It’s Santa! Or is it Krampus? In either case, directors Dionysis and Manos Atzarakis have a real winner on their hands with the very short but utterly creepy “Santa.” Though it’s barely two minutes in length, “Santa” garners enough of a story element and set up to become utterly horrifying; Especially considering the tropes of Santa being a welcoming and loving presence on Christmas night.
I have very fond memories of watching Will Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas” on CBS back when it premiered in the late eighties. At the time Vinton’s “California Raisins” mascots were still prominent in America, and I fondly recall my cousins owning some of the toys from the brand. Though the characters themselves were lukewarm mascots, I still loved Vinton’s “Claymation Christmas.”
Though many consider “A Christmas Story” an ode to good old fashioned consumerism, director Bob Clark’s family film is much more about down to Earth themes. Who among us hasn’t wanted that great toy for Christmas that was out of our grasps? Every single person on Earth can empathize with the tale of Ralphie, a bespectacled young boy who wants the ultimate Christmas present. What makes “A Christmas Story” such a universal holiday film is that Ralphie is not a kid that expects his gift. He does everything it takes to earn his Red Ryder BB Gun, short of stealing it.
It’s really tough to find anyone these days capable of turning a novelty song in to a great film. Not that there’s a need for it, mind you. But still, back in the days Rankin Bass took some great Christmas music and turned them in to classic movies that are still watched today. The last movie we had was “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” And somehow a beloved matriarch being trampled to death by an animal doesn’t inspire the jollies in me.
Yet another of the Christmas favorites that faded away from television land, “ A Garfield Christmas” is a wonderful and often times hilarious look at Garfield’s ringing in the Christmas festivities with Jon and Odie. Garfield is taken out of his beloved home and to Jon Arbuckle’s old home to celebrate Christmas with his country bumpkin family.While there, we not only garner an insight in to Jon’s odd ball personality, but we also get to see how Garfield reacts to the relationships around him.
A long time ago in a galaxy Far, Far Away, Bea Arthur ran a cantina with her alien pals.
And bandit Han Solo found it in his heart to interrupt his daring exploits to take Chewbacca home to be with his family for Christmas–er–Life Day. Though Chewbacca was explained as being a loner whose only friend was Han in the first film, he found time to bonk Mrs. Chewie and birth some chewbacca babies. So every now and then, I imagine Han has to stay over at his pal’s house, listening as Chewie and his wife argue with one another about taking out the trash, while Han tries to unfold the cot for his awkward sleep over.
While director Ron Howard’s “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is by no means as wretched as “The Cat in the Hat,” it’s definitely a grim sign of things to come for the legacy of one of the greatest authors that ever lived. Typical of the Hollywood factory, the studios take a simple and meaningful story and bloat it to obscene proportions, turning it in to a ridiculous facsimile of the source material.