I’m speaking, of course, about FROSTY THE SNOWMAN.
There’s a darkness lurking just under the surface of a beloved Christmas classic: dark magic, impending doom, and multiple generations of traumatized children. There’s the rampant sexism (“They were sad about their friend Yukon, but they knew it was important to get the women back to Christmastown.” – RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER), regrettable portrayals of Native Americans and Jews, and a bizarre political bent whereby one’s value is not intrinsic, but is determined by one’s ability to contribute to society (see: RUDOLPH, SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN, and the aforementioned NESTOR).īut we here at Very-Merry-Go-Round headquarters are all about hot takes, and lambasting a 40-year-old Christmas short for its politics is as icy as Snow Miser’s ballsack. Naturally, revisiting a series of Christmas shorts crafted by two white, male producers in the ‘60s and ‘70s will yield an expected amount of political incorrectness. From mainstream classics like the quintessential RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER to deep cuts like NESTOR: THE LONG-EARED CHRISTMAS DONKEY (yes, real), the Rankin/Bass Christmas canon carries a level of charm in its 1960s jank unrivaled by spit-shined modern classics-though homaged nicely in ELF.
You can have your IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, and DIE HARD every Christmas, I find my holiday joy in the lifeless eyes of many stop-motion puppets. Tis the season! With A Very Merry-Go-Round, we’ll be offering the hottest holiday takes in town.
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