A Claymation Christmas Celebration
Encyclopedia
Will Vinton
's A Claymation Christmas Celebration is an Emmy Award
-winning Christmas television special originally broadcast on the American CBS
TV network in 1987. The special featured stop motion
clay animation
and was produced and directed by Will Vinton
.
's Christmas Square, the special is co-hosted by Rex (Tim Conner), an erudite and intellectual tyrannosaurus
, and Herb (Johnny Counterfit), a dimwitted, bespectacled styracosaurus
with a voracious appetite.
Recurring characters in Vinton's films dating back to 1980, Rex and Herb introduce several stand-alone videos of Christmas carol
s and standards and discuss the origins of each song relating to different holiday traditions around the world.
The songs featured were:
Throughout the program, Rex futilely attempts to clarify the true pronunciation and meaning of the term 'wassail', featured in the Christmas carol Here We Come A-Wassailing
. As the show progresses, Rex is dismayingly accosted by different groups singing the song, though each version is lyrically incorrect.
Though Rex is convinced his own definition is correct, he finds himself continually being questioned by the others, including Herb when he's not busy excessively partaking of the various Christmas treats offered by each group. Finally, near the program's end, a large truck loaded with cider-swilling townsfolk arrives on the scene, singing the correct version of the carol, validating Rex's theories much to his delight. After one of the townies explains the real meaning of wassailing—going around the neighborhood singing Christmas Carols, and getting treats and cordials, the entire cast performs Here We Come A-wassailing, and then We Wish You a Merry Christmas
as the end credits roll.
This special was released on the Henstooth Video DVD
Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Plus Halloween & Easter Celebrations in 2003.
given to Will Vinton
(executive producer/director), David Altschul (producer) and Ralph Liddle (writer)
("'Tis The Fifteenth Season
")
The Prunes sing "O Pruney Night" (a parody of "O Holy Night
") which includes the lines:
(Lisa
remarks that the song is "offensive to Christians and Prunes!")
Track List:
Will Vinton
Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
's A Claymation Christmas Celebration is an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning Christmas television special originally broadcast on the American CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV network in 1987. The special featured stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
and was produced and directed by Will Vinton
Will Vinton
Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
.
Synopsis
Situated in a facsimile of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Christmas Square, the special is co-hosted by Rex (Tim Conner), an erudite and intellectual tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
, and Herb (Johnny Counterfit), a dimwitted, bespectacled styracosaurus
Styracosaurus
Styracosaurus was a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period , about 76.5 to 75.0 million years ago...
with a voracious appetite.
Recurring characters in Vinton's films dating back to 1980, Rex and Herb introduce several stand-alone videos of Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s and standards and discuss the origins of each song relating to different holiday traditions around the world.
The songs featured were:
- "We Three KingsWe Three Kings"We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns...
" by the Three Wise Men and their doo-wopDoo-wopThe name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
-singing camelCamelA camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s - "Carol of the BellsCarol of the Bells"Carol of the Bells" is the common English language title of a Christmas carol of Ukrainian origin, which has in recent years grown in popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. The work was originally a choral miniature composition by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych based on...
" performed at Notre Dame Cathedral under the direction of MaestroMaestroMaestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
QuasimodoQuasimodoQuasimodo is a fictional character in the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster but he finds sanctuary in an unlikely love that is fulfilled only in death. The role of Quasimodo has been played by...
by The Paris Bell-Harmonic, a group of anthropomorphic church bells who strike themselves in the head with hammers to achieve their respective notes - "O Christmas Tree" performed by a children's choir, showing various scenes taking place inside of Christmas ornaments
- "Angels We Have Heard On HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
", an instrumental version of the carol with an interpretive ice balletIce dancingIce dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
performed by a pair of walrusWalrusThe walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es - "Joy to the WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
", a soulful rendition of the carol featuring images depicting African-American culture - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...
" sung by the California Raisins (a coverCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The TemptationsThe TemptationsThe Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
' version of the same song) - "Here We Come A-WassailingHere We Come A-WassailingHere We Come A-wassailing is an English traditional Christmas carol and New Years song, apparently composed c. 1850...
" sung by the entire cast
Throughout the program, Rex futilely attempts to clarify the true pronunciation and meaning of the term 'wassail', featured in the Christmas carol Here We Come A-Wassailing
Here We Come A-Wassailing
Here We Come A-wassailing is an English traditional Christmas carol and New Years song, apparently composed c. 1850...
. As the show progresses, Rex is dismayingly accosted by different groups singing the song, though each version is lyrically incorrect.
- Here We Come a-Waffling, sung by a kennel of dogs selling waffles from a vendors wagon.
- Here We Come a-Waddling, by a gaggle of straggling geese carrying baskets of goodies.
- Here We Come a-Wallowing, by a herd of slovenly pigs on a field wagon gorging themselves on an abundance of assorted fruits. (The driver is driving a green and yellow tractor, suggesting John DeereDeere & CompanyDeere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...
, though no logo is found on the tractor itself.)
Though Rex is convinced his own definition is correct, he finds himself continually being questioned by the others, including Herb when he's not busy excessively partaking of the various Christmas treats offered by each group. Finally, near the program's end, a large truck loaded with cider-swilling townsfolk arrives on the scene, singing the correct version of the carol, validating Rex's theories much to his delight. After one of the townies explains the real meaning of wassailing—going around the neighborhood singing Christmas Carols, and getting treats and cordials, the entire cast performs Here We Come A-wassailing, and then We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is a popular secular sixteenth-century English carol from the West Country of England. The origin of this Christmas carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy...
as the end credits roll.
This special was released on the Henstooth Video DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Plus Halloween & Easter Celebrations in 2003.
Awards
1988—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated ProgramPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
given to Will Vinton
Will Vinton
Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
(executive producer/director), David Altschul (producer) and Ralph Liddle (writer)
Parody
This special was spoofed as Christmas with the California Prunes in the 2003 Christmas episode of The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
("'Tis The Fifteenth Season
'Tis the Fifteenth Season
Tis the Fifteenth Season is the seventh episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. This episode is notable as being the first to make reference to Lisa's Buddhism, to which she converted in an earlier Christmas episode, "She of Little Faith".-Plot:...
")
The Prunes sing "O Pruney Night" (a parody of "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
") which includes the lines:
- "O Pruney Night, the stars are slightly wrinkled
- We are the fruit that your grandmother loves".
(Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
remarks that the song is "offensive to Christians and Prunes!")
Soundtrack
A companion soundtrack album was released by Atlantic Records in 1988 and was originally available on Vinyl, Cassette, and Compact Disc. The album contains six songs not featured on the special, including an alternate version of "Angels We Have Heard On High." The song "O Christmas Tree", as featured in the special, was excluded from the soundtrack.Track List:
- Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
- Good King Swing
- We Three Kings Bop
- God Rest Ye
- Carol Of The Bells
- Silent Night Jazzy Night
- Noel
- Hark!
- Up On The Housetop
- Joy!
- Waffle, Waddle, Wallow, Wassle
- Angles We Have Heard On High