About Christmas TV History

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Christmas in July 2018: Jakki Hanna

from 1987's Muppet Family Christmas

Christmas in July 2018: Jakki Hanna--Christmas Movies &Music
Links: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ChristmasMoviesAndMusic/info
https://www.facebook.com/christmasmoviesandmusic/

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

My favorite Jim Henson Christmas special would be Muppet Family Christmas. I love how it incorporates all the major characters of that time from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and even Fraggle Rock. It allowed for some fun exchanges with characters whose worlds would otherwise never cross...such as the touching moment between Big Bird and the Swedish Chef singing "The Christmas Song" and Kermit and Robin's venture into Fraggle Rock.



from 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
 
2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

The 60s is definitely the golden age of Christmas specials with A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, How The Grinch Stole Christmas etc. but the 80s had some incredibly memorable contributions as well, especially where film is concerned. Favorites like A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, & George C. Scott's A Christmas Carol.

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

Appetizer would be a caesar salad, entree would be stuffed shells and dessert would be cheesecake. This is what we've had the past few years and it's really worked for our family to differentiate it from Thanksgiving dinner.

4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

I wish there had been more Christmas movies made in the 40s & 50s. Yes, it produced some great classics, but I would have loved to seen more big budget musicals made at that time with popular stars of the era such as Gene Kelly, Doris Day, Shirley Temple, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland etc. I think an opportunity was missed there.


"Lights, please."
 
5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

I have to go with A Charlie Brown Christmas because while the animation is quite primitive, it has proven that the message and soundtrack can stand the test of time. I have watched it every year since I was a child and it never gets old for me. It's the first album I put on at the beginning of the season and I never grow tired of it. The message still resonates in the hearts of both children and adults and tells of the Christ child as Linus reminds Charlie Brown "what Christmas is all about."

5 comments:

  1. Good answers, Jakki. Kermit and Robin meeting the Fraggles is a highlight among so many highlights.

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  2. Jakki, loved your answer for number 4! I, too, often think those classic stars could have made many wonderful Christmas movies. Some of them have a few, and I cherish each and every minute of them.

    I often wonder why Doris Day's 'On Moonlight Bay' isn't as popular as Judy Garland's 'Meet Me in St. Louis.' Neither have a Christmas title, but they have the same old time era family feel and their Christmas scenes are short, but still an important moment in each movie.

    Enjoyed reading all your responses! I think I would include 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' too! Perfect choice with the true meaning! :)

    Blessings, Net

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  3. Agreed on more Christmas films in the 1940s... but perhaps it was due to radio still popular, and many people finding holiday entertainment over the airwaves.

    And cheesecake - yum!

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  4. I liked your reflection on the 80s as the decade with your favorite holiday entertainment. Those four movies: A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, & George C. Scott's A Christmas Carol--certainly have left an impact! Good responses :)

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  5. The '40s was a confusing decade when it comes to entertainment.

    The first half was consumed with the war. Maybe Hollywood believed that having Christmas movies released would remind the folks back home of the fact that they couldn't have their family with them during the holiday because the young men were fighting in Europe and Asia.

    I also believe that Hollywood was terrified of Christmas movies after the financial disaster of It's a Wonderful Life. It spooked them so much that during the next year Miracle on 34th Street was actually released in the summer with no mention whatsoever in the advertisements that it had anything to do with Christmas.

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