What I Loved in the 80's-Christmas Specials

Gotta love the Christmas Specials which came out during the 80's. They were corny, they were unique, and they just don't make specials like this anymore. Here is a look at a few of them. By the way, I am only talking about specials which premiered in the 80's, and not counting the timeless specials which have been on the air for forty years now. And just like the other 80's articles, this list is in no particular order. 

A Garfield Christmas (1987)

This is a timeless classic, for me anyway. Garfield is brought out to the country for Christmas, and we get treated to some great bits. I won't give too much of a description because I think most are familiar with this one. Also I would just be repeating with Doug said when he talked about this special. The family stuff is so much fun to watch, whether or not you grew up on a farm you have relate to some of it. The songs are nice and I can forgive the implausible bit with Garfield finding the old letters. Hey, it's a sweet moment. It's a bit corny but still Garfield, and I love it!

The Smurf’s Christmas Special (1982)

Obviously to tie in to the popular cartoon, we got this special with an interesting plot. Two children and their grandfather get into an accident. The grandfather is hurt so the children try to find help. The evil Gargamel is sent by a man who is seeking revenge from the children’s uncle to capture the children. The Smurfs find the children and help them, until Gargamel manages to kidnap the kids and prepares to turn them over. It appears the evil is about to win, until he is beaten by the power of love (yeah, I know). This has quite a little story, and is a very nice special. Of course the Smurfs are as cute as always.

This wasn’t the only Smurf special, a few years later we had…..

Tis The Season to be Smurfey (1987)

This was obviously designed to get the newer characters some attention. It is Another interesting story. It starts like a typical Christmas special, we learn this is Wild’s first Christmas and the others are teaching him about the holiday. Meanwhile Grandpa and Sassett are watching a Christmas celebration at a human village. They observe a puppeteer who has an ill wife and decide they want to help them. They rally the other Smurf’s to help the couple have a Merry Christmas. Nice message about not forgetting people who may not have as much as you do during the holidays. Both of these were cute, but suffer from being just a half-hour long.

He-Man/She-Ra:A Christmas Special (1985)

Yes, I hear the groaning. I know what you’re going to say. However, I loved He-Man, so of course I liked this. To be honest I had totally forgotten this little treat ever existed until a few years ago. I don't even remember seeing it, but I must have considering how much I enjoyed the cartoon. Nostalgia Critic had some fun at this special's expense, and I have to say aside from the annoying gay jokes I agree with what he said. This special is corny and the story has plenty of holes in it. However, none of that really matters. The story basically has two kids accidentally come to Eternia and teach all about Christmas. Of course Horde Prime won't accept that and does everything he can to eliminate the children. The one really bad thing in this is the horrible song that's in it. I mean, really? Not the best by far but It's worth checking out just for chuckle.

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land (1982)

Yes, this really happened. Pac-Man was pretty cool Saturday Morning cartoon, so why not do a Christmas special? Makes sense to me. In the story Pac-Man is trying to enjoy some time with his family, but the ghosts get in the way. Then Santa crashes into Pac-Land and needs Pac-Man's help to find the sack of toys. The ghosts steal the toys, of course. Pac-Man chases after the ghosts, and when he catches them he shares what Christmas is all about which warms the ghost’s hearts. Am I really writing this? At the end the ghosts feel the spirit of Christmas and all is well. This was kind of cute. It was a Hanna-Barbara and it shows.

A Muppet Family Christmas Special (1987)

Now this was a Christmas special! I was so upset when I purchased a VHS copy and discovered that the special had been edited for some reason. Thank goodness for YouTube. The Muppets invade Fozzie's mother's house for the holidays and they bring everyone. Yes, I mean everyone. The entire gang from Sesame Street appears, and literally everyone who was on the Muppet Show shows up. Also, Fraggle Rock was around at the time so we get a bit with them as well. There's even a scene with Muppet Babies in it! Of course Piggy makes a big entrance, and pretty much everyone gets a little something to do. It ends with the entire group singing Christmas carols. What a great special this is. The only thing missing is Jim Henson himse......wait, he's right there at the end! This is so much fun, and totally worth a watch.

A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)

I really can't say if I ever saw this, but how can I do an 80's list and not mention this? We all know the California Raisins; they were megastars in the 80's. Their ads were so well known, spawning cartoons and a comic book (thank you Linkara). I never really understood why they were so appealing, but apparently it warranted a Christmas special. It's definitely one of the most bizarre 80's Christmas cartoons, featuring dinosaur hosts, some cool crooning camels, and everyone's favorite Claymation singing sensations. This is really clever, the music is beautiful and the animation is amazing. How can you go wrong? In watching clips of this on YouTube I suddenly feel like I missed something not seeing this as a kid.

The Glo-Friends Save Christmas (1985)

Never heard of it? Neither did I. I couldn't even find a plot description, but thanks to the internet I did pull up a copy of the special. Wow, is it corny. If you're wondering, Glo-worm was a toy which lit up at night. Since the worm was so popular, a series of "friends" were introduced which were all kinds of insects. Was there a cartoon series? Anyway, in this special There's an evil wicked witch named Blanche who is jealous of Santa and wants revenge. Apparently she is upset that Santa gets all the attention. She wants to stop Christmas, and almost does until the Glo-Worms intervene with help from a Moose which had been rejected as one of Santa's reindeer. Wow, is this weird. I do give it credit for having a plot and a villain with a real motive. However, the glo-friends are hardly strong characters and the songs are awful. By the way, there was a series in a way. It was part of My Little Pony 'n Friends which explains why I never heard of it.

Alf's Special Christmas

Need a good cry? Want to get sad real fast? Well, have I got a special for you! I'm just going to come out and say it. When I first saw this I hated this special! It was just so damn sad. The story about a sick little girl was beautiful and heart warming, but as an episode of Alf? To be fair, they went out of their way to make it clear this was no ordinary episode. But it just gets so sad, especially the scene where Alf cries. Anyway, Alf gets lost and winds up at a hospital where he meets a sick girl. The girl is not just sick, she is dying. Then there's a story about Alf helping deliver a baby, which is so ridiculous. The point is to tie back into the sick little girl, which is sweet. Then there is a story about a bereaved suicidal man who Alf talks off a bridge. I get the feeling someone had a script and decided to write Alf in to make the story marketable (and given the dedication at the end, I think that really was the case). You could have replaced Alf with anything else and it would have been the same.  

Now that I am older and wiser I realize I was a bit hard on this as a child. I appreciate this a little more, but it's still very sad.            

                                         

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special (1988)

Where do I begin? This was the opposite of Alf; I loved this when I first saw it. When I saw it years later, I wondered what the heck I was thinking. Pee-wee Herman and pals are celebrating Christmas in the Playhouse in their own creative ways: Pee-wee makes a list for Santa Claus 1 1/2 miles long, teaches Little Richard how to ice skate, goes for a sleigh ride with Magic Johnson, commands Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello to make Christmas cards, receives a long phone call from Dinah Shore, even has more musical fun with k.d. lang, the Del Rubio Triplettes and Charo! Finally, Big Red arrives and announces that Pee-wee's Christmas list was so big, he didn't have enough presents for all the children of the world. This whole thing is like an acid trip, and I guess you have to be a kid to appreciate it.Pee-Wee doesn't even get the message right, agreeing to help Santa out of guilt not because of the goodness in his heart. Is it really bad? No, I guess not. Some of the songs are good and the cameos (which seem never ending and even include Cher who provides the magic word) are clever. My favorite part was Charo singing Feliz Navidad. This special just screams "80's!"

Few others worth mentioning:

A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)-This NBC special had an interesting plot involving a sick little boy and Alvin giving his prized harmonica to him. Alvin then tries to get a new one, to no avail until 

Santa and Mrs. Clause step in. This is a cute special with good song and a nice message even if Alvin makes things more complicated than they need to be (doesn't he always?)

A Disney Christmas Gift (1982)-Basically a collection of shorts, for some reason Disney believes if it involved ice skating it can be connected to Christmas. Never did understand that one.

Fraggle Rock:The Bells of Fraggle Rock (1984). Another one I missed! I never saw this, one reason being that this show was never a favorite of mine. I know everyone else loves it but I never did. The plot is simple; Gobo is having trouble believing in the Fraggles’ Holiday traditions. Is he willing to risk their lives for his curiosity? This special has uniquely religious overtone, and some really cute songs.

The Christmas Toy (1986)

The Snowman (1982)-Am I the only person who has never seen this? James is a young boy left largely alone in his countryside home during a winter of epic snowfall. One day he builds a snowman for companionship, and as luck would have it, the thing comes to life! The two engage in lighthearted mischief until the sentient creature of compacted condensation eventually flies the boy to the North Pole for a party he’ll never forget.

The Adventures of Candy Claus (1987)-Candy Claus might be the worst Christmas special of all time. It's creepy as hell, very poorly executed and really grim. The plot sounds nice; a little girl makes a doll for Santa because he never gets a gift. His touch brings the doll to life, and Santa takes the doll and the child to live with him. There is just to many plot holes and some very odd scenes. It's just not done well, feeling like some kind of trippy 70’s cartoon.

Yogi's First Christmas (1980)-I debated keeping this one here because it was barely and 80's special. Let me just say that this was an annual favorite of mine for years. Yogi is supposed to be hibernating through Christmas but wakes and gets involved with Christmas festivities. The villain is a hermit who is upset that the park is so busy, and a bratty little kid who is the biggest selfish, spoiled brat you will find. All the classic Hanna Barbara characters are in this like Huckleberry Hound. This is fun, and it had a follow up starring Casper which wasn't as good.        

Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember (1984)-Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton...need I say more? The album from this special called One Magic Christmas was one of my favorites growing up.

The Simpsons: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the seasonal specials by Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, and Perry Como. These were like variety shows, and they just don't make specials like this anymore, which is a real tragedy.

Did I miss any? Which were your favorite? I am just so happy the Star Wars atrocity came out in 1977 so I didn’t have to mention it!