Casper's Haunted Christmas review (re-try)

I reviewed this movie a while back, regretfully well before the holiday season. On the upside I didn't see it all the way through back then, but now I was able to see it, mostly, and given how Thanksgiving is getting shafted more and more every year, why not?

Along with an earlier review, I did a ranking of the Casper movies I have seen, and this ranked at the bottom. I was able to change my perspective on Legend of Frosty the Snowman (review coming on that hopefully), but for me, I went from not caring to hating on it.

Casper's Haunted Christmas was produced in 2000 by Mainframe Entertainment. This would be the first computer-animated Casper movie ever, with Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Capser Meets Wendy and the 1995 film being live-action films with CG ghosts. Most of the Christmas films I covered beforehand came out in November, but this one is special in that it came out on Halloween, and I don't mean during the Halloween season, I mean straight up on the exact day, and on home video when kids would be out trick or treating and parents would be handing out candy.

One of the only other Christmas films I know of to have been released on October was Goodtimes Entertanment's take on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and that was in the middle of the month.

The film would see a release on television five years after on Cartoon Network, and based on my recollection of seeing airings of The Swan Princess and the second Land Before Time movie on the network, I assume Cartoon Network were willing to air any movie they could get their hands on. The first I've seen of this movie was on the network, and the more I do these reviews, the more I'd get an exact idea on what network I watched the most as a kid.

The film was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, their resume should go without saying. But since this was co-financed by an American company, we have some American talent appearing alongside Vancouver's, well... one. Of it is the voice of Casper, Brendon Ryan Barrett. Barrett previously appeared in Spirited Beginning as Chris, Casper's obligatory human friend. He had some bit roles spanning to 2001, with his last role being in an independent comedy film.

Randy Travis produced a cover of the Casper theme... and that covers the American contributors.

For our Canadian cast, we have Tegan Moss as Holly Jollimore, yes. Moss had roles spanning both live-action and animated, but if I had to guess anything significant she did, she provided the voice of Penny in later Inspector Gadget movies. Casper's uncles are voiced by Scott McNeil, Terry Klassen and Graeme Kingston. While the former two are recognizable, this was Kingston's final project of an eleven year career, though he isn't dead yet.

As this is a Vancouver-produced program, Tabitha St. Germain would rear her head, not that it's a bad thing, I just happen to see her a lot. Samuel Vincent also appears in this as Spooky, basically a Brooklyn doppelgänger. This was the first I ever saw of him so I can't say if he was bastardized.

One last thing to note, this video was released with a cross-promotion from Baskin Robins, initial runs of the VHS release included coupons and a tie-in ice cream flavor, I believe it was called plain vanilla.

Animation

From here on out, I'm gonna cover the animation first. I typically have less to say about it than the premises.

Casper's Haunted Christmas was produced around the time Mainframe still used their earlier software. You know how there's a stark contrast between Mainframe's pre-2003 projects? Well around 2003, Mainframe updated their software and projects in that pipeline would show it off. Those new projects would feature more cartoony animation and utilize the infamous dots-for-eyes look, best shown in the two Scary Godmother movies and Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy.

Before then, Mainframe was a bog-standard computer animation studio, and the cartoony nature of their productions at the time were okay at best, but didn't hold up as well. This suffered the most as it was released much later than ReBoot and Beast Wars, while those shows are built around whatever limits they had at the time, this used more over-the-top effects, leading to varied results.

Plot

Something I noticed between this and Casper's Scare School is that they share similar concepts, not that I'm complaining because Scare School is starting to show more and more merits every time I go back to it (the movie that is.) Both movies start with Casper's Uncles going on a haunting spree. Scare School had them do it in town, namely a grocery store, here, they do it at a drive-in. Key difference is the cartoony over-the-top reactions in this.

Casper doesn't make it to either, but once more the reasons are different. In Scare School Casper forgot about the haunting spree to help his friend prep for a soccer tournament. In this movie, Casper didn't make it because he didn't want to be rude by going in without a ticket. With my knowledge, you can get in without a ticket as long as you're not human or a giant atomic-powered plankton.

They try to save this movie with some meta humor and pop culture references, but while admittedly some are not lost on me, they feel forced. None of the characters have the right delivery or the scenes don't leave room for the jokes to be made. This is "Elephant Man in a sports car" levels of lame.

Another key difference between Scare School and this is the dynamic between Casper and his Uncles. In Scare School, they actually give a shit about him, and are only hard on him at times because his lack of ability to scare would lead to repercussions. It might not be the norm in other Casper movies, but I doubt Spirited Beginning had them much less.

Here, they couldn't give less of a shit about him. Not saying it as someone who whines about mean-spiritedness, but as someone who feels this would get old within minutes. The conflict comes when Snivel arrives, and the Uncles spell their own bad fate when they blow a summoning whistle for Kibosh.

While Scare School has similar elements, it seems this movie was going off of Spirited Beginning. I say this because Lee Tokar's Snivel is trying to replicate Pauly Shore's portrayal. It's mediocre at best, but Colin Murdock's Kibosh leaves much to be desired. It's certainly no James Earl Jones. I can't compare Scare School to this because Snivel doesn't appear in it. Kibosh does, and I can excuse Kevin Michael Richardson's take because it's more his than going off of a definitive voice, plus it strikes the perfect balance between intimidating and reasonable.

Scare School's point of conflict is that Casper's refusal to scare anyone is disrupting a balance between monster and humans, where the former has to scare the latter, but to a reasonable level to discourage an uprising against them. In this, Casper's in trouble because he didn't scare anyone throughout the year, plus a Free Willy 3 joke, but Barrett wasn't even in that movie.

Casper faces time in a realm called "the dark", which is as literal as you think, and neutered in reveal by Snivel. You'd think Scare School would falter here, but Casper's punishment for not fulfilling his scare obligations, along with him having to go to get educated on it, is banishment to the Valley of the Shadows, a mysterious area which is actually a friendly paradise that's only scary to monsters who like to scare, its notoriety meant to keep creatures in line.

As a motivator, the Uncles' haunting licenses are revoked until Casper can pull off one scare. I get that they are his legal guardians, but haunting licenses? Makes as much sense as ghosts treating haunting like a realty-type deal.

I get lost around the point Kibosh claims that the deadline is Christmas day. Have you never heard of December 26th-31st? You could've made this a New Years Eve special and be the potential first to do it, but nope. Also, all four ghosts are forcibly sent to a town in Massachusetts, a town called Kriss, because Christmas. No, seriously, because by abbreviation it says Kriss, Mass. Kriss-Mass.

At the very least this is a town that takes Christmas very seriously, to the chagrin of the obligatory human friend for this movie. Holly Jollimore. On first glance, she seems to live one hell of a radish cure kind of life on Christmas, putting up with her parents who literally force it down her throat. But her emotional drive is that she moved to Kriss and lost her friends.

You took something that is rarely approached in Christmas specials and replaced it with the most obvious plot line imaginable. I'm not asking for genocide in the name of romance, but if it isn't people who ruin classic Christmas specials by only bringing their love for it to spite a later adaptation, it's repetition.

Casper is seen as a snowman upon landing, and rolls with it. Scenes with them from then are them playing around and Holly buying into the snowman aspect.

Anyhow, I feel there could've been an interesting aspect with the haunting licenses, where their scares would lose impact without them, exemplified by their attempt at scaring people at a Christmas Carol play audition. But nothing. I expect them to otherwise get in trouble for scaring without them, you can't do anything without a license. But nothing. I think Kibosh shares my perspective in that ghosts needing licenses is a load of hogwash.

Because Holiday joy breeds idiocy, they invite the Uncles to their house. I would talk about how whether or not material goods would've corrupted the Cratchit family in the Mr Magoo special, but that was made in the 60s, well before people felt more comfortable about exploring new ideas and it being a sign of the times, and I still love that movie.

The Uncles try to convince Casper to scare someone, but rather than sack up and get one scare outside of Holly, he blows it. At least in Scare School he tries to sack up to impress his teachers and actually scares his obligatory human friend in it before banishing himself out of guilt, where he faces his inner dark side, and am I crazy? Or is Scare School better than people give it credit for?

For the sake of saving their own asses, the Uncles bring in Spooky to masquerade as Casper. Samuel Vincent can pull off a Brooklyn accent, and I can't blame him if bits of his roles as Edd and Krypto slip in. As if the writers were scared to hell of people wanting to side with someone different, they hammer in that the Uncles are terrible, and this is where I quit on my latest viewing.

But not to worry, I still have memories of how it mostly played out afterwards, both by memory and predictability. Spooky scares Holly, she and Casper have a falling out, all ends happily and the Uncles get shredded by a ceiling fan, then pun.

In Conclusion

All this movie did was further my liking of Casper's Scare School. However you feel about it, it's superior to this film.

With dated animation, hit-or-miss clunky humor, so many missed opportunities, this is one of my least favorite Christmas specials of all time, that isn't already beloved.

For Better or For Worse: The Bestest Present review

Sick of the Peanuts but still want your fix of Christmas specials based on comic strips? Well Lynn Johnston has got your back, whether you know it or not.

For Better or For Worse is a slice-of-life comic strip series created by Lynn Johnston. The series is notable for being played in real time, events in it parallel those in her own life, this sort of concept being rare in something as simple as newspaper comics. Way back I covered an animated series produced in 2000, but it turns out For Better or For Worse had animated adaptations as far back as 1985 in the form of various specials.

This is the first and only For Better or For Worse special to be produced by Atkinson Film-Arts, who you may recognize as being the producer of the second season of Dennis the Menace. From then on we got a few more specials from Lacewood Productions. Funny thing is, those specials and the TV series were all produced in Ottawa, I mean it makes sense as Johnston is from around there.

The Bestest Present was released in Canada on CTV and on HBO in the United States, but saw later airings on Disney Channel.

Interestingly, Johnston's kids portrayed the ones in this, Michael and Elizabeth, and I assume Johnston's... husband? Played a character too. You'd think Johnston would go full circle and voice matriarch Elly Patterson in this, but surprisingly she doesn't. In this she is voiced by Abby Hagyard, who had appeared on various other Ottawa-produced shows like The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin and You Can't Do That on Television. She would voice Elly again in the Lacewood specials but lost out on voicing her in the 2000 series, where she was played by Lynn Mason, a writer of five credits who never acted anywhere else. Funnily again, Hagyard did apparently voice Elly in some episodes, if they were earlier ones I think I've figured it out.

Plot

The schtick behind For Better or For Worse is its use of real world ethics, it's a slice of life affair that happens to occur on Christmas. The film is a bit slow when it comes to a plot, and it feels like things just happen, but at the very least I can expect that for something that's more grounded, divine intervention leading to one learning the truth behind the meaning of Christmas, physical compromise ruining a bear's chance at showing his true feelings, Popeye.

This works because you're not thrust into a fantasy-type setting, where you expect something cool to happen. Like with Bah, Humduck!, where it's a Looney Tunes rendition of A Christmas Carol, and it just feels like a neutered take with Looney Tunes characters inserted.

Going into this, and realizing that actual kids voiced the kids in this, and naturally I felt nervous. But as it turns out... the kids are halfway decent. Aaron Johnston provides a good level of effort to sound natural, and he's bearable to listen to as a result. Kate Johnston as Elizabeth is... okay. Obviously a younger child won't do as well with line reads, but it felt like she was trying her best.

I think this level of effort accounts for the fact that they're related to Lynn, so they have more time to practice. This is another case against Emily Hart, who once more, is related to the people who created Sabrina: The Animated Series, she never gave a shit.

We have that "Meaning of Christmas" spiel that makes up many of these Christmas specials, but the point of conflict is that Elizabeth loses her stuffed bunny, which is a gift from her grandmother. At the very least her father tries to find it, that gap sealed. If you felt his efforts weren't that great, nor was his transparency in sharing the news of his failure, he sings a nice song.

But help for Elizabeth comes in the form of a grumpy janitor, who has to spell out he's down because of his lack of luck on Christmas. At the very least when Hans revealed why Christmas got him down it was brought up in conversation. I just feel this is a forced establishment, especially since the grumpy ones typically make a 180 by the end.

The janitor aspect does come into play as he would have a reason to scope out the store and find Elizabeth's bunny, and apparently he knows it was made by somebody's grandmother. Yeah admittedly the dialog is clunky, but it only applies toward certain characters.

He becomes aware of who the bunny belongs to when Michael wants to file an ad in the paper, and surprisingly Elly is apathetic to the idea. Nobody likes a realist in some cases. The ad is discovered by the janitor, but he feels kids are too spoiled to appreciate anything, so is reluctant to return it, or so we think. It's another instance of clunkiness with no implication the janitor would change his mind.

Elizabeth gets her bunny back and Elly's cynicism fades away as she wants to thank the one responsible for sending it. Must be that Christmas spirit. So this goes for an otherwise simplistic take on the meaning of Christmas, making people happy and being in the company of others. I do like how Elizabeth didn't just give away her bunny, that would've been too obvious.

Michael did promise a reward, but as you'd expect, being with caring people was enough. I didn't expect anything more, so go figure.

Animation

These specials and the 2000 series have maintained consistent art direction, since Johnston's participation comes into play for each of them. This is one of the only specials to utilize the dot eye-look (which is nixed when it comes to more over the top actions, but is comic-strip close.) I personally like the dot-eye look on most characters, and for something out of 1985, it moves fairly well.

It's less dated, and more old school, for a lack of a good explanation.

Overall

The film is fairly simple, but if you're into something like that, this could be a nice break from the constant crop of Christmas specials. It's a slow burn, but it's a bearable one too

Red Boots for Christmas review

A lot of the Christmas movies we've seen were entirely secular, with other cases bringing up its connection to the Christian faith. But how do Lutherans view the holiday? Probably not that different.

Red Boots for Christmas was produced in 1995 with support from The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Lutheran Hour Ministries, though it would've been easier to just say this was entirely Lutheran funded. A key difference between Lutherans and Christians is their reliance on faith for salvation, to get that out of the way.

According to some sources this was shown in Lutheran schools, though apparently this popped up on an earlier incarnation of ABC Family. However, this was a mail-order film from Gateway Films and if it did air on television, was done as a desperate attempt to fill air time. ABC Family started as a Christian-oriented service and traces of it seemed to still linger around the mid-90s.

This was the first and only production of Mentor Media, and the second for Envoy Productions, their other hurrah being Waiting For the Wind in 1990, which was also Lutheran-based. I can trace that company to Don Schroeder, who had produced religious films up to 2016, (which include The Littlest Angels, probably worth checking out) though he had also produced three Disney shorts.

The animation was produced by The Krislin Company, who are probably better known for Sitting Ducks, as well as one Alvin and the Chipmunks special. It was direced by Walt Kubiak who seems to have been tied to the company as far as Sitting Ducks, and is more active as an animation director, working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic SatAM before relegating to lesser animated show straight to general obscurities, anyone ever heard of Psi-Kix? Though Krislin wound up outsourcing this to Wang Film Productions, a staple of 80s outsourcing.

No actors are listed on IMDb, but I assume many of them are members of one of the ministries that funded it. Not even the credits at the end list anyone. Now let's get into this special before Brad Jones comes in and becomes Kirk Cameron's atheist equivalent.

Premise

The film is framed like an old folk tale, a simple premise with a powerful lesson, well powerful by their perspective. It goes the well-trodden path of a bitter man learning the true meaning of Christmas, but at the very least it's not a neutered Christmas Carol retelling. I can never be mad at something that tries to be its own thing.

It does have a bit of a rough start, as we get overly expository banter between the mayor and his daughter, but it doesn't just happen there. I will say this, the mayor really is the man of the people here, based on what I've seen, though they really drive the point home with his kind nature. This may be our hopeless hero for the film... but surprisingly he isn't.

After we get the idea of everyone being in the Christmas spirit, our Garry Grumpy for the night is Hans, a shoemaker who is without a family. An exchange where we get the extent of his angst for the holiday turns in his favor as a cheery guy on the other end spouts deafly, and we learn point blank Hans has no family, literally or figuratively, okay it could be the former.

I get a reminder of Christmas in Tattertown where Hans somehow knows the name of a bird, but for all I know he has been in the village longer than Debbie in Tattertown so he could've known it for longer. You ever have the feeling people have too much faith in you? Well people have expected Hans to make a turn around every year apparently. The red boots come to play in the form of red leather material Hans had not used as he focused on repairs rather than scratch creations.

From there, Hans' warmer attitude comes into play and things become bearable, until a hint made when the leather was introduced comes to play, and an old woman wants some worn to bits shoes to be made for her daughter. I'd go on, but I have a feeling this is another piece to the payoff, though we do get that Lutheran perspective and it ends on a dour, but not sour note.

In less than ten minutes, Hans is visited by an angel who foretells of a gift Hans would receive from god, I bet my reputation it involves the heart. This prompts him to seek a gift of near equal quality upon the presentation, which helps lift his spirits for then on. Nothing comes of the gift seeking until Hans comes across a music box, then the mayor and his daughter come in and a notch in the belt of conflict had been added, as he loses out. At least he didn't lose all of his money, let alone his temper.

He meets up with the old woman, and I assume her daughter of which the title would apply, and if you had any doubts she represented the Lutheran perspective, just listen to her. And on the title quip, seeing the daughter's shoes leads him to what he thinks is the ideal gift. In this, he gives an ironic look into how hollow holiday joy can sound, but up to this point I don't hate him. Divine intervention could excuse such a dramatic 180.

As I imagined, the ideal gift Hans has in mind is crafting boots with red leather, and place your bets, does he give the boots to the aforementioned daughter and as a result learn the true meaning of Christmas?

Anyhow, the leather along with keepsakes of past memories leads to a pair of the aforementioned boots, and the mayor, daughter in tow, see this and the daughter wants this. She got the music box, mayors can run on empty too. Anyhow, if The Tangerine Bear is anything to go by, if its integral to the penultimate moral, the item in question is not for sale.

I will say this, a shoemaker going against a town official admittedly has more weight than a second hand store owner who has a strong appreciation for what he acquires, especially since an argument comes out of it. The mayor is apparently on a very tight leash held by his daughter.

It seems another Lutheran aspect is present in this point, as even through now, Hans keeps his faith, and that's one aspect I can get behind. If everyone had focused on the faith aspect of religion, I think we can establish a secular and non-secular connection. Along with that, I get a Hey Arnold!-esque moment, where Hans goes through a do-over of the start, albeit slightly different.

Anyway the business with the mayor is done and dusted, at the very least apologies were wrought, and surprisingly this kept things from being awkward as before he arrived, Hans alluded to the "guest of honor," While it would be predictable and bitterly hilarious to have Hans wait for God's arrival, he just gets right to dinner. He enjoys it but is bummed over the non-blatant arrival.

This leads to spiel on the birth of Christ, and I'm not gonna complain about this. It was expected, much like how the girl gets the boots, not the mayor's girl, but the old woman's girl. The mayor's girl gives the other girl the music box, and any more gifts would give the girl a complex on par with the mayor's girl. I know the girl's name is Adelaide, but whatever.

Animation

This does give me Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer vibes, though then again I have a feeling this and that had a double digit team producing it, or both sent the film to Wang. It's nothing special... yeah. But obviously there's worse.

Overall

Admittedly few major contrasts could be made between Lutheran and Catholic views, but what do I know? If you're the kind of person who's only window to the world is cable news (and that goes both ways), this may piss you off, especially white straight dudes who whine about christian movies and probably was too unattractive to clergymen for molestation. If I go to hell, it'll just be like another day of work.

Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy review

Getting this in before Saberspark gets his hands on it. I mean I tried to get into him but I couldn't even make it through one video of his, and he gets his jollies off to bitching about old CGI. I'm cool with Nicktendo, I'm cool with AlphaJay, I'm cool with MrEnter, but something's turning me off from Saberspark, maybe it's the thumbnails. Believe it or not, this special and Saberspark's review habits are each relevant.

So, of all the classic cartoon characters out there, if I had to pick a favorite, it'd have to be Popeye. His voice is unmistakeable, his shorts are hilarious, and you could do a lot with him if you tried. So in 2004, whether or not people asked for it, we got this movie.

Quest for Pappy, in spite of its title, is a Christmas movie of some sort. Popeye isn't necessarily a product of its time, and maybe they just needed to give the character a little push. The film was produced by Mainframe Entertainment of ReBoot and Scary Godmother fame (which Saberspark also covered, I hate to know what he likes.), and by Paul Reiser, who did the screenplay. Reiser is best known for Mad About You and that and this share the same vanity card.

The film was released on DVD in November, but perhaps thankfully, it was shown on Fox in December, with a repeat airing the next year.

As this was primarily produced in Vancouver it has some actors indigenous to the area, namely Tabitha St. Germain and Garry Chalk who play Olive Oyl and Bluto respectively. There's also some guy named Sanders Whiting who played Whimpy, but all else he has done was roles in two anime dubs. Funnily enough, but probably owing to Reiser's involvement, we got two American actors in this as well. We have Billy West play the voice of Popeye and Kathy Bates of all people as the Sea Hag.

Given the low amount of actors and content generally being cheaper to produce in Canada, I imagine this didn't take a huge chunk out of anyone's pockets.

Premise

The film sticks with established Popeye characters, the titular hero, Bluto, Wimpy, Olive Oyl, Sweet Pea, Sea Hag and Pappy. Coming up with a new character here would've been more trouble than it was worth, so keeping with the familiar suspects was the best choice.

Popeye sets out to find his father after he had been lost at sea, bringing Olive and Sweet Pea along to make up with foregoing spending Christmas off the sea. He and Bluto are on better terms than they were in the older shorts, either weird or a sign of development on their parts. They're still rivals though. Wimpy tags along after sniffing the food Olive brought along.

Venturing into foreign sea puts Popeye in the crosshairs of the Sea Hag, who does what she could to prevent Popeye from getting to his father. What carries the movie along with the Sea Hag's attempts at taking Popeye down are the jokes, and unlike Christmas in Tattertown they actually feel bearable. I saw this movie twice and made it to the end, so that should account for something.

Among the Sea Hag's efforts to get Popeye to concede are luring him under the guise of a Siren, and using a love spell to get Olive to fall in love with Bluto. This does hold an effect as Popeye finds himself without anyone but Sweet Pea. This comes into play when they finally get to the island and Pappy dismisses Popeye outright.

But now here's the part where a contrived twist comes into play. How bad is it? Apparently Pappy purposely got himself lost so Popeye wouldn't be around for a prophecy involving the Sea Hag and a one-eyed sailor, for a botched summary. I'd give that a 50, effort's there but it leaves much to be desired, though it does help lead to an interesting climax.

Popeye begins to lose himself to the Sea Hag as he has no one left to lean on, and in trying to save him, Popeye's friends find themselves close to becoming shark food. But a can of spinach can give anyone several miles and he defeats her, with everyone congregating for a Christmas feast. I do like how in spite of Wimpy eating the food Olive brought, he is welcomed to join the feast. That is genuine by the way, would've been too easy to dismiss him or kick his ass.

The film dips between traditional Popeye humor and Mainframe-style humor, but a mesh is clear between both. Billy West nails Popeye to a tee, though I can hear West's voice dip on Pappy, Popeye is straight up perfect, even if the voice was murder on his throat. Tabitha St. Germain does a great job as Olive Oyl too, though she does have decent range to start with... fuck, they all sound on point, I don't know if the Sea Hag ever had many voice rolls before this, otherwise she'd be the worst by default.

Animation

Apparently this was supposed to be a stop-motion film by Will Vinton, but the concept was scrapped. Given the look of Vinton's stop motion, I question how well Popeye would've translated to that.

I think the characters in this translated very well to CG, with the exception of Bluto, a little bit, everyone looks on point. I mean that's all you could really say about it.

Overall

I think Popeye fans may find some enjoyment in this movie, well as long as they have an open mind. Check it out before Saberspark potentially ruins it.

The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time For Christmas review

Did you ever want to see a Christmas special that looks like a cross between Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, made by the studio that brought us The Brave Little Toaster and featuring relatively known voice actors? Crazy thing is the Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer comparison was a fib.

The first time I heard of this special was when I saw a reference to it through an actor listing on Behind the Voice Actors. Since it's the holiday season, I figured I'd get this off the back burner while I could since there're a bunch of specials I really wanted to talk about. It was between this and a Popeye special from 2004, but at least now I don't have to worry about missing either.

The Tangerine Bear came out in the year 2000, on November, but thankfully not October, and it was back when people still gave a shit about Thanksgiving, it's as if some of these movies were ahead of their time in a way we never knew about.

While it was released on home video, apparently this aired on ABC around the same time (though I assume this time they aired it in December.) This was put out by Family Home Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment, who go either way when it comes to release quality (from copies of beloved cartoons to The Christmas Tree, those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cash-ins, and more.)

The animation was produced by Hyperion, perhaps best known for The Brave Little Toaster, aka the only movie they made that people objectively like, I personally don't hate Bebe's Kids, I did say movies because their shows are warmer received, well aside from Da Boom Crew and maybe The Proud Family several years from now.

The film was written by Michael and Betty Paraskevas, who were behind The Kids of Room 402 and more importantly, Maggie and the Ferocious Beasts. You can pick up on that based on the art style presented in this film.

The cast used for this consists of not exactly major actors, but I can recognize a great deal of them. It has Tom Bosley who provided the voice of the titular character in the English dub of David the Gnome, Howie Mandel, David Hyde Pierce, Jon Polito, Dharma from Dharma and Greg, David Lander (who many of you may recognize as the voice of Henry from Oswald, but I also recognize him from an episode of Monsters), and Marlon Wayans.

The special stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Randy Taylor from Home Improvement, and this is one of two films I've seen to feature one of three boys from that show, the other being Longshot which had Zachary Ty Bryan (Brad), but Taran Noah Smith is still a no-show, and will be forever as he only did stuff people already know about.

Plot

I don't look for anything complicated in Christmas specials, but I do look for cohesion in simplicity. The film centers on Tangie, a bear who is assembled with an upside down smile, which causes a lack of confidence in suppliers and puts him with other bargain nightmares. I'm not gonna question how bears with moving mouths can't change their expression, because this falls under the Toy Story principle where toys remain as they always look when they are still.

I go into the first act expecting the other bears to treat him like crap because he is different, but surprisingly, they say nothing, and to add to this they acknowledge his existence, even if it's during a song. Small subversion goes a long way, as long as it doesn't involve shipping. Anyhow, the conflict behind this is that Tangie doesn't have the kind of welcoming appearance people are looking for, so is glanced over until his price is reduced. Realism in a Christmas special about sentient toys? What in the name of razzleberry dressing?

And my point is driven home, bonus points since I'm writing this as I watch it, as a boy picks a bear but changes his mind before buying it after taking a close look. The bear doesn't recognize the issue, but he never had a chance to look in the mirror so I have no reason to blame him. Up to this point all I can hate about this is narration where it doesn't feel welcome, but this probably was made for younger kids, and is already less obnoxious than Jay Jay.

Tangie is put on a bargain shelf, and I was anticipating a woe is me song, but it just leads to him questioning his place and meeting Marlon Wayan's character Louie Blue, and the obligatory doll character. For better or worse we don't run into assholes, at least not yet. I wanna see how far they can make it. I do question their moral conundrum regarding their low cost, but I guess it can represent how they don't feel as valuable if they're taken from the frontlines to an obscure corner.

Okay that's not the main focal point behind this, thankfully, the actual one is that while Tangie is happy on the inside, the mistake at the factory prevents him from showing it on the outside and.... I can kinda relate. I don't show a lot of emotion physically, but I am willing to do things with others, in spite of my awkwardness. It sucks when people think you're sad, even if you don't actually feel it.

After the realization, it segues into a song about Tangie's hope for someone to love him for who he is, I mean what else can bears hope for? To be them forever after being human? That makes for a crappy ending to a Disney movie. The movie contains four songs, two of which are done by country artist Trisha Yearwood who also does the narration, and one done by tenor Amick Byram.

It's obvious a different voice is used here for Tangie's song, we'd have another Secret of NIMH song fiasco with a tone-deaf actor, but here, they did the best possible way to justify the difference. Tangie himself doesn't do the singing, it's more like an inner monologue. It doesn't feel as awkward if he were actually singing. Oh, the other one was done by the cast early on to establish the importance of looking good enough to by, it's carried out well.

Louie Blue and Dolly prove to not be stay-withs as they're promptly bought, and this is saved from being contrived as it's a mother buying one thing for her son and daughter. The narration returns, and though it gets annoying, it isn't as bad as the Peppa Pig narrator (and that isn't for clout, this is basically recounting a story), at the very least Yearwood has a nice voice to listen to.

Tangie winds up at a second-hand store, where we meet more soon to be friends, a Jack in the Box who's, creatively, named Jack, a Chinese-knockoff Ariel clock, and I hate the Little Mermaid, why am I making such a cheap attempt at sounding smart? Oh, and a cuckoo clock bird who has agoraphobia. Jack is interesting, in that he provides another clue to the art department from Maggie and the Ferocious Beast working on this (a clue so you can tell too, dotted eyes and oblong full white ones.)

Anyhow, Mr. Winkle, owner of the new store Tangie is sent to, seems nice enough, willing to sell anything people might deem useful. He does acknowledge fault in what he obtains, so I can't call him delusional. He considers Tangie good enough to be put by the shop window, but this is mainly to ensure he meets the other essential characters.

Tangie learns that he is at a more obscure part of the shopping industry, a hand-me-down store that is otherwise glanced over due to all routes leading to the mall he was initially sent to. Anyhow, the mermaid is bugged over her inability to be bought, the bird I said was agoraphobic, and Jack is claustrophobic (plus has amuted bells hence him coming to the store.) I don't know about the mermaid, but I assume she was written off as a Disney knock-off and shelved accordingly, but actually she just wasn't... well... in.

We run into our first antagonist as Tangie tries to make himself look more noticeable, Mr. Winkle's dog Virgil. You'd think he'd make noise regardless if he was a stuffed animal, but surprisingly (and thankfully), walking by Virgil doesn't wake him up... or does it? Anyhow, Tangie tries to be fair, but Virgil does a chase anyhow, and even before I actually see it, I know who's taking the fall for all the damage, and this time it wasn't done by Tangie, Virgil's just a big enough entity to actually cause the damage. Tangie does apologize before Mr. Winkle finds out, and gets the chair regardless, so I can't call him an asshole.

Anyhow, the apology, as well as some aspects during his first encounter with the other toys represents Tangie's true feelings that are ruined by his sewn mouth, I am so happy this wasn't foregone.

I expected things to slow down when Tangie realizes his constant exposure to the sun caused his fur to fade, but this leads to him taking his namesake, so this wasn't all for nothing. Mr. Winkle's excuse for not being around is him going to the diner, but since he claims he needs to stay on top of rent payments, I imagine the diner is a cheaper option for his meals, plus the average morning coffee.

Jack and Bird get into an argument on whether or not Santa brings gifts to toys, and Bird is the one who claims otherwise (and since his schtick involves popping out of a clock in a room, they made the right call.) I also like how Thanksgiving is brought into this, namely that close to that time people would begin Christmas shopping, and since early shopping is also a point to this movie it's all the more welcome.

The toys try to make the store look more presentable to bring in passerbys, and we get the obligatory glimpse into the mind of the antagonist. Virgil wants the shop to close, as every night he works security and doesn't get to spend as much time with Mr. Winkle, let alone be outside of the store. Okay... justified, I guess.

The toys' efforts weren't in vain, as people do come to the store, and the mermaid is bought, but in between Virgil runs off, and he didn't go out to find him. I mean I get that if he left the store high and dry he'd be unable to keep up with the rent, but if you're closed, go out to look for him. Then again as this is the city it'd lead to a hell of a lot of walking, especially if he doesn't have the right kind of collar. But he does return so that negligence can't be considered incredibly reckless. I'd question why anyone would need a key to open a door from the inside but that could've been the thing with old-timey doors. Anyway, Virgil warms up to the others, one of the few things I expected out of the big list of Christmas cliches. This then leads to the final new song of the film, which is reserved for a decoration montage.

Anyhow, a ride by Virgil to alleviate the angst had by their decorations not doing much to inspire visits from customers leads to Tangie being left in the snow by accident, but he is promptly saved by Mr. Winkle, who had been picked by the town to be Santa this year. This was explained at the very least. I bring that up because this can prevent me from claiming that it'd be more interesting if Tangie was brought straight to a family, so points for not shooting for something out of the blue.

Soon enough, someone does come to buy him, even seeing his face and placing an offer. The reason for this is... the guy interested seeks out rare toys and Tangie's upside down smile goes against what the bears look like in this, as well as his faded color which he worked to even out, and for that I say... fair. But Mr. Winkle winds up turning him down, and the guy takes it surprisingly well.

With Tangie getting a pillow for the chair he took, and Jack's bells getting fixed, the group rules out that they found a family in each other and a home in the store. I saw this coming, but whatever, at least it leaves with the idea that happiness isn't something that can always be shown, so... fine enough.

Animation

The film is certainly nice to look at, simple designs that, again, remind you a bit of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. However it's viewed, I can safely say they never forgot about the fact that Tangie couldn't smile because his face wasn't sewn that way, so the animators didn't make the same mistake the factory workers did.

Overall

I'm glad this didn't meet the touch of death of the average movie critic, because I think I found one of my most favorite Christmas movies ever. I expected the film to follow a lot of the holiday special cliches, but surprisingly they didn't unless it was necessary. The music was nice to listen to, so was the narration even if it felt forced in some areas, the animation's good and the moral at the end at the very least fit when it came to Tangie's deal.

But that's just me, some may find this special to be okay at best, but if you're looking for a break from Frosty and what not, this is worth at least one watch, it's cute for the kids, and chill enough for the elders to get through. It melted the ice in my heart I've reserved for specials people actually give a shit about.

Christmas in Tattertown review

Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest is considered Nickeloedon's first foray into original animation. However, their first original production came a year prior with this special.

History

Christmas in Tattertown was created by Ralph Bakshi, who's work needs no introduction. While he's better known for his work on Felix the Cat and Coonskin, he had also worked with children's animation, only other animator I know of with a similar genesis is Charles Swenson. This was intended to be a pilot for a full series, and had he got his way, this would've been the first Nicktoon. Bakshi pitched the show to Nickelodeon and a pilot was produced around that time, it becoming this.

While it seemed like the pieces were coming together, Bakshi was promptly given the boot due to his involvement in the controversial Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures cartoon, itself infamous for how much they pushed the boundaries of network standards and practices. Since Nickelodeon were left with a Christmas special in the can they figured it was best for them to not let some holiday fodder go to waste. This had remained in circulation up until 1992. Well before Nickelodeon became more protective of their property, Bakshi was able to re-secure the rights to this special.

The special made use of mostly familiar actors. A pattern I noticed with some is that they did or went on to do voice work in anime. But of these the only ones I recognize are Keith David, who's best known for his work in the grand fuck-up that was Tales from the Hood 2, Charlie Adler who's the epitome of "works for peanuts.", and Arthur Burghardt, who had appeared in a little bit of everything, being a voice actor in various Nicktoons and other cartoons, some Disney games where he played Pete, some Disney cartoon which shares a director from Teen Titans so I feel inclined to hate it, before retiring in 2010.

So anyway, let's get this show on the road, it's only a month until Christmas.

The Gist

The film has a rushed feel to it, and it's exemplified in the intro. The idea behind this is that a girl named Debbie is taken into a world populated by trash. I'd say it'd be more interested if it were "Tatertown", but Potato Head Kids would technically be it.

I imagine this would've been part of an intro had this become a full series, but as a standalone special we're left with a rushed course of events, and Debbie's toys coming to life. The narrator saves this, as his satisfied demeanor keeps it from a certain corny level. I'm not gonna act as though I need a textbook on how everything works in this special, all I want is a decent flow, and all I got out of it was an implication of why one of Debbie's dolls turns evil, even if it's expected, but a small footnote is better than a moral dilemma caused by a doll wearing an easily removable wig.

I do feel that Muffet (the evil one) lays the seed for an interesting plot point that's otherwise glanced over. Now that Debbie's in a world where dolls can come to life when they're discarded, she can get a glimpse on how the dolls feel about their treatment, and others which she may have cast aside years ago. There could be a corny moral in this, or at the very least substance. I'm just saying the route they go leaves very little to go off of, and strangely enough with the raw footage of the copy I found, they somehow managed to barely scrape over 29 minutes.

Had this series been picked up, the supposed intro went on for nearly two minutes. This is followed by expositional dialog by the narrator (who turns out to be Keith David's role.) Some details could've been pieced together beforehand, and I feel he overstays his welcome in explaining it. It does leave one question. This world can apparently be accessed through a magic book, yet the world contains real world objects that come to life. How does that work? I guess it just happens.

After a cameo from Yakko Warner, we get a glimpse into one of my bigger pet peeves with most cartoons, indirectly making the antagonist more sympathetic than the protagonist. Muffet wasn't sentient before coming to Tattertown, obviously, but apparently had a conscious and recalls Debbie forcing her into often ridiculous outfits and relationships (going by the doll's perspective.), so yeah... RUN MUFFET RUN!

This kind of pet peeve also occurs in some of the better loved Christmas specials, namely Olive the Other Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, yes the hat brought Frosty to life, but it belonged to Professor Hinkle, and honestly I'm at a pretty big moral crossroad with Olive. I prefer Frosty Returns and Legend because the former didn't demonize its antagonist and the latter can be used as an allegory for fighting against oppressive moral figures. Heck, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer made it clear Cousin Mel was too malicious to feel bad for.

The dog's pseudo-retarded crack did make me laugh, no wonder my taste is so bad.

We then see a character played by a child actor who could give Emily Hart a run for her money as the most apathetic child voice actor. Adrian Arnold, to give him his full name, would have one other voice role in an animated special relating to divorce, with his last role being in a few episodes of Wings. I have a feeling the recording sessions occurred on weekdays, plus curfew, so they could only do with what they got. I can forgive him for that, whereas Hart was in a show created by her mother, so she could've gotten away with it.

Apparently Debbie knows who Harvey is (that's who the child plays in this.) and just like that, basic logic is thrown out the window. This is apparently Debbie's first time going into this new world, yet she knows a native's name (and Harvey didn't say his name out loud during his first scene so there goes that excuse.) If this was later on, Muffet wouldn't be around, nor would she acknowledge she was now sentient. Plus this can't be considered a lucky guess as Harvey goes to he as if he knew her.

As this is a free for all, or going off of a rushed script, Harvey knows about Muffet already. If I had to guess... the chase has been going on for quite some time, well after the entry into Tattertown, but even that sounds confusing. Along with the big question on who the true villain is, with Debbie's ignorance over how what she considers nice for Muffet can be considered demeaning vice versa, we get the special's so-called plot.

Tattertown doesn't know what Christmas is.

By the way, some scenes feel like they're randomly spliced together, and the ticker on top gives away that it was how it was on the recording.

So anyhow, since learning about what Christmas is would be like suicide to staying power, Muffet teams up with Sidney the Spider to destroy the place out of sheer malice... and there goes the merits of a pretty good tangent. But know this little plot holds little power.

The only thing this special has to go off of is humor, which frankly isn't the best, just a few gags, raspberries and reminders of things you've seen before. It culminates in Muffet attempting to destroy Tattertown, but her air raid is distracted by a rendition of White Christmas and Muffet is thrown in jail outright, where she can enjoy more painful days that led her to the road of villainy.

Debbie never gained any dimensions and they didn't even learn the true meaning of Christmas, we got nothing.

Animation

If I had to give this special one takeaway, the animation is... okay. Characters and environments look good, though the movement is dippy when it comes to quality. Sometimes it's good enough, other times it feels stiff and recycled.

Overall

While this is technically the first original Nickelodeon animation, it is never considered as such. Though the Thanksgiving special released the following year isn't as known, it is still considered the genesis of Nicktoons. Maybe it was because this wasn't produced directly by Nickelodeon, who knows?

Interestingly enough, but then again people already know about it, there have been other pitched Nicktoons back before they became official, each by Cosgrove Hall, and each too bland to lift. I have a feeling they share the same spirit as Christmas in Tattertown.

Top 5 Reprehensible Dubbing Companies

Okay, so I'm not the first to discuss anime dubs. While the sub vs. dub debate almost always leans to the left, nothing can ever top the original amirite?, dubbing companies are interesting for both the right and wrong reasons. The creative culture behind these companies as well as the series of events leading to the dubs have provided an interesting perspective on why any of the dubbing turns out to be good or bad.

The stories are the same, but however you view the companies themselves is always different.

I won't hold any criteria, aside from how the placement of the companies on my list will depend on how they treat the consumer. A bad voice or edit won't kill anyone, and given my contrarian mindset... there's a reason I put a five instead of a four.

Getting Rid of the Obvious

I won't say I'd be avoiding the obvious throughout the entire list, but I just want to avoid people who still rag on these companies, as well as incredibly easy targets. This spot will just sum up frequent targets, and why I'm sick to hell of seeing them.

• 4Kids

The anime community's favorite punching bag. They censored anime, they hid Japanese culture, yadda yadda yadda.

Now look, I'm not gonna act like 4Kids had never done the things they did, but frankly I'm sick of hearing about it. 4Kids had done bad things to most of the anime they've acquired, but many of them were still bearable to watch. One Piece is still their worst effort, but they didn't set out to destroy it, they wanted another show and One Piece was included as part of a package deal.

Not to mention, that one time they changed a character's race, the character had a minstrel quality to it, between showing blackface on a cartoon and changing the race, they chose the lesser of the two evils, and it wasn't even part of the main cast.

4Kids still brought us Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the best Sonic cast by far, and some great actors too. Why was there a notorious fiasco involving the new Pokemon cast? Because the actors from the 4Kids era were that good.

So the reason 4Kids really slacked was because of a misguided perspective on kid-friendliness and broadcasting standards, at least that's what I'll tell myself because if I see 4Kids on any future listicles I will bite off my own hand.

• DiC Entertainment

Not as infamous as 4Kids, as early as the first episode Japanese writing was still present, but didn't hold up as well. People like to say DiC fucked up the show, but, ahem... there're people who still fondly remember this show. If they can forgive the many hiccups in regards to poor translations of the source material, you're all overreacting, and this is coming from someone who never saw the show, but is aware of the fandom it attracted.

Not to mention, this came out in the 90s, and back then marketing was an omnipresent bitch so they had to do what they can to get people interested. Given how the show is still known to this day, they did what they had to do. Besides, it's not like DiC is homophobic.

• Speedy Video

If you know Dragon Ball Z, you'd know about Speedy. If not, they are a Malaysian video rental store who also dabbled in anime dubs, this being one of their most notable efforts. Near as I could tell, Speedy's actors were employees at their store, and as a result we got some pretty hilarious results. It's sheer low quality, but how can I be mad at a company that doesn't have dubbing as its primary service.

And now onto the rest.

Cloverway, Inc.

Cloverway was a licensing subsidiary of Toei who dabbled in anime and manga, and that goes for dubbing.

Remember how Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, a gay couple, were turned into cousins? Well, it happened right around the time Cloverway got the license as far as I know.

Whatever the case, Cloverway didn't do any better than DiC on their dub, as people gravitated toward the latter more than the former. Also gotta love how smug their logo is, anyone declaring themselves as a superior representative in any category sucks by default.

Oh but did you know their Latin dub of the show was good? In case anyone comments about that.

Funimation

And of course I put Funimation on this list, but honestly how could I not? Yes their dubs were good back then yadda yadda yadda, but wherever you lean on social issues, Funimation is one of the most toxic dubbing companies on the planet. 4Kids' actors stuck with the company to the bitter end and I think like only one or two actors became assholes.

You may talk about how they saved the One Piece dub, and okay they did, but their good dubs are just a crumbly crust on top of a rotten apple pie.

Christopher Sabat is a Harvey Weinstein in the making, we have two women who take legitimacy away from gender-related causes, Sean Schemmel is the worst professional Goku of all time (Peter Kelamis for the win), they weren't even creative enough to make their own dub of Dragon Ball when it came to the original actors, they borrowed heavily from the Ocean dub.

Not to mention they suck at maintaining their streaming service and many of their dubs can't even be used for escapism anymore (my gripe with social political stuff being inserted into shows is that they keep us from going away with all that's fucked up in the world, at least when it comes to the LGBT an interesting story can keep our heads out of the IRL gutter.), and this would be a sign they couldn't think of anything more creative or original.

Whether or not they're justified for all they did, since they're the biggest brand in anime dubbing, it's fair to hold them to a high level of scrutiny and expectation. You can say drinking water is good, and still be a dick about it.

AB Groupe

You can have a competently made dub and it can still be considered one of the worst dubs ever. In the 2000s, the AB Groupe produced their own dub of Dragon Ball Z for a release on Toonami in the United Kingdom. AB Groupe initially distributed DBZ in Canada, where it fell under the guidelines for a broadcasting mandate where a certain percentage of programs airing there must have assistance from a Canadian company (case and point, Ocean Group from Vancouver back when Funimation were a smaller licensing firm.)

However, when AB wanted to dub the DBZ movies and have them aired on YTV, they were turned down, and since having a Canadian cast would've been pointless because of the decline, they decided to produce their own dub, utilizing American and British actors that lived in France, AB's home base.

The dubs were produced incredibly cheaply, using the original Japanese credits without any mention to the dub crew (and even that can be mastered through white text on a black background, if you can make a fully animated logo you can make custom credits)

If you want more information on these dubs, Phelous does an incredible job summing up the lead to and the finished product with his reviews of DBZ World's Strongest and Tree of Might.

For perspective, the AB Groupe's dub of the movies is called the Big Green dub, which I mention to show I'm on the up and up, Big Green is the name of Piccolo, among other silly name alterations. The cast had been disputed over the years, with only one truly confirmed. I can easily say the American/British actor theory holds true because if they had used French people who speak English, an accent would show. I can say David Gasman is an American living in France, and I can mostly trace his performances of Jim Morales and Herb from Code Lyoko to his roles as Goku and Oolong.

It'd be silly for me to place a low quality dub higher than Funimation, however, AB Groupe supposedly sent copyright takedown notices to TeamFourStar some time ago, and though I never watched a single video of theirs I imagine they poked fun at AB in their videos (and how could you not, these dubs are hilarious for all the wrong reasons.) I don't know if Funimation flagged down content, but flagging is like a direct attack on someone, and Funimation did have good dubs along with the other yaddas.

Odex

For perspective, 4Kids bit off more than they could chew when producing anime dubs for kids, but at the very least they never flagged content that could be considered beyond uploading a full episode. Videos during the heyday of the anti-4Kids fiasco are still kicking, with the only takedowns coming from the owners of the channel or non-related copyright strikes.

But Odex goes well beyond YouTube flagging.

Odex is a Signaporean licensor of anime, who also produced English dubs of their own. Interestingly enough, and a reason why I'm bringing up 4Kids so much, they produced English dubs for One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh. How well did that turn out? Laughably, on BehindTheVoiceActors, the 4Kids actors manage to rank higher than any of Odex's, even Sanji's laughable 4Kids voice is better than his Odex one. 4Kids' edits (and while I'm at it, Saban's edits on Dragon Ball Z) ironically shows a greater deal of effort to hide kids from something they didn't need to be sheltered from. Odex just put an English track to their dubs.

People on the internet in the mid to late-2000s may already know this, but it begs to never be forgotten. Odex took their property very seriously, so they resorted to targeting people who downloaded anime they've licensed from the internet. They threatened legal action against even the youngest of kids, who may have no clue over the wonders of piracy, and demanded renumeration.

The crusade against something that can't be stopped went on for quite a while, leading to a forum Odex opened to getting defaced, their website getting hacked, Odex's CEO making comments that only rubbed salt further into the wound, as well as allegations that they used fansubs for their subtitled releases. 

If you want the full story, it managed to get its own Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odex%27s_actions_against_file-sharing

So with that, the lesson here is that there're worse things in life than censorship.