Hump Day Movie: Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Special

© Henstooth Video

For me, a child growing up in the 1980s, the Claymation Christmas Special made far more of an impact than the 1960s stop motion Rudolph and Frosty movies did. The Raisins and their friends were funny, they were unusual, and they were "modern."

Watching them today, the only thing that seems really dated to me is the sophistication of the claymation work. The California Raisins commercials were HUGE when I was little. Of course, I lived in California, but they made TOYS out of them. Those were some of the first toys *I* could ever remember being made from commercials. And they were raisins!  The Will Vinton Christmas Special took that stop-motion technique even further, using unusual characters to share a wide variety of carols.  The hosts are dinosaurs. The Carol of the Bells is done with goofy bells hitting themselves. It's silly, innocent, and still one of my favorite memories of the holidays as a child.

You can still find it on DVD, but I have yet to see this show in-store anywhere. Amazon has it for $20.

There are clips available on Youtube. I love We Three Kings . The shoes and mustaches on the camels kill me.

What's your favorite childhood holiday movie? Have you seen this one?