Here's what's been on so far:
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas: Clearly the best animated special, and probably my second favorite overall. This one has everything: catchy songs, an plot that hums along, and a bad guy who is actually bad. Just fantastic.
- The Year Without A Santa Claus: Now, I like the Rankin-Bass look as much as anyone else. But this show is messed up. Santa's a whiner (although points for having him be Mickey Rooney, just like in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town") and everyone speaks in annoying rhyming couplets, except when they don't. The Miser Brothers are over the top fun, although they make no sense, but everything else is below par. Lots of very poor songs, as well.
- A Charlie Brown Christmas: Okay, legally, you are required to love this one. And I will say that there are lots and lots of great, iconic bits. And full points to Charles Schulz for telling the network, "Bite me-I'm putting jazz and Jesus in it, so shove off." I'm just not sure it's very cohesive. Not that an animated kids' special needs to be Glengarry Glen Ross or something, but it feels like a bunch of scenes pasted together at times.
- Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Again, Rankin-Bass, so it looks nifty. And lots of memorable songs, featuring Burl Ives, who was a great folk singer when he wasn't busy cooperating with the HUAC. The main problem here is that almost everyone is a jerk. Santa is self-centered and a user (and too thin, besides), the Head Elf is a tyrant, Comet and Donner are total pricks to Rudolph. The lesson to take away is, "People will hate you if you are different, unless you can be of some use to them, in which case they will suck up to you." While not entirely inaccurate, that's kind of a lousy philosophy to be pushing.

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