'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974)
Normally, I wouldn’t write a review for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s not a movie, just a TV special with a 25-minute running time, and unlike How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It isn’t exactly a classic. I know I’d never heard of it before today. However, in the off-chance I’m wrong about its obscurity and for its zany plot, I’ve got to tell you about it.
In Junctionville, New York, every inhabitant is shocked when their letters to Santa Claus are returned with a stamp indicating “Rejected by Recipient”. Bewildered, Father Mouse (voiced by George Gobel) learns his brainy son Albert (Tammy Grimes) wrote an anonymous letter in the town’s newspaper denouncing Saint Nicholas as a fabrication. Distraught when he learns he was mistaken, Albert (Tammy Grimes) and his father devise a plan to get Santa to forgive them with the help of clockmaker Joshua Trundle (Joel Grey).
I would never lead my children to falsely believe Santa Claus is real but I like to imagine the hoops a parent would jump through if they wanted to maintain the illusion. Not only would you have to be careful about hiding the presents, but you’d also have to choose which movies you’d show your kids. Watch Arthur Christmas back-to-back with The Santa Clause or Miracle on 34th Street and any bright rugrat will realize there’s not a whole lot of consistency between Santa’s stories. Then, something like ’Twas the Night Before Christmas randomly pops up. Want your kids to stop doubting your lies about the jolly fellow who slides down your chimney? How about showing them a story that tells them their lack of faith will ruin the holiday?!
This is a story about a talking mouse who writes a bit of libel in the local paper and accidentally decimates Christmas for EVERYONE. In his defense, maybe if Saint Nick made a couple of public appearances here and then all doubt would’ve been absent from Albert’s mind. Then again, those presents under the tree should’ve been enough. It’s doubly funny to those the short isn’t aimed at. You know the people involved never actually put that much thought into the short. If they had then they wouldn’t have had Albert later nearly ruin Christmas AGAIN. Poor kid will be traumatized for life after this.
Other than giving you a bit of unintentional intellectual material to munch on, this is an unremarkable story. The animation is ok for the time - we are talking about an animated Rankin Bass holiday special, keep that in mind. The songs are forgettable to everyone who isn’t an avid South Park fan (the song Even a Miracle Needs a Hand was used in a Season 4 episode) and even then, I don’t know if anyone would call it a favorite. It’s a funny one to toss in the mix if you want to give your friends and family a bit of a curveball in the middle of your annual Christmas marathon, and nothing else. (TV Version, December 8, 2018)
