Quest for Christmas: Short Films

When I was very young, my parents used to tape various Christmas shorts that were on TV. Louis and I watched these two tapes labelled 'Christmas 1996' and 'Christmas 1997' over and over again and they featured shorts like The Gogs, Prince Cinders and Famous Fred. Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of most of those, I guess that's just a testament to how personalised those video tapes felt. No one else had tapes exactly like these and those random Christmas Eve movies of '96 and '97 are forever a part of my childhood as a result; they are the ultimate form of Christmas nostalgia for me.

I went back to skim through a handful of those films if I could find them online, and since Rebecca was watching over my shoulder with me, she suggested a few shorts I'd never heard of before. So I decided it would be nice to make some new memories, sit down and watch some Christmas stuff I'd not seen before.

1. Micky's Christmas Carol

First up was Micky's Christmas Carol, a remarkably faithful adaptation of the classic Christmas story with just enough Micky Mouse to make it feel like it's own thing. I was actually surprised just how effectively this one managed to convey the story without falling back on any bad jokes or diluting the 'darker' parts.   

2. Peace on Earth

Next was Peace on Earth, a bit of an alternative one with a good premise. A squirrel grandfather tells his grandchildren about the war that wiped mankind off the face of the earth. It was slightly obvious with its 'man is evil' message, but for 1939, I guess that was pretty original, especially for children's animation.

3. The Little Matchgirl

Do yourself a favour and just go ahead and watch The Little Matchgirl. You can find it online very easily and it's only five minutes long. It's one of the best thing's I've seen all year thanks to some lovely animation and some incredibly focused storytelling.

All that's left is for me to hunt down a handful of the other short films that were on those old tapes. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of this animation about the nativity and the story of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. I can remember the art style, and that's about it. Really want to see it again, but even going through old TV listings from the Christmas periods of '96 and '97 I'm no wiser to the film's name.