A Claymation Christmas Celebration: A Wonderful Holiday Special that Does Not Air Anymore

It seems that for every Christmas special that airs television on an annual basis and is considered a staple of the holiday season, there is a special that is wonderful and delightful, but has not been shown on any channel for years. The Christmas Toy, which I talked about in a previous article, was one such special. Another one, from 1987, was A Claymation Christmas Celebration, which aired on CBS for several years before moving to cable for a time, and subsequently disappearing from the airwaves. Made in a time when holiday specials were guaranteed to be delightful without cramming too many pop culture references and the like, this stop motion animated cartoon is charming, humorous, and very enjoyable. Let me tell you why I feel this way.

The special mainly consists of a series of musical numbers, with various Claymation characters singing and dancing to popular Christmas carols. In one early segment, a trio of wise men perform We Three Kings, with a rather snappy version of the chorus sung by dancing camels. In another vignette, Quasimodo, of the Hunchback of Notre Dame fame, conducts some bells in the Carol of the Bells, with one particular bell causing trouble for the rest of them. A particular delight is a soulful performance of Joy to the World, with pictures being painted throughout, and towards the end, the California Raisins sing a Motown-inspired version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Each vignette is filled with sentiment, humor, and memorable entertainment, all of which should be required features for holiday specials.

Bridging the segments are scenes starring Rex and Herb, a pair of dinosaurs who introduce each musical number. In a running gag, they are waiting for people to sing Here We Come a Wassailing, only for them to sing a variation, replacing "wassailing" with such words as "waddling" and "waffling." Throughout the special, Herb, a notorious glutton, eats more than his fair share of food, and by the end, he becomes quite bloated, but he does not seem to mind. Theses segments are likewise filled with humor and Christmas joy, as well as the anticipation over whether or not anyone will sing the correct version of Here We Come a Wassailing.

As a child, this was one of my favorite holiday specials. Every year, I would look forward to checking it out, and every time, it was very much enjoyable. Each musical number is a joy to see, and are perhaps better in every way than some of those seen in holiday specials nowadays. The special does not try to be too hip; rather, it has just as much heart and wonder as the holiday specials of yore. I have always been fascinated by stop motion animation, and I must say that all of the hard work that the creators put into this special certainly paid off.

Why, then, does A Claymation Christmas Celebration no longer air on television? As I mentioned before, it stopped airing on CBS in the early 1990s, but aired on cable for a while, and after that, it has not been shown since. To me, there is no good reason why the special is no longer shown...perhaps some people think it is not hip enough. Then again, Rudolph and Frosty were never hip, and yet they are still shown each year. Maybe it has been crowded out by the onslaught of holiday programming that is seen each year. Luckily, a DVD (albeit an out-of-print one) exists that includes the entire special, along with later Halloween and Easter-based Claymation specials, so those who loved the special can track it down and see it again, while those who have never seen it will be in for quite a treat.

Christmas specials seem to have taken a nosedive in quality in recent years...too much about being cool and not enough about having people remember what Christmas is all about. These problems are nowhere to be seen in A Claymation Christmas Celebration, which is every bit as good as some of the classic specials that still air to this day. Someone should really consider bringing the special back, but a problem could arise in that some editing could be made to accommodate the increase of commercial time, thereby diminishing some of its appeal. However, I still hope that it returns to television someday, as it is thirty minutes' worth of humor, heart, and old fashioned holiday fun. Look for the DVD if possible, as this is one special that deserves to become a holiday tradition.