RJ Writing Ink

Let me tell you a tale: four years ago, there was only one thing that I wanted for Christmas. I didn’t care if I didn’t get any other presents that year! WHAT I WANTED… was to The Last: Naruto the Movie for Christmas. Christmas day came and went, and like I knew I would, I couldn’t see the movie. It was only coming to N America in February. But then, on December 29th, I got my Christmas miracle: someone, somewhere managed to upload a watchable copy of The Last: Naruto the Movie onto YouTube, WITH ENGLISH SUBS. *Cue “Hallelujah”. I didn’t take any chances, and just dove in right then and there. It was one of the best gifts I ever got.

And that’s why this is my honorable mention for my “25 days of Christmas”. I know it’s not a Christmas movie, but I have my reasons beyond this for why it’s on here.

Reason 1: the Rinne Festival

Part of the film revolves around the Hidden Leaf Village getting ready for a holiday known as the Rinne Festival. What is that, you ask? It is a holiday where people exchange gifts with friends and loved ones. Sounds an awful lot like Christmas, doesn’t it? On top of that, it’s snowing in the Hidden Leaf. I didn’t even know it could actually do: up until this movie, we only ever saw the Hidden Leaf in the spring or summer time. That’s including in October when Naruto was born. No falling leaves. They were all green.

Reason 2: Romance Plays a Big Part in This

Romance was never one of the strong points of Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto, the author and creator of the franchise, even admits that he didn’t really know how to write a good romance. The Last: Naruto the Movie was his way of trying to make up for that, particularly regarding an unresolved plot thread.

If you know most of the Naruto fandom, you will hopefully about Naruto’s friend and fellow ninja, Hinata. Since the start of the manga, Hinata has admired Naruto due to his self-confidence and kindness towards others. That admiration eventually become love, something that everyone else they knew noticed. Even I noticed it in the anime, and I was ten at the time. Naruto was the only one who didn’t realize it because he’s dense about romance.

By the time of the movie, two years have passed since the climax of the manga, and Naruto is now considered the greatest ninja alive and adored by everyone. Especially girls. They just run right up to him and give him gifts. With the Rinne festival coming up, Hinata decides to make Naruto a home-made scarf in order to finally tell him how she feels. But then her sister gets kidnapped, the moon starts falling, and next thing you know, NINJA’S ON THE MOON!

My point is that romance plays a huge part in this film, as Naruto grows to understand how much Hinata cares about him and realizes how much he actually cares about her. At one point, the two of them end up walking around an abandoned city together. It actually felt like they were on a date. And Christmas Eve is associated with romance in Japan. Get my point now?

In Conclusion

So, yes, this is not a Christmas movie in the slightest. But it does draw on the cultural depictions of Christmas in Japan: a time of gift-giving and romance. I will accept that. But I wanted to include this because it was, honestly, the second best gift that I ever got for the Holidays. I just watched the film from start to finish in my room without stopping, and I loved every second of it. The music was good, the plot was interesting, if not a little convoluted (ninja’s in space. That’s both cool and dumb), and Kishimoto made a genuine effort to appease the fans who were left hanging. So on that note, Happy Holidays!

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The First Spongebob Christmas Special

This special has been on long enough that I don’t think I need to explain much about the plot. So let’s just go over the basics.

After Sandy teaches Spongebob about the concept of Christmas, he shares the holiday with the rest of Bikini Bottom, and soon everyone is in on it. Everyone except for Squidward, who thinks everyone is being stupid.

So Christmas Eve comes, and Squidward is being the Scrooge who refuses to celebrate the holiday. So while everyone is waiting for Santa to come, he goes to sleep. Santa doesn’t show up, and everyone becomes disillusioned with the holiday. Even Spongebob tearfully admits that Squidward was right. Feeling guilty, Squidward decides to dress up as Santa to make Spongebob happy, and then ends up giving away all his stuff as gifts. Then the real Santa shows up and thanks him.

Good Times With Spongebob

As a kid who was making the transition from Nick Jr. to Nickelodeon proper, this was one of the first Christmas specials that I saw growing up, and I loved it. I was a huge Spongebob fan throughout my childhood and tried to emulate him as much as possible. I enjoyed watching his Christmas special every year. That being said, there was one thing about the special that always bugged me: why did everyone stay up to wait for Santa?

As a kid growing up, I was always taught that if you wanted Santa Claus to show up, then you needed to go to sleep so that he wouldn’t be seen. Granted, I know that that was so that parents could put out the presents. Why wouldn’t Sandy tell him that? Most kids will know that idea.

Furthermore, I get why Squidward wanted to rub the fact that he was right in Spongebob’s face. I would be probably be annoyed by Spongebob’s attempts to get him into the holiday spirit. But being right doesn’t give him the right to be a total jackass. Even so, I think Squidward’s decision to dress up as Santa was one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen him do. Too bad I don’t see him do that any more.

In all, though, this remains one of my all-time favorite Christmas Specials, and I hope that you guys have a Merry Christmas.

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When it comes to Christmas Specials, I’ve seen plenty of them over the years. I’ve watched A Charlie Brown Christmas countless times, and some of the other Peanuts specials. I’m familiar with Frosty the Snowman, seen it a couple of times. And I hold the Spongebob Squarepants Christmas Special as one of my favorite specials. Christmas movies, though, I don’t know that many.

I’ve seen several adaptations of A Christmas Carol, including one I wish I never saw. Nightmare Before Christmas was terrific, and every year my family loves watching A Christmas Story on repeat. My favorite Christmas movie, though, has to be 2003’s Elf.

Elf

I never saw Elf in theaters, but I love watching it every year. I don’t know why, but I just love it.

Let’s start off from the beginning: the movie’s about a human named Buddy. Buddy is a normal human who came to the North Pole as a baby and ended up being raised by Santa and the elves. But then the day comes when he realizes that he is actually human, and the elves tell him the truth. His mom and dad fell in love, his mom gave him up for adoption (and passed away), and his dad doesn’t know he exists. He’s living in a “magical place” called New York City.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that joke. So, Buddy, wanting to meet the dad he never knew he had, heads to New York.

The thing I like most about Elf is the fact that Buddy is clearly a fish out of the water, in a good way. Buddy is childlike and sees the good in everyone that he meets, greeting each day with a skip and a smile. In contrast, this is… well this is New York. It’s the city that never sleeps, and it’s an ocean of cynics. Almost everyone that Buddy meets either doesn’t believe him about being from the North Pole or is convinced he has an ulterior motive. Buddy just takes it in stride, though. And his optimism ends up rubbing off on everyone he meets. Plus there’s this.

Thank heavens for gifs. Everyone he meets ends up regaining their holiday spirit, and what it means to be nice in general. Everyone except for his dad. Dear old dad ended up on the naughty list for being the Scrooge of New York. And in spite of Buddy endearing himself to the rest of his family, Walter wants nothing to do with him. At the lowest point of the film, Walter snaps at him and tells him to get out of his life.

Things Get Better

This was a sad sight, but even sadder was how it almost broke Buddy. But at that moment, Santa (played by Ed Asner. This is where I got my love of him as Santa) comes crashing into Central Park. The sheer lack of Christmas Spirit sucked his sleigh dry. So, like any good Christmas movie with Santa, Buddy has to save Christmas.

The way he ends up doing this is in one of the most heart-warming ways I have ever seen. Buddy ends up reconciling with his dad, who finally accepts him as his son no matter who he is, and they all team up to save Christmas through the power of song.

I loved the caroling the most. I’ve heard Christmas Carols sung better, but what gets me is how many people sing it. Everyone that Buddy has met since he came to New York ends up joining in to sing “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”. This moment goes beyond the plot of the movie for me, though. I think it shows just how much of a positive impact the kindness of one person can have on people. That’s something that a lot of the world desperately needs. And it works: Santa’s sleigh gets back up to full power on its own, and Ed Asner gives such a hearty “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!”

I could keep rambling on about why this movie is great, but I don’t want to take away from your sugarplum dreams. I loved this movie, it’s my favorite Christmas film, and plenty of other people agree with me on Elf

Don’t think for a second that my 25 Days will be done tomorrow because it’s Christmas! I’m going to be doing a double-header tomorrow as I talk about two more Christmas Specials I watched. And on December 26th, I’ve got a bonus story about one of the best Christmas Gifts that I ever got. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

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People, I believe that I have now hit rock bottom on Christmas Specials. Why? Because I just found the Christmas Episode for last season of American Dad. I was into American Dad for a time, along with Seth Macfarlane’s other shows (even got his autograph). But then I grew out of them. But then I saw this special and decided to give it another shot.

American Dad Christmas

Two things you need to know about American Dad: it’s about the family of extremely conservative CIA agent Stan Smith, and every Christmas Special has seen something bad happen to them. Past examples include:

• Getting separated by the Rapture
• Fighting the Anti-Christ. Twice!
• Stan wishing to be single for Christmas only to end up with the wrong family after the wish was undone
• Santa sending an army of elves to kill them
• Santa killing Stan’s dad and turning him into Krampus

Bottom line, the Smiths and Christmas don’t mix. So in this episode, Stan decides to just bail on the whole thing and have the Smiths go into stasis for the day to wait out the holiday. Except for his son, Steve, is isn’t ready to give up on Christmas and runs off to ride a train. But then that train full of kids gets kidnapped and taken to the North Pole by Santa.

Crazy Plan

Apparently, Santa needs them as slave labor in his mines to search for these magical gemstones. They were once part of the eyes of this mythical giant that was slain by the ancient Sumerian hero Gilgamesh and granting him godly power. Santa’s plan is to use them to do the same thing to himself.

Why, though? What on earth does he possibly have to gain from such a convoluted plan? That’s really dumb, but also cool at the same time. But still dumb! That is literally what I thought to myself while I was watching this episode! I admit that this episode had an interesting premise, but it didn’t really do much to make me think of the Christmas spirit. In fact, the revelation that Santa set up everything just for a ridiculous plot to become a god made Steve finally hate Christmas. Thankfully, the hate doesn’t last long and by the end Steve likes Christmas again. Oh, and Santa and the elves got sucked into the giant’s mouth, but then we see his hand climb out the neck in dramatic fashion.

Not a traditional Christmas Special, by far, but this is adult animation. So it gets a pass. I think I need to go have some eggnog after this. American Dad can be weird at times.

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We open on a lone factory in the middle of a frozen landscape. Suddenly, an explosion rips the facility. A lone man, with a mysterious box in his arms, flees the building towards the hangar nearby. After shooting off the lock, he runs past the airplanes and jumps into a familiar sled pulled by nine reindeer. He cracks the whip, and the takes off into the sky above the North Pole.

He is not alone for long. Another man, with a long white beard and riding a hoverboard, catches up to him. A struggle ensues, with the bearded man seizing the box and jumping to the surface below. The thief then pulls out a pistol and fires three shots into his pursuer. As the man loses consciousness and falls towards earth, the thief says one final line “Merry Christmas, Santa Claus”. Thus begins one of my all-time favorite Christmas Specials.

The Christmas Special

I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again: I loved Regular Show. I discovered it at a time in my life when I had started to think I had outgrown cartoons. Most of the cartoons I grew up watching had ended or were no longer interesting to me. The beauty of Regular Show, though, was it’s ability to appeal to all ages. For a children’s show, that is an impressive feat. They did a lot of holiday specials throughout their run, but I think their first Christmas Special was the best.

In the Park, the entire gang is throwing a Christmas party and having a blast. Muscle Man is binging on cookies, Benson is flirting with his neighbor Audrey, and Mordecai and Rigby are throwing down some sick raps for the holidays.

They step away from the party to get Benson some more soda, only to see the man from before falling from the sky into Skips’ garage. If it wasn’t obvious before, that man is Santa Claus. His reaction to being found by Mordecai and Rigby: “Aw, man. You two?”

I liked the version of Santa that Regular Show gave us, especially since he barely resembled depictions of him in pop culture. He cares about people, but he can be grumpy and sarcastic. That is thanks to him once again being voice by Edward Asner. This had to have been the third time I had seen him play Santa, so I have a bias, but it’s earned. He brings a sense of realism to the role of Santa. Take the way he proves to Mordecai and Rigby that he’s Santa by telling them what they wanted for Christmas as kids:

Dear Santa, dude, give me an invisibility cloak. Santa, dude, don’t be a jerk. Just get me an invisibly cloak.

Priceless.

Lord of the Box

Anyway, the reason why he got shot and fell from the sky is that the box is like the One-Ring from Lord of the Rings. Santa’s lead toy designer, Quillgin, invented a box that would magically give whoever opens it what they want most. To Santa’s horror, though, anyone who opened the box would be consumed by greed. That ’s the risks of using dark magic, though.

Santa locked the box away and destroyed all of Quillgin’s research, leading him to vow revenge, hence the opening. If he gets his hands on the box, he’ll use it to destroy Christmas forever!

Fellowship of the Box

From here on out, the special is a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books: the Park Gang becomes the Fellowship of the Box. The box is the One-Ring that corrupts people. And Quillgin is either Gollum or a minion of Sauron.  As Skips notes, though, the box’s dark magic components prevent it from being destroyed by conventional means. The only solution is to cast it into molten lava. As luck would have it, the rival East Pines park has a cave with lava in it, but it’s guarded by several traps.

At this point, tvtropes.org says it becomes a partial tribute to the classic 80’s film The Goonies. I can see that with all the booby traps, though I actually thought it bore similarity to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Both movies had to deal with dangerous trials that needed to be overcome, after all. From a deadly dance off to wrestling a bear, this is an epic adventure.

The best part, though, is the climax as Quillgin confronts the Park Gang at the lava pit. Quillgin gets his hands of the box and begins to bring about the destruction of Christmas. We are then given a montage of Christmas stuff around the world being lace with TNT to the ominous sound of “Carol of the Bells”. Normally a song that brings joy, this moment subverts it by highlighting how dire the situation is.

Then Mordecai tackles Quillgin and sends both of them into the lava pit, with Rigby following, as the music transitions to “Sarajevo 12/24” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The music is perfectly in sync with the action, with that epic guitar solo timed just as Quillgin and the box fall into the lava. Just like Lord of the Rings.

Not Your Normal Christmas Special

This was not a normal Christmas special by any stretch. But Regular Show is not a normal cartoon. It thrives on the use of pop culture and surrealism, and that’s what made it so entertaining to watch during its run. This wasn’t even the craziest thing Mordecai and Rigby had done by then. They had already fought demon spawn of the underworld, traveled through time, and gone to the moon. So saving Christmas was nothing out of the ordinary!

This was an unexpected but greatly welcomed present for me when I first saw it. Speaking of presents, Mordecai and Rigby got the invisibility cloak they had wanted as kids! Best gift ever! And, as all good Christmas specials do, it ends with Santa going “HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Then his sleigh leaves behind rubber burns like in Back to the Future. What a way to end a special, J.G. Quintel!

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Christmas in Space

It’s time for another Regular Show Christmas Special. The final special, to be exact. In late 2016, Regular Show was wrapping up its 8th and final season, leading to its hour long finale in January 2017. That is a story for another day, though. The Holidays were a big part of Regular Show, and I grew to look forward to their holiday specials every year. The Halloween specials were the main ones, but they also had several Christmas episodes to go with it. So, for the final Christmas special, I guess they just decided to combine both into one. So we got CHRISTMAS IN SPACE!

Instead of a single storyline, this special followed the anthology format of the Halloween episodes, something every one noticed. Even Benson calls the group out about it at one point. Although, they were in space by that point. So, let’s look at each story as I give my two cents.

Planet Celsius

In this first story told by Skips, the Park Gang travels to the Planet Celsius so they can have a white Christmas. There’s just one rule: they can only stay while there’s sunlight, because afterwards, snow monsters will come and attack them. There’s also only sunlight for five minutes.

So, the gang has a good romp in the snow, playing with the natives, and exchanging Christmas gifts in five minutes. Then Muscle Man takes too long to do his family’s annual ski run, and they get caught outside in the dark. And the natives turn into snow monsters.

Right away, I felt this plot was similar to the movie Gremlins with the Celsians turning into monsters after dark seeming very familiar. Then again, I never actually watched the movie, so I could be wrong. I do know what thing that was a direct parody, though: Ludlow the Laser-Nosed Reindeer. He’s a poorly animated knock-off of Rudolph that comes down and saves everyone with his laser nose, then just floats away like a stiff board. I don’t know what the meaning behind that was. Christmas in Space, so why not?

Annoying Rock Caroler

Next is Benson’s story, where the Park gets visited by this strange, rock caroler. That is, someone who sings Christmas carols in rock form. In this case, he does The Twelve Days of Christmas. All twelve verses. And the gifts just appear and start attacking the Park Gang.

The Twelve Days of Christmas was not one of my favorite Christmas songs growing up, mainly because I never remember the lyrics after the fifth verse. I liked this story though because it made me realize something I never noticed: there are a lot of birds as gifts in that song! The first third of the song was just birds. Eventually, the gang gets rid of the caroler by giving him cookies, and then he explodes into snow. Because, why not?

Theoretical Mall

In Mordecai and Rigby’s story, they forget to get Pops his present for Christmas, so they have to go to the one mall in the universe that is open… theoretically.

This story is a homage to the classic show The Twilight Zone from start to finish. It even has the door in space and everything. Mordecai and Rigby have to travel to the fifth floor/fifth dimension of the mall to get their gift. As it turns out, the fifth dimension lets them see every possible choice they make. In Rigby terms, every time they get distracted, clones of the two are made that wander off. Soon, it’s a race to the elevator before the mall closes and implodes on them.

This story wasn’t that big on the Christmas theme, but this is the kind of surreal adventures that made me fall in love with Regular Show in the first place. Plus, the ending is classic Twilight Zone.

Krampus

Fed up with everyone’s stories, Benson decides to tell one of his own. In this one, Rigby disobeys Benson one too many times, so he calls Krampus the Christmas Demon to punish him for it. It was meant to be a joke, but it turns out that Krampus is real and actually comes for Rigby. Thus the Park Gang is forced into a battle against the anti-Santa.

This is the kind of story that can fit in both Halloween or Christmas: it’s both scary and keeps with the tradition of Christmas. Even Mordecai and Rigby admit that it’s a good story. Until Benson ruins it by having Krampus defeated by handbells. Benson has been trying to get the gang into handbells all episode, and this was a lame way to do it.

Someone does come along who appreciates Benson’s love of handbells though: Space Santa! Handbells and Christmas Carols for everyone as the episode ends! Christmas in Space!

So that’s basically it. Personally, my favorite Christmas episode of Regular Show was the original, but I want to save that for later. I still miss Regular Show, and I hope that it’s just the start to a bright career for creator J.G. Quintel. I still liked Christmas in Space, though. Now if only TBS would air his new show already.

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I would like to thank cakedablerd from Pop Culture Uncovered for giving me the idea to watch this. Go check out her original post. I have never been one for work by Sanrio, but Aggretsuko might be an exception, especially since the main character is the opposite of Hello Kitty. Retsuko is a 25-year-old accountant in some random company… and she hates every minute of it. A lot of her co-workers are annoying, her boss is a jerk, and she just wants out. A lot of people can relate. Most of her co-workers don’t know, but she channels her anger by singing death metal karaoke.

So, I spent a whole day binge watching the first season, because the Christmas Special came out today: We Wish You A Metal Christmas.

We Wish You A Metal Christmas

If you remember my posts about the Fairy Tail and Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Christmas Specials, you may remember that I said Christmas is more about romance in Japan. That, and eating KFC, but that’s beside the point. It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone is making plans for the holiday. Everyone except for Retsuko. She’s been too busy trying to get Instagram likes to make plans, and then her jerk-boss, Ton the pig, gives her extra work. Because he’s a jerk.

Meanwhile, Retsuko’s friends, Haida and Fenneko are out drinking. Haida has had a crush on Retsuko, but she turned him down, and he still hasn’t gotten over it. So he’s getting wasted to get over the pain. Especially since he thinks Retsuko has plans.

Fortunately for him, Fenneko’s social media detective skills help her realize that something’s up with Retsuko’s Instagram posts and that she doesn’t have anything to do for Christmas Eve. So Haida tries to rush over and help her, only to find out she already left. Love is never easy.

Luck is on Haida’s side, though, as he happens to run into her as she’s out with some of her friends, and they end up getting some time together. It’s a cute way to end the episode, but the clincher is the heavy metal version of “Jingle Bells”. I never knew how badly I needed that.

Retsuko Is an Exception

As I said before, Sanrio is normally not my cup of eggnog, but I’m glad I tried this show out. It’s got enough of anime in it to keep me interested, while the premise is relatable enough for non-anime fans to get into it. What makes this enjoyable, though, is that it serves as a reminder of how no one should be alone for the holidays. Yet many people out there are. They don’t have any family or friends nearby, so the holidays can be a sad and lonely experience. But when you have people you care about with you, they become a lot brighter.

I also find this to be an interesting commentary on how some in our generation go out of their way to look amazing on social media to make up for the fact that they don’t like where they are right now. While stuck at work, Retsuko even fakes a fancy dinner photo just get people’s approval.

My advice: social media is fun, but it doesn’t beat having physical friends to hang out with. But I don’t want to preach, so instead, I’ll wish you a Merry Christmas!

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I thought that I had seen a lot of good Christmas movies, and maybe some bad Christmas movies. But when I saw that Netflix had a new Christmas movie, I had no idea what to think. So I got on my laptop, put on Netflix and put on The Christmas Chronicles to see the funniest Santa yet.

The Christmas Chronicles

It’s about this family, the Pierces in Massachusetts. They have loved Christmas as much as any family could, especially the dad. But when their Dad, a firefighter, dies while rescuing some people, the kids, Teddy and Kate, start to drift apart from each other.

Come Christmas Eve 2018, Mrs. Pierce has to cover for a coworker, forcing Teddy and Kate to be home alone for Christmas. When Kate thinks she sees Santa on a recording of last year’s Christmas, she does what any kid would do: stay up and try to see Santa. I tried doing it as a kid, and I know plenty of other people did.

Not only do Kate and Teddy see Santa, though, but they also manage to sneak aboard his sleigh. Then they cause it to crash, the sack to fly off, and the Reindeer to scatter in Chicago. What’s worse, without any of these things, Santa can’t do his job. And when he can’t do his job, bad things happen. As Santa, puts it, the Dark Ages and all the rotten stuff that came with it. So it’s up to Teddy and Kate to help Santa save Christmas while also conveniently restoring their bond as siblings.

One of My Top 5 Santas

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the movie’s version of Santa, played by Kurt Russell. I loved Kurt Russell as Santa. Unlike the way he’s normally portrayed in pop culture, this Santa is of reasonable weight and is a wise-cracking, savvy toy-maker. It’s hard to describe, but if I had to explain it, I’d say that Kurt Russell makes Santa seem more… human. As in he’s not always so jolly. He can be sarcastic, energetic, happy, charismatic. He’s very charismatic. At one point in the film, when he lands in jail (don’t ask), he leads the inmates in a jazz rendition of “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”. It’s amazing! He does refuse to go “ho ho ho”, though, because he says that’s a myth. Apparently along with him being fat. In short, I love Kurt Russell as Santa.

And the elves! They are like the Gremlins crossed with the Minions from Despicable Me. They are cute, they are mischievous, and you will either love them or hate them.

The Kids

Lastly, we have the kids, Teddy and Kate Pierce. At the start, it was shown that they both have some problems. More like Teddy has problems. Ever since his dad died, he’s been falling in with the wrong crowd. Kate follows him at one point early on in the film, and sees him steal a car with some other teenagers! The worst part is that that is never actually resolved. His night before Christmas experience sets him back on the right path, but he never actually tells his mom of what he did or makes any amends for it. That seems like lazy writing.

I’d talk more about what happens, but I don’t want to spoil the ending. I liked this movie, and if you have Netflix, I urge you to watch it. It’s a pretty good Christmas movie with a new spin on Santa. Kurt Russell became my second favorite Santa of all time after watching this. The first is Ed Asner. Happy holidays!

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Just because I am a grown-up does not mean I have to stop loving cartoons, especially when said cartoons are excellent. Over the last few years, Cartoon Network has been on a roll, making shows that have appealed to both child and adult demographics. First, there was Adventure Time, then Regular Show, and we have Steven Universe. Rebecca Sugar’s creation is one of the best shows on Cartoon Network right now, and with next batch of episodes coming out, I thought it’d be appropriate to look at the Steven Universe Christmas episode.

It’s not blatantly stated to be a Christmas episode, but watch it and tell me if it doesn’t remind you of anything Christmas related. So, here it is, Three Gems and a Baby.

Baby Steven Universe

As Beach City is being covered by a blizzard, Greg Universe and the Crystal Gems tell Steven the story of his first winter with Steven. 

In flashback, Greg is shown taking care of baby Steven whilestaying at a friend’s house in the middle of a blizzard. He does a good job atit, as well, though he gets a little confused about Steven’s need to expose his gem.

Now, when I first saw this episode, I started to get some serious baby Jesus vibes from it, whether intentional or not. First, Steven was not a normal baby. He was born through very unconventional means. Unlike Jesus, though, Steven is the son of a human and an alien. 

The comparisons don’t stop, as the Gems show up bearing gifts for the newborn Steven. Sound familiar? Well, the Gems gifts are mostly impractical. Why would a baby need a razor, after all? 

Everything changes when Steven’s gem starts glowing. The Gems are convinced it’s Rose trying to talk to them, and while Greg tries to figure out what’s going on, the Gems basically… kidnap Steven. Along with Greg’s van.

Steven Goes for a Ride

It was funny to watch the Gems try and figure out what Steven was, only to fail and make him upset. Even though Pearl thinks she can bring back Rose by removing Steven’s gem, she can’t do it. Reluctantly, the Gems have to face the fact that Rose may be gone for good, and that they need to focus on Steven now.

Then Greg shows up being chased by a dog and they make up. Back in the present, Steven can’t help but point out how the Gems were wrong about growing and changing is not natural for them, as they have all changed for the better.

Steven Universe=Gem Jesus

In hindsight, it is easy to see the comparisons between the story of baby Jesus and Steven. Considering everything that has happened with Steven, and the revelation that his mom was actually PINK DIAMOND, I can’t help but wonder if this was intentional.

Think about it: Steven is a special boy, born from a human father and a Gem mother. He has all the abilities of both Gems and Humans, and he has spent his entire life trying to help others, even if they were once his enemies. After he learns the truth about his mom, he tries to make peace with the other Diamonds. With the remainder of the “Diamond Days” coming up, I keep coming back to this episode and the comparisons. One thing keeps crossing my mind: does Rebecca Sugar mean for Steven to become a sort of savior or uniter of the Gems?

Steven Universe is part Gem, and a Diamond, one of the leaders, at that. Maybe he is meant to bring about a significant change in Gem society. This is just me speculating, but with recent events, I knew I had to re-watch this episode. It’s not just a Christmas episode, it may be a direct hint by the show’s writers about what Steven’s destiny may be. Or not. I don’t mind being wrong.

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Plenty of people know about who the Muppets are. They are those lovable puppets that were pioneered by Jim and Jane Henson and continue to entertain kids today. When I say “Muppets” here, I am using it to refer to the casts from the shows that Jim Henson was involved in or created:

• The Muppets Show
• Sesame Street
• Fraggle Rock

 You may or may not know this, but there was actually a special where the casts of all three of these shows met each other. As luck would have it, it aired on ABC forty-one years ago tonight, and it’s what I watched today: A Muppet Family Christmas. 

A Muppet Family Christmas

The special starts off with most of the cast of  The Muppet Show heading up to Fozzie’s mom’s farmhouse for Christmas. Bad timing, though, as Mrs. Grizzly plans to go to Malibu for Christmas and rented the house out to two characters from Fraggle Rock, Doc and his dog Sprocket. So much for a quiet Christmas.

There is no real plot to this episode. It’s more like several smaller plots as everyone tries to enjoy the Holidays. Here’s the gist of it.

Miss Piggy had to stay behind to finish some things and shopping, but she gets stuck in a snowstorm. More on that later.

Fozzie befriends a snowman that comes to life after building him. They try to start a comedy duo, but Statler and Waldorf put a stop to that.

The cast of Sesame Street show up caroling and stick around for Christmas!

Swedish Chef invites a Turkey to have for dinner, but after seeing Big Bird, he tries to cook him instead. A kind gift from Big Bird makes him change his mind, though.

Muppets Meets Fraggles

While Doc goes out to look for Miss Piggy, Kermit and Robin find a portal to Fraggle Rock in the basement. In a historic meeting, they come across the Fraggles and join them in a song about the fun of giving gifts. 

Soon as Kermit and Robin leave Fraggle Rock, Miss Piggy and Doc show up in costume. Miss Piggy’s wearing a new white dress, Doc’s in a soldier uniform, and they’re driving a dog sled. Muppet logic.

That’s basically the main plot of the special, as the remainder is about the cast singing Christmas carols. The Fraggles show up to listen to the music, Doc comes back in dressed in Santa, and there is even a surprise cameo by the creator of the Muppets, Jim Henson himself, god rest his soul.

In Review

That’s basically  A Muppet Family Christmas. It’s the ultimate Muppet crossover, as it includes most of the cast of three of the shows that Jim Henson worked on. It’s the kind of thing that Jim Henson fans would go get giddy over. It may not have an actual plot, but I don’t think it really needs one. This special does a good job as it is, and I enjoyed it and the nostalgia it gives me (I loved Sesame Street as a kid, but wasn’t born when the other two shows were on). 

If you’re wondering why you may not have heard about this special, that’s because it never got a release on DVD and Blu-Ray, so only those who saw it as kids or know about Muppet history will know about it. Thank goodness I found it on YouTube. You’re welcome to enjoy it through the video link. Have a nice night, and Merry Christmas!

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