Christmas is approaching in Frogtown Hollow, and Emmet Otter and his Ma hope to buy gifts for each other. Unfortunately, Emmet doesn't make enough from the odd jobs he does, and Ma doesn't make enough as a laundress. They decide to compete in the Frog Town Hollow Talent Contest in order to win money, but Ma will have to hock Emmet's tool chest to buy a costume, and Emmet will have to put a whole in Emmet's washtub for his band! Kermit the Frog hosts this classic Muppet musical Christmas tale, based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban, with original songs from master tunesmith Paul Williams.
Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 rejoice this season, for I have a treat for you. It is Santa Claus Conquers The Martians! Of course it is in 10 parts, but hey better than nothing. Here is a review I swiped from Netflix:
The cheesy cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians gets the "MST" treatment, spliced and diced under the watchful eyes of the ever-critical cineastes who are always at the ready with their cutting commentary. In the film, Martian kids catch a glimpse of Santa Claus on television and go on a rampage, insisting that the Jolly Old Elf make an appearance. To keep the children happy, the Martians abduct Santa and take him back to their planet.
And on to the movie... here is Part 1:
Click here for parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
This is the special Cartoon Edition! It's the weekend, so I am just going to call this one in... not that the previous posts have had a lot of thought put into them. Anyhoo... one cartoon movie popular around this time is A Charlie Brown Christmas! Here it is to enjoy!
This next favorite is for those rhyming fools in the audience... How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Here it is to enjoy!
Last, but not least is Frosty the Snowman. Enjoy!
Maybe later I will update this to include Christmas Comes To PacLand, the classic tale of Xmas for Mr. and Mrs. Pacman.
This is a musical, and it has Muppets. It is a great flick for the kids... it is A Muppet Christmas Carol!
Dickens' classic tale has been retold so many ways, and I like the touch of funny yet caring the Muppets put in the movie. This was the first major movie by Jim Henson studios after the death of Jim Henson. His son directed the film, and he did well with his first film.
In this adaptation of the Christmas story narrated by Dickens himself (played by Gonzo the Great), it is Christmas Eve in London. The merriment is not shared by Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), a surly money-lender who is more interested in profit than celebration. So cold to the season of giving is he that his book-keeping staff, including loyal employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), has to plead with him just to have the day off work during Christmas by pointing out that Scrooge would have no customers on the holiday.
Later that evening, Scrooge finds himself face to face with his former business partners, Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf) who have been condemned to shackles in the afterlife as payment for the horrible deeds they committed in life. They warn him that he will share the same fate if he doesn't change his ways, and foretell the coming of three spirits throughout the night.
Scrooge is first visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, a child-like specter who takes Scrooge on a journey back through time to his youth. He recalls his early school days, during which he focused on his studies; the meeting of a young girl named Belle (Meredith Braun), with whom he would later fall in love; and the final parting between Belle and Scrooge, despite Scrooge's protests that he would marry her as soon as he had enough money. Later, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, a somewhat forgetful entity who lives only for the here and now. He gives Scrooge a glimpse into the holiday celebration of others, including Bob Cratchit and his family, and Scrooge's own family, who aren't above cracking jokes at Scrooge's expense. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals the chilling revelation that young Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog) will not survive the coming year, thanks in no small part to the impoverished existence of the Cratchit family. Furthermore, it is revealed that when Scrooge's own time has passed, others will certainly delight in his absence from the world. It is this final epiphany that jolts Scrooge back into humanity, and makes him vow to celebrate with his fellow man. Scrooge plans a feast for Bob Cratchit and his kin and learns to adopt the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.
Again, here is the full movie! I am sure it will be yanked sometime, but hopefully it stays around till after the holidays!
Now . . . let's just get something out in the open right now, shall we? Some of you may be thinking, "Rudolph??? Are you kidding?" Some of you may even be thinking, "This is a silly movie? It isn't even a movie, it's a goddamn children's Christmas special." (And the rest of you are certainly thinking, "For crissakes, I'm already exhausted and he hasn't even started talking about the program yet"). Well tough titties to all of you. Cause this is the choice. And I've got three good reasons to make this selection. In order of importance:
1. The Ultimate Outsider's Story. Misfits, rebels, independents. I was SO all-over this, even as a child (I told you I was a weird kid);
2. I will straight-out mess you up if I hear you dissing Rudolph. Make no mistake; and . . .
3. Yukon. Fucking. Cornelius.
And if that 3rd reason, alone, ain't good enough, then you'd better just stop reading right now and come back next week.
UPDATE: Might as well link to the movie online. Here is Part 1:
You all know it, you all have seen it. It now plays for 24 hours straight on TBS on Christmas Eve. No one knew how popular it would become when it first came out on film in 1983. It is A Christmas Story.
I will just steal the bio from Movies.com about this classic.
Little Ralphie wants nothing more for Christmas than a Red Ryder BB gun, but everyone keeps telling him that he'll shoot his eye out. Over the days and weeks leading up to the fabled day, Ralphie keeps hoping to convince his parents and the department store Santa, all the while evading school bullies and getting caught for saying "the queen mother of dirty words."
I got a lot of video for this... oh were to start?
How about Countdown's news report about the house used in filming the movie being remodeled and opened for touring in Ohio?
The Santa scene...
The flagpole...
How about Bunnies acting out A Christmas Story in 30 seconds???
And... um... someone uploaded the entire movie so here is the first part, you can click through to YouTube to easily find the rest of the movie, look for parts 2, 3, 4, and 5. I doubt this stays on very long with copyright infringement and all.
I could do this all day because this movie is EVERYWHERE on the net. So I will stop now... :)
"Know what I mean?" Here is a movie that most people won't see even around Christmas time... Ernest Saves Christmas.
What can I say, I like very silly movies. This is a good kids movie, IMHO, and will even get laughs out of adults.
With such lines as:
Ernest P. Worell: You know, I don't tell many people this, but Christmas is just about my favorite time. Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt like it was my own personal holiday.
If you have seen the movie, my favorite line is "Air Brakes". I only found one scene from the movie in good quality...
I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for video of this movie... so here is a trailer in very poor video quality...
I am going to just call in this post... Who doesn't know It's A Wonderful Life?
Ya either love it or hate it. I never really watched it from beginning to end till I was in my early twenties... thus I hated it as a teen but now love it. Wanna watch the original trailer to the movie? Go here.
Wait, why did I not just embed the Trailer like I have for every other Christmas movie? Because I can do one better than a trailer this time... I got THE WHOLE MOVIE TO WATCH! So here it is, It's A Wonderful Life:
This is the Favorite Christmas Movies by popular demand edition. This Christmas movie has been redone every couple decades, but the original is still the best.
Miracle on 34th Street is a classic. Everyone knows the story... Santa (aka Kris Kringle) becomes the "store Santa" for Macy's... meets a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa so he sets out to prove to her that he is the one and only Santa. Fast forward to a trial to prove his competency, but it turns into a trial of his identity as the one and only Santa, which he wins... everyone lives happily ever after.
The reason I feel the original is better than all the remakes (put together) is because it not only had the best acting, but it struck the best balance of making Santa look like he could either be THE Santa or just some crazy man. It seemed every remake took the insane thing farther and farther... till that 90's flick had Santa talking to "his" reindeer at the NYC Zoo. THAT was really believable.
Plus I like the original because I have a soft heart when it comes to black and white movies. Although, it does look great "colorized" too.
Anyway, for best scene in the movie I nominate the Judge and the political hack who is advising him about how to handle the upcoming Santa case:
Charles Halloran: All right, you go back and tell them that the New York State Supreme Court rules there's no Santa Claus. It's all over the papers. The kids read it and they don't hang up their stockings. Now what happens to all the toys that are supposed to be in those stockings? Nobody buys them. The toy manufacturers are going to like that; so they have to lay off a lot of their employees, union employees. Now you got the CIO and the AF of L against you and they're going to adore you for it and they're going to say it with votes. Oh, and the department stores are going to love you too and the Christmas card makers and the candy companies. Ho ho. Henry, you're going to be an awful popular fella. And what about the Salvation Army? Why, they got a Santa Claus on every corner, and they're taking a fortune. But you go ahead Henry, you do it your way. You go on back in there and tell them that you rule there is no Santy Claus. Go on. But if you do, remember this: you can count on getting just two votes, your own and that district attorney's out there.
Judge Henry X. Harper: The District Attorney's a Republican.
Finding video for these Christmas movies is turning out to be trickier than I anticipated... but here is what I got so far. First the original trailer for the movie, which is NOT like the traditional trailer...
Here is a more traditional trailer, I assume that was cut for use with a TV broadcast...
It is a classic tale, with a twist. Many people have done Charles Dickens' classic "Scrooge," and who better to play Scrooge than Bill Murray?
Scrooged is set in modern times (the 80s rock), and today's Scrooge is a tv executive. He is visited by his old boss, three ghosts... and changes his life for the better before it is too late.
I think Bill Murray plays this twist role of Scrooge perfectly, you will hate him in the beginning but like the guy by the end. It has a great supporting cast, with Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait stealing scenes at every turn. I will have to watch this movie again this year...
And if you don't believe me about Bobcat... check out this dialog. Bobcat is Elliot and Preston is the top executive of the network calling into the control room during a live broadcast to complain.
Elliot: Hello, IBC program room. Preston: This is Rhinelander. Who's the idiot that put that nut on the air? Elliot: Oh, uh, Bryce Cummings is the idiot sir but uh, he can't talk to you right now because he's sorta tied up. Uh-huh. Oh, in fact he just said that you were a flatulating butthead? Preston: A butthead? Elliot: He said he never felt that way about a man before but you really looked good in a suit.
I am already loving this series... what shall be next?
Since I don't blog regularly anyway, might as well start a series about my (or people I know) favorite Christmas movies.
To start out, one of the true classics with a dysfunctional family that reminds me of my own... National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation! It is the Uncle that makes it... how brilliant is the emptying of the "shitter"?
This series is gonna be fun, I tell ya! Video after the fold...
