To get the good back into this blog, I've decided to insert some last-minute Christmas cheer with more Xmas stuff that I like!

I've been watching the Rankin-Bass marathon the whole 12 hours it was on, not to mention periodically checking the NORAD Santa Site for updates on Santa's quest in real-time!

First, I'll add a new ingredient to my Rankin-Bass formula due to me watching almost every special shown in the entire ABC Family marathon, and I noticed one other constant detail:

-Tears

Yep. Tears. Tear of Joy, Sadness, or whatever, EVERY single R-B special I saw today had someone crying at least once. These guys must love animating tears, and the fact that there were more Rankin-Bass Xmas specials then I remember (and more with narrators than I remember). Whether it be Santa, Mrs. Claus, a reindeer, an Irish Banshee, a little girl, a mouse, or even Frosty himself, they all cry for one reason or another.

Now that that's done, I also realized I left out a few other kickass Xmas toons that I love!

1) Beavis & Butt-Head Do Christmas

I seriously cannot believe I forgot about this! This special was a tradition in my family, as when my cousins & I went to my aunt's house on Xmas Eve, for the first 3 or so Xmas Eves that we were there, we watched this on MTV, and it kicked ass every time. And then it dissappeared off the airwaves. Then I got the Time-Life DVD with this on it, and all was awesome. But then the official BEST OF Beavis & Butt-Head dvds came out, and now I want those! What went down here...First of all, there were 2 main toons, ripping off those oh-so-classic xmas staples, A Christmas Carol (with Beavis as the boss of Burger World, with Butt-Head & Principal McVicker as the lone employees), and It's A wonderful Life (as an angel shows Butt-Head that the world is better off that he was never born). Between those 2, however, was the duo answering letters from fans with Santa Butt-Head and Beavis the Reindeer who was constantly whipped, as well as providing their usual snarkiness to the Yule Log. Below is a vid of such this.

2) How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Yes, the original Chuck Jones version of the story, and not the 1997 live action travestry starring Jim Carrey (even though I like it soley because of him). We all know the details to this one, The Grinch hates Christmas, he & his dog Max decide to steal all of their gifts, decorations, and Who Hash. When the Whos come out and sing like they always do, he realizes that "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store...maybe it means much much more." Boris Karloff both Narrates and voices The Grinch, while Thurl Ravenscroft sings the famous song, as seen in the vid below.

3) Invader Zim - The Most Horrible Xmas Ever

This was the last Invader Zim episode to air on Nickelodeon (the rest of the unaired ones came to DVD and premired on one of the Nicktoons channels), and this one only aired ONCE...and I saw it! And then Nickelodeon was dead to me after that. It turns out, there was stuff cut out of this, most notably the fight scene between Zim & Dib at the end was longer, as seen in the 4th DVD which was only available in the House box set (which I have). One of the greatest Invader Zim episodes ever, but there's a few continuity problems, such as the presence of MiniMoose (his premire episode, "Nubs of Doom" was scrapped by Nick for some reason), and the sub-plot with Dib & the Spaceship was explained in the should-have-aired-before-this-one "Backseat Drivers From Beyond The Stars" and "Dibship Rising." Below is a very rare treat: Like Charlie Brown Christmas, I managed to find on youtube the complete episode!!

4) KISS Saves Santa

Ahh...Back when Family Guy was GREAT! This Xmas Special in an Xmas special is one of the Greatest moments of the entire series, and I would pay Seth MacFarlane anything to produce an entire special of this to fill in the blanks!

And that's it for now! I hope the stockings are hung with care, the milk & cookies are out, and that everyone is in bed dreaming of sugarplums dancing in their heads. Mmmm...Sugar Plums.