The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold (1981) Review

For this week of Rankin/Bass Christmas special reviews, we’re focusing on stop motion specials from the early ‘80’s that prove Rankin/Bass’ obsession with making everything into a Christmas special, even if it shouldn’t be….or didn’t need to be.  Today, I’ll be reviewing The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold (1981), and next time, we’ll be discussing a Christmas-themed retelling of Pinocchio with…um, the aptly named Pinocchio’s Christmas (1980).

Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979) Review

Our focus this week is Rankin/Bass specials starring Frosty the Snowman.  Last time, we discussed Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976).  Considering that Frosty is probably the second most well-known character to star in Rankin/Bass’ work, after Rudolph, of course, it makes sense that they would eventually get a crossover.  And this crossover is the topic of today’s post, Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979).

Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976) Review

The Rankin/Bass reviews continue for another week, and this time, we’re focusing on some specials starring Frosty the Snowman, the animated Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976) and the stop motion Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979).  I grew up watching Frosty the Snowman (1969) on VHS as a duckling, so it was interesting to see the sentient snowman in action once again.  For today’s review, we’ll be discussing Frosty’s Winter Wonderland.

Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) Review

Our focus this week is on Rankin/Bass’ multiple attempts to recapture the popularity of their most well-loved work, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).  Last Monday, we talked about Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976), where a baby is mocked for his big ears.  While that movie was surprisingly entertaining, I can’t say I’m feeling as positive towards this next one, another stop-motion special by the name of Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey from 1977.  You can already tell where this one is going, can’t you?

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976) Review

During my last Rankin/Bass review week (ignoring that random Easter week I did), I discussed two Christmas specials based on the works of Charles Dickens, Cricket on the Hearth (1967) and The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) AKA A Christmas Carol.  This week has a theme of its own, and that is…Rudolph rip-offs, for lack of a better term.  With Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) being their most well-known work, Rankin/Bass seemed determined to cash in on their earlier success once more.  The results were…interesting, to say the least.  Friday’s is going to be a more blatant example of that, but today, we’re focusing on the stop-motion Rudolph’s Shiny New Year from 1976.

Getting My Butt Kicked in Celeste

Over the years, I’ve been slowly catching up on a whole bunch of popular indie games.  Undertale, Cuphead, Hollow Knight, and most recently, Celeste.  Like Cuphead, I went into Celeste with a mixture of excitement and trepidation because I had heard that this game was brutally difficult.  On the surface, the game follows Madeline as she attempts to climb Celeste Mountain, despite warnings that weird things happen to people who do so.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) Review

This week, we’ve been focusing on Rankin/Bass’ three Easter specials from the ‘70’s.  We’ve been working in backwards order (the other reviews are linked at the bottom) because these shorts…kind of went downhill as the years went by.  But that means we’re now discussing my personal favorite, the stop motion special Here Comes Peter Cottontail from 1971!

The First Easter Rabbit (1976) Review

Howdy, folks, just a few days ago, we discussed The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town from 1977, an Easter-themed retelling of Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town from 1970 that upset me greatly.  For today’s review, we’re travelling back by one year to talk about the animated Rankin/Bass short, The First Easter Rabbit from 1976.

The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town (1977) Review

Although I have been planning on reviewing a whole bunch of Rankin/Bass Christmas specials over the coming weeks, I decided instead to take a break and focus on the upcoming holiday of Easter.  Yes, although Rankin/Bass is far more known for their Christmas specials, they actually made three Easter specials during the 70’s, all three of which I’ll be reviewing over the course of this week in reverse chronological order.  Today’s review is going to focus on their last Easter special, The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town from 1977.

It may be March, but Mother Duck and I decided to work our way through a Christmas special marathon over the previous weekend. The vast majority were Rankin/Bass, along with two Charlie Brown Christmas shorts. Since I had so much fun reviewing The Year Without a Santa Claus and A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, reviews for many of these Christmas specials are imminent (I mean, they might not be ready right away, but they’re coming…). The movies/shorts that I’ll be discussing are all ones we had never seen before. Some weren’t too bad, while others were…kind of painful. Ah yes, nothing quite screams “Christmas spirit” like writing critical reviews about Christmas specials that aren’t even intended for my age group…several months after December!