Dec 25, 2013

Nickelodeon Employees' Favorite Christmas Cartoons

Merry Christmas We asked some of Nickelodeon's movers and shakers to share their favorite Christmas specials. Here's what they chose:

"I have three favorite holiday classics that I watch every year without fail. As a kid, I couldn't wait for Christmas to come. I loved Bob Hope, Bing Cosby, and Andy Williams, but my real favorites were the animated specials like Rankin Bass' Rudolph the Red Nose, Bill Melendez' A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Chuck Jones' The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! These were the most popular! Back then, these masterpieces could only be seen once a year and still need to be seen every year. But now, thanks to technology, we can watch them whenever we want. There is nothing more fun than turning on the air conditioner in the middle of summer, lighting the fireplace, and clicking through the holiday classics. Even if it's 100 degrees outside, remember the most wonderful time of the year with a cup of hot chocolate."

"The biggest holiday movie for me is actually one from the 1972 anthology film Tales from the Crypt, titled . . and a little story titled 'And All Through The House. I saw it as a kid on a Saturday afternoon at the Creature Double Feature in Philadelphia. I had always felt that Santa Claus was a terrible thing, and I was thrilled to see a film that confirmed my suspicions. Tales from the Crypt was directed by the late Freddie Francis for Amicus Productions. Francis had a great eye and later won an Oscar as cinematographer for great filmmakers like David Lynch and Martin Scorsese. The story was adapted directly from the comic pages of "The Vault of Horror."

"Our favorite holiday special is the Christmas special of 'The Simpsons. In fact, it was the first episode of "The Simpsons" that made a big impression on us as kids. It had all the elements of a perfect holiday show. It had sadness, lots of jokes, slapstick humor, and most importantly, it got us in the holiday spirit. Every time I see a dog chew toy shaped like a steak, I think of this episode and Christmas."