Christmas Movies:

I am writing reviews of Christmas movies.  I try to watch at least one a day during the season, and also read Christmas stories.  I will be adding at least one review a day.  All of these movies are from Instant Netflix unless I note otherwise. 

*^ "The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas" 1973, Casey Kasem as the narrator and Tom Smothers as Ted E. Bear.  This movie was mostly just filler, and a sort of silly story.  I thought it was a top 40 show with the narrator's voice.  It was written for small children.  Ted E. Bear believes in Christmas.  The other bears do not as they always sleep through it.  Ted E. Bear is determined to find Christmas.  Santa advises him. "Christmas is that certain glow that just can't be defined; That happy, happy feeling that you get inside when you are kind."

** "Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special"  This would have gotten more stars if there was lest swearing (although it is bleeped) and less sexual innuendo.  However the music with guitar guy and "Night Before Christmas" reading are very funny.

No stars  "A Christmas Too Many"  I only got through 5 minutes and was presented with homosexual innuendo and an "f" bomb and decided this wasn't the Christmas movie for me.

Christmas Classics volume I shows several different shorts:
*** "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."  This is a very old version, and begins with a singing of the song.  This story reminds one of how cruel we can sometimes be to others.  Sometimes when someone is different, we treat them in a poor way.  This can be especially true of children at times, but I hope we can rise above this.  In Rudolph, Santa's needing his help on a foggy night does the trick.
  ** "Santa's Surprise."  This movie depicts children in a positive light.  They have caught rides on Santa's Sleigh and visit the North Pole to clean his house while he is sleeping.  There are children from all over the world.  The movie uses caricatures of different ethnic groups.  The African American boy is in black face and shines shoes, The Polynesian girl is topless, the Chinese boy does laundry.  However it makes fun of everyone as a cartoon is suppose to do.  The Dutch boy is the bungler with his wood shoes that make noise and he is always bumping into things.  They get the job done and leave a hint for him to visit them again next year.
 *^ "Christmas Comes but Once a Year'  This short is of an orphanage where all the Christmas toys are hand me downs, and break quickly.  An inventor happens by, takes the part of Santa Clause, making toys out of household items.  I only wonder what they will do without any household utensils for the next year.
* "Snow Foolin'" "With these prices who can afford Florida says the bird who didn't migrate for the winter."
* "Hector's Hectic Live", Dog trouble.
* "Jack Frost"  A baby grizzly runs from home and gets caught by Jack Frost.  A kind elf saves him and takes him home.
* The Shanty Where Shanty Clause Lives" 
* "Somewhere in Dreamland"
** "The Night Before Christmas" If you like the poem you'll like this movie, although it is a bit slow.
****  "A Charlie Brown Christmas"    This is a movie I grew up with.  It came out in 195, when I was eight.  Through my teen year the group of kids I hung with had a thing for Charlie Brown.  We would share his comics before school as the bus landed us a few minutes early.  And this is one of those shorts I have enjoyed my entire life.  Before video, I would look forward to the showing of this every year, and always try not to miss it.  I love when the sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."  I love Schroeder's music.  And I love Linus reciting the Christmas story.  This is a movie that makes Christmas season better.
***  "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown"  Same character with a few new ones, but not the same pizazz.  Story is only mildly amusing and is mostly a forum for Peanuts Comic Strip lines.
****The Coat  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp3IH8ZNviQ If this does not get you in the true mood of Christmas, nothing will.  A story from the life of Heber J. Grant.
***^ Christmas Angel 2009.  I think I saw this one on t.v. but I can't remember which channel.  It was actually an enjoyable made-for-t.v. Christmas movie.  It featured a story of people struggling to get through and being  brought together by a secret Santa.   Of course there are some bumps along the way, such as the attitude of the guy in the story, but it works out well in the end.