"This eccentric and fantastical fairy tale takes place near the village of Dikanka on the night before Christmas. Amid carol singing, drunken revelry, and amorous hijinks, the blacksmith Vakula persuades the Devil to fly him to Sankt-Petersburg, where he hopes to obtain a pair of the Empress's heels which might win him Oksana's love."
Visually stunning folkloric fantasy from one of my favorite Russian directors. Aleksandr Rous helmed a series of often brilliant children's films from the late thirties into the seventies. Quite a few years ago I went through a Mosfilm / Soviet fantastic cinema collecting phase where I picked up a number of Rous's classic films but I somehow missed out on this gem.
Of the three adaptation of Gogol's story this is the one I could absolutely see re-watching during the holiday season. Not because it's particularly Christmassy - it's still the same old story of a witch, a moon stealing devil and a pair of fancy shoes - but because the wintry aesthetic and magical elements would fit right in during the festive season.
So, still not a "Christmas" film but a great film to watch around Christmas, or anytime of the year.
Franklin's Magic Christmas
Repeat Viewing | Amazon Prime Video
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Watching this Franklin Christmas special for the first time in over a decade I experienced, as i do more and more often these days, a sort of secondary nostalgia. I'm sure there's a word for it - nostalgia not for my childhood but my beloved offspring's childhoods. Nostalgia for those years before teenage angst and an ever emptier nest. My kids wren't even big Franklin fans but we defiantly watched this together back in the day at least a couple of times.
As an adult without little ones (we haven't reached grandparent status yet) the most interesting thing about Franklin's Magic Christmas was Eric Peterson (Corner Gas) voicing Franklin's grandfather.
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Courage the Cowardly Dog : The Snowman Cometh
Courage the Cowardly Dog : The Snowman Cometh
First time viewing | Boomerang
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No sense of early parenthood nostalgia here, my kids never really cared for Courage the Cowardly Dog. Also, we've ventured into the conflation of Christmas and winter. I do this a lot. To make it worse The Snowman Cometh isn't even a winter episode, it's a arctic episode. But hey, Snowman! Evil Sean Connery snowman bent on avenging climate change by melting humans! Merry Christmas!
Solid episode if your a fan of the show and there is a little bit of Christmas adjacent content so I don't feel guilty including it here.
Super Mario World - The Night Before Cave Christmas
First time viewing | Starz
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Back to my kid's favorites from back in the day. I'm sure they watched this loads of times (they devoured anything Nintendo related) but I think this is my first time. I wonder if they'll look back at shows like this with the same fondness as my generation does Charlie Brown, Rudolph and The Grinch. I hope I brought them up better than that....I hope.
Anyway, this isn't great, or even good, at least from an adult perspective but I didn't actively hate it.
End of Night Roundup:
The Naughty: Super Mario World.
The Nice: The not very Christmassy, but still wonderful, Night Before Christmas.
