  Somehow, it warms my heart that for some children, this was their first experience with the story of the Nativity.

At least they remembered that the Virgin Mary is blue.

After watching this play, Elmo realizes that Christmas is one big birthday party, hence all the gift-giving.  He decides that he needs to give his goldfish Dorothy a great gift, but he has trouble thinking of something good.  Unfortunately, Mail Carrier Kelly only serves to distract him from his goal by delivering a letter from the Savitzky family who are celebrating Hanukkah.

Mail Carrier Kelly represents the War on Christmas.

Elmo learns about the menorah and the story of Judah Maccabee and the segment finishes up with an epic round of dreidel between Telly and the Jewish Bear Family.  And now we know everything we need to know about Hanukkah!

Up next is our Kwanzaa segment.  Kwanzaa, being the African-American holiday devoted to celebrating achievements through the Seven Principles (Unity, Self-Determination, Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith), is best represented by this:

After hearing about all of these holidays (and several others which are glossed over in a brief montage), Elmo decides that all of these holidays are actually the same.  They all involve family, love, gifts, and candles.  That certainly simplifies things.  And speaking of gifts, Elmo still needs a present for Dorothy!  So he stops by the North Pole to ask Santa himself for assistance.  (This is all in Elmo's imagination, so he can do this easily.)  Santa applauds Elmo for going to such great lengths for his friend rather than for himself and (after a brief song) tells Elmo to get Dorothy something from the heart.

Well, obviously Santa.  You're no help at all!

Elmo knows exactly what to get her and since she's just a goldfish, she loves it (or at least has nothing bad to say about it)!

 And so, Elmo learned all about the various holidays, but, being a child brought up on Christmas, he is sure to forget them all until the next holiday special.

*      *      *

This special was also adapted into a stage show at the Sesame Place theme park, and although many of the same clips are shown, there is a bizarre section in which Santa Claus is the one who teaches Elmo the story of Hanukkah.

Just like that episode of Friends, "The One With the Holiday Armadillo"

Hopefully this didn't confuse children too much.  Although the section where they all blew out the candles of the menorah like a birthday cake will probably make for some awkward moments at later gatherings.

The Non-Denver Christmas Album

The first original Muppet album to be released after the Disney acquisition didn't appear until 2006, over a decade since the last one.  A Muppet album was a thing of the past, but combining Disney, the Muppets and Christmas was sure to be a hit!  And although the Muppets collaborated with John Denver on a Christmas album before, this would be the first one that they had all to themselves.  So let's take a listen to A Green and Red Christmas.

So far, it's meeting all my expectations.

The lead song of the album, "'Zat You, Santa Claus?" doesn't make the best first impression.  This is one of three songs covered by the Electric Mayhem and right away, we understand why there hadn't been a Muppets album in such a long time.  We can only hear the Muppets, and despite everyone's best efforts, the Muppets just don't sound the same anymore (especially since only Dave Golez remains from the original five).  This has been a critique for many fans, and it never really bothered me.  I understood that it was necessary and it allowed others to play their favorite characters.  And for the most part, having new voices is fine.

But if any characters should have been retired, it's the Electric Mayhem.  Apart from Animal, the band only exists to cover songs nowadays.  But with all the voice changes, we lose that genuine aspect that the original Electric Mayhem had.  These are no longer five guys getting together and having fun with their fake band, these are a cheap imitation.  The other two songs on the album, "The Man With the Bag," and "Run, Run Rudolph," don't fare any better.  The band has lost their mojo.  Judge for yourself in their 2009 live appearance at Rockefeller Center.

The second song on the album is also the first original number, "A Red and Green Christmas."  Despite the fact that the title contradicts the title of the album, this is actually a pretty good song.  Kermit and Miss Piggy argue over which color is the definitive Christmas hue, with each one listing holiday elements associated with their choice.  Of course, by the end, they decide that both are acceptable.  It's sweet and inspired.  It's what the Muppets should be.

The other original songs on the album are hit or miss.  Rowlf's "The Christmas Party Sing-Along" does not warrant Rowlf's resurrection and Fozzie's "North Pole Comedy Club" is unbearable.  Good comedy albums get stale after repeated listenings, so who in their right mind would want to listen to bad comedy more than once?  More successful are Piggy's "The Christmas Queen," where Piggy must deal with her insulting back-up singers (and probably would have been really funny with an official music video rather than just a well-intentioned fan-video).  And "Christmas Smorgasbord" is a nice parlay into the world of the Swedish Chef, even if the song is musically bland.

Things are more consistent with the rest of the covers.  Miss Piggy sings "Santa Baby," as she should.  Kermit's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," while not as memorable as Rowlf's version (or the Muppet Family Christmas version) is still endearing, and Gonzo and Rizzo have a fun rendition of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," as seen in the Rockefeller Center clip.

Although the other Muppets aren't featured on the album version, it still does the trick.

As it stands, the album isn't essential, but it has enough going for it that it's worth adding a couple of tracks to your holiday playlist.  But if you were to purchase it, make sure you get the 2011 re-release that was made to promote The Muppets.

Even if you have to settle for the less charming cover artwork.

There are two additional songs on this version, each rmade after 2006.  First up is Gonzo and Fozzie's "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" from the 2008 special Letters to Santa (which I be discussing later this month).  The money-maker, however is the Muppets and Andrea Bocelli's "Jingle Bells."  This song was also featured on Bocelli's 2009 album My Christmas and, as seen in the promotional television special, it is a charming, clever, and funny affair.

This one song is the reason we need a Muppet Christmas album.  It brings our favorite characters together in a way that retains their personalities without giving up musical quality and integrity.  Bocelli adds a legitimacy to the album that is lacking from a majority of the previous songs.  Although celebrity cameos can be hokey, when they work, they work.  So, once you're sick of hearing all the other holiday songs this season, give this album a listen.

Or give Andrea Bocelli's album a listen.

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (But Then Was)

After yesterday's skewering of Christmas special cliches and tropes, it's a relief to return to something more traditional.  Wait, not "relief."  Burden.  Elmo's Christmas Countdown is the fourth television Sesame Street Christmas special and, by 2007, it appears the writers had run out of ideas.  Let us look at some of the previous dangers that almost resulted in Christmas cancellations: a thief steals everyone's gifts, Santa Claus falls ill, the weather is too harrowing.  All classics.

In Elmo's Christmas Countdown, Ben Stiller loses his advent calendar, dooming Christmas.  And that description is much better than the execution.

Just what this world needed: a Stiller Muppet.

Yes, Stiller the Elf tells us the tale about the year Christmas nearly didn't happen (a.k.a. every year).  See, on Christmas Eve, it is Stiller's job to grant one lucky Earthling with the task of officiating the Christmas Countdown via the Christmas Counter-Downer.  Once the Counter reaches 1, Christmas can occur.  If not, then no Christmas.  This is a faulty system that is just asking for trouble.

Um, why was this invented in the first place?  Why not just let time flow naturally?

Unfortunately, this is the year that Oscar the Grouch is randomly selected to kickstart Christmas.  And, as we are reminded through an updated version of "I Hate Christmas," Oscar hates Christmas.  And so he shoots the counter into the air, with each numbered box falling somewhere on Sesame Street.  Oh no!  Now Christmas will never come!

Oh, of course it will come.  And it comes by way of random characters finding the numbers in conveniently reverse order (save for a misplaced 5 which...is just a temporary hiccup with no repercussions).  So, although the numbers are slowly being found, Elmo can still insert them into the counter to begin the countdown.

And what happens when the numbers are activated?  Why, musical numbers and sketches with celebrity guests start playing, of course!  Ah, so we are going to see 10 little acts, right?  Well, no.  Numbers 9, 6, and 3 are CDN news reports in which Charles Blitzen reports on the Stiller-Counter catastrophe and reminds the audience of the impending cancellation of Christmas.

How does he even know about all of this?  I guess Santa's his informant.

Wait...why would the Counter-Downer even include these news reports?  Shouldn't they just be... happening?  It doesn't seem like a festive way to ring in the holiday.  Why not just have them occur outside of the countdown?  Well, because then there would only be 7 numbers, which is weird for a countdown.  And they probably couldn't round up 10 celebrities and had already promised spots to more than 5, so they had to put in some filler.  Just what every great special needs!

Okay, so how about these musical/comedy segments?  Well, we've got Jennifer Hudson singing "Carol of the Bells" with animals....

Not too bad.  B+

...Anne Hathaway and Big Bird singing "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas..."

Hathaway doesn't even seem to know why she's there.  D

...Bert and Ernie directing Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa in The Bert and Ernie Christmas Special...

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!! B-

...Jamie Foxx's bizarre remix of "The Nutcracker Suite," which gets an A+ just for this:

...the Count and Ty Pennington adding more ships to "I Saw Three Ships," which is a weird roundabout way to introduce an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition joke...

...nah, no pics or grade for that one, it's dumb...

...and Brad Paisley singing "Jingle Bells."

Aren't we all tired of this? D-

But even without the Counter, there is still Sheryl Crow singing "It's Almost Christmas," and Alicia Keys singing "Do You Hear What I Hear?"  Wait a second!  Why did they just make those two extra slots in the Counter-Downer Countdown?!  This special makes no sense!!!

I'm not even going to comment on the sentient, floating snowball.

At the end of the day, Stiller the Elf is taught by Elmo that sometimes you just gotta believe in Chrismas miracles, goshdarnit!  And as, if the special wasn't hokey enough, the cast sings a new song called "You Gotta Just Believe," and it's lead by Santa Claus played by Kevin James and--

OKAY, THAT'S IT!  I'm done with this one!  Sesame Street specials do not belong on network television!

You crossed a line, Elmo's Christmas Countdown.

'Tis the Season (for Shopping)

When Dinosaurs set out to create satire, the results were almost always successful and charming.  These satirical episodes were so perfectly crafted, that it seemed as if they were destined to exist.  By placing the show in the far, far past, we were able to "witness" the birth of modern concepts that we take for granted.  So when it came time for the "Christmas" episode, it was a tough line to walk.  What could be said about Christmas that hasn't been said (or parodied) countless times before?

How about commercialism?

Now, wait a minute.  Every Christmas special is about the evils of commercialism.  And in the end, Charlie Brown or whomever will reveal the true meaning of Christmas.  That its not about presents or spending, its about family and love.

Good thing the dinosaurs didn't grow up with the same specials we did.

And also, Christ wasn't born yet...

During the winter, the citizens of Pangaea celebrate "Refrigerator Day" which celebrates the miracle of refrigerators (a.k.a. the invention that allowed dinosaurs to become domesticated and no longer migratory).  Taking some pages from a few different holidays, Refrigerator Day features two days of fasting before the big feast (where all the leftovers get eaten), pageants telling the story of the holiday's origin, and presents, presents, presents!

Earl, excited for the upcoming Refrigerator Day, spends all of the family's money on presents, expecting a holiday bonus from work.  Of course, Richfield being Richfield denies him the bonus, crushing Earl's spirits (and his wallet).

Pay no mind that the Simpsons Christmas special began the exact same way.

The repercussions are swift as the repo men come to claim the Sinclairs' fridge (since the payments are half a day late and it is poetically much more meaningful this way, according to the boss).

You can't have Fridge Day without a fridge!

Earl sinks into a deep depression and contemplates hanging himself in the garage.  Christmas!  The family decide that, although they love presents, they need to get their fridge back and the gifts must be returned.  Except, the concept of a return policy hasn't been invented yet (this is prehistory, remember?) so the store doesn't know what to make of their request.  They ultimately agree to buy back the gifts at a much lower price, allowing the family to purchase a styrofoam cooler.

Even 60 million years ago, K-Mart made children cry.

The family try to keep their spirits up and reenact the first Refrigerator Day via family pageant.  As they assume the roles of dino-pilgrims, they sympathize with the early reptiles, who had to go without food for days on end.  In a delightful handwave, the actual inventions of the refrigerator is never really explained.  One day, a box was made and it happened to have a plug on it, so it could be plugged in to make food cold.  No mention of how the box worked, no hint as to where the electricity came from, just an unquestionable miracle.

But then, in true television fashion, the Sinclairs receive their own miracle!  The Kave Mart salesmen arrive to return the fridge because their boss liked the idea of a return policy so much that he needed to say thank you.  And gifts just keep getting better and better (or at least more absurd).  The store also lets them keep their presents!  And they managed to get Earl his holiday bonus!  And they brought ice cream!  And attached snow machines to the house to make it snow!  This delightful mockery of Christmas special endings is undercut by the revelation that the Kave Mart employees are distracting the Sinclairs so they can sign away the rights to the return policy idea, but who cares?!

It's Refirgerator Day and everyone should be happy!

Yay!  No one missed out on becoming millionaires!

The entire "Refrigerator Day" episode is packed with biting commentary on the hypocrisy that exists in Christmas specials.  For as much as specials try to denounce commercialism and greed, they are still promoting the month-long spendfest of western civilization.  Think about that as you hang up your Charlie Brown ornaments or put out your Grinch snow globes.  You can't escape it, so you'd might as well embrace it.

The Perfect Tree

It's Christmastime again, and there a plenty of Muppet Christmas specials waiting to be unearthed.  Last year I mostly focused on the specials that Jim Henson was present for.  But many more specials have come about since 1990, so let us see how they fare.

First up is Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree.  As I alluded last year, Robert Downy Jr.'s dialogue can be difficult to stomach for longer than a minute, but after watching the whole special, I can assure you that, despite the title, Mr. Willowby is barely in it.

But he makes for a good promotional photo.

Based on the 1963 Robert Barry childrens book, Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree concerns a mouse family whose goal is to find the perfect tree to decorate their little hole in the wall of Mr. Willowby's house.  They head out to the woods and spot a giant tree, the tip of which the father decrees would be perfect.

It'll be a shame to waste the rest of that tree though.

The mice climb to the top of the tree, but before they can claim their prize, the whole tree comes tumbling down.  Apparently, they weren't the only ones searching for the perfect tree.  Rich Mr. Willowby has his lumberjacks bring the tree into his giant mansion, but surprisingly, the tree is still too big for the space.  What follows is a series of carvings that result in the mice traveling from home to home, witnessing various Christmas celebrations.

The first stop is the attic where Mr. Willowby's maid Ms. Adelaide (Stockard Channing) lives.  He has his butler Mr. Baxter (Leslie Nielsen) take the top of his tree to her as a gift and she teaches him the Swedish tradition of candles on the head (St. Lucia's crown).

Made famous in various western media to make characters look foolish on the holidays.

The tree is still too big, however, so Ms. Adelaide tosses the tip out the window where the bears from The Muppets Take Manhattan take it too their cave.  Apparently bears have their own Christmas tradition, the Honeypot Shuffle.

I think we're getting into some strange territory...

The tree tip's next stop is an owl's nest, where owl's play icicles like synthesizers.

This is what happens in Brian Eno's head after drinking too much eggnog.

Finally, the owl's clip the tip and the mice end up back home with the perfect tree.  And everyone has a great Christmas.

The story is a cute little tale that seems as if it belongs in its storybook format, especially since it is quite repetitive in tone.  But despite some overacting and silly dance sequences, the story of the mice family remains solid and charming.  It is established early on that mice fear people, bears and owls, so, by taking this journey, the mice find that their predators aren't too different from them, and the predators take a chance to be compassionate to the mice and let them join in their holiday fun.

The quest for the perfect Christmas tree can resonate with many people.  We are reminded that no matter who you are, we all want to have a perfect holiday.  And it is better to share it with others than to remain alone.

Of course, once December 26th hits, all bets are off.

Hopefully the Ghost of Christmas Present will protect them!