Christmas in July 2021: Camp Candy (1989)

Happy Christmas in July! It's Day #13 of the Christmas in July party. All month long I'll be celebrating Christmas TV episodes, specials, and movies with a FUN IN THE SUN attitude. Expect a run of Christmas in July stories, tropical yuletides, and island themes. Just a little something different and a way for me to show off the diversity of holiday stories I've collected in the encyclopedia Tis the Season TV (the updated and expanded 2nd edition being released later this year).

Today's Christmas in July episode is from the animated series Camp Candy, in which comedian/actor John Candy runs a summer camp! In the first season episode "Christmas in July," the campers become nostalgic for Christmas during a hot summer day in July. John suggests they celebrate Christmas in July by decorating a pine tree in the middle of camp, creating snow on the ground, frosting the cabin windows and singing carols. But the wealthy, snooty camper Vanessa doesn’t want to join the others in the fun and prefers to eat a box of chocolates all to herself. When Vanessa gets a stomachache, she experiences a dream where she’s visited by the Spirit of Last Month and the Spirit of Next Month. The spirits show her the consequences of her selfishness and its effects on the future of Camp Candy.  Just like Dickens’ Scrooge, Vanessa awakens to want to share Christmas and the rest of her chocolates with all the other campers.

The voice cast includes John Candy as himself, and Willow Johnson as Vanessa.

 

 

 

I love a Dickens adaptation in a summer yuletide story. Our Christmas in July party will continue all month long. Got another favorite summer camp Christmas episode? There's more to come. Feel free to leave comments down below.

 

Joanna Wilson is a TV researcher and book author specializing in Christmas entertainment. More about the TV programs mentioned on this website can be found in her book "Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas-themed Episodes, Specials, and Made-for-TV Movies." Her latest book "Triple Dog Dare: Watching--& Surviving--the 24-Hour Marathon of A Christmas Story" was released in 2016. She is currently updating and expanding the encyclopedia for a 2021 release. Her books can be found at the publisher's website: 1701 press.com

*Support this website and its research by purchasing the books at 1701 press.com