Sunday, December 15, 2024

Flopcast 658: Even a Miracle Needs a Mouse

Spinning out of last week's review of The Year Without a Santa Claus, this week we're looking at another classic Rankin/Bass Christmas cartoon that debuted fifty years ago: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas! It's set in the bizarre little town of Junctionville, where humans and mice coexist in a way we can't quite figure out. There we meet a humble clockmaker, a nerdy mouse, a clueless wacky mayor, an egomaniacal vindictive Santa, and a selfish materialistic populace dreaming of a huge Christmas payday, if only their giant musical clock doesn't explode. It's magnificent. We also discuss the whole voice cast, including Jennifer Grey's father, Amanda Plummer's mother, one of the Bad News Bears, Franken Berry, Twinkie the Kid, and (according to Wikipedia) an "owl-faced, portly character actor." So knock back an egg nog or six, let up a little on the wonder why, and give this podcast a try.

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Show Notes

The Mayor went looking for answers about "A Visit from St. Nicholas", and it seems like the Donder vs. Donner issue has definitively been settled. A slightly deeper rabbit hole surrounded the question of authorship. Noted skeptic Joe Nickell even weighed in, deciding in favor of the attributed author, Clement Clarke Moore.

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Appearing on The Muppet Show in 1975, Joel Grey performed "Wilkommen" from Cabaret as well as "Razzle Dazzle" from another famous Kander & Ebb musical, Chicago.

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The owl-faced John McGiver played one heck of a Mayor! Go back to Flopcast 293 to hear us discuss other Christmas special Mayors.

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"A right jolly old elf" is not quite the standard Rankin/Bass Santa Claus.