Changes: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (Rankin/Bass)

Revision as of 19:11, 29 December 2019

“	You don't know as much as you think because you only think with your head. So you have a lot of trouble believing in things you can't see or touch.	”
— Father Mouse, attempting to wise up his know-it-all son Albert

’Twas the Night Before Christmas is an animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass and based on the famous 1823 poem that opens with this line. It originally aired on CBS on December 8, 1974.

Synopsis

SPOILER: Plot details or story follow.

Twasthenight9 — The Junctionville Town Hall.

The special is set in the fictional town of Junctionville, New York, around the turn of the 20th century. Santa Claus is offended by an anonymous letter printed in the town's newspaper (and signed "all of us") claiming that he doesn't exist. In response, he returns the entire town's letters to him unopened. Upon reading the anonymous letter in the newspaper, Father Mouse (voiced by George Gobel) — a mouse assistant to the human clockmaker Joshua Trundle (voiced by Joel Grey, the credited narrator) — immediately suspects that his brainy son, Albert, is its author. Albert (voiced by Tammy Grimes) confirms his suspicions, repeating the letter verbatim to him.

Father Mouse and the Trundle family devise a plan to appease Santa by building a singing clock tower for him, built with a special recording to play a song to coax him not to bypass Junctionville on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, Albert enters it to explore it without permission and inadvertently breaks it, seriously damaging Joshua's professional reputation. Furthermore, the mayor (voiced by John McGiver), publicly embarrassed at the clock tower's failure, refuses to give Joshua access to it for repairs.

Twasthenight12 — Santa Claus as he appears in the special.

Confessing his mistake, Albert volunteers to repair the clock tower himself and Father Mouse tells Joshua of the situation before waiting at his bed with worry on Christmas Eve. Although Albert does not complete his task until about one minute after the midnight deadline, the clock tower plays its song within earshot of Santa which convinces him to turn around and come to Junctionville after all. The special ends amid an animated telling of the eponymous poem, set to Santa leaving gifts at the Trundle home, performing the actions stated in the poem.

Spoilers end here.

Songs

When aired on ABC Family or other television networks, "Give Your Heart a Try" was often cut. From 2011 onward, however, it was reinstated in its entirety.

Soundtrack

1367 front 600 — The special's soundtrack adaptation.

A soundtrack album was released on Disneyland Records DQ-1367 in 1976, featuring the special's complete soundtrack.

Trivia

Junctionville, New York is a fictional town meant to honor the original poem's author, Clement Moore, who was born in New York. It is apparently a seaside town, as one little boy is shown sitting on a sea stack throwing a drawing of Santa into the ocean. Its maritime nature may have been based on Newport, Rhode Island, where Clement Moore died.

Broadcast history

From the 1990s through 2017, the special was aired annually in the 25 Days of Christmas on Freeform and its predecessors. As of 2019, it currently airs annually on AMC's Best Christmas Ever block.

Availability

After acquiring the home video rights to the post-1973 Rankin/Bass specials, Warner Home Video released the special on VHS in 1993. It was later made available on Warner's first DVD release of Frosty's Winter Wonderland in 2004. Warner Home Video later gave the special its own Remastered Deluxe Edition DVD in 2010, and followed it up with a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack release the following year.

Cast

Voice actor/actress	Character
George Gobel	Father Mouse
Joel Grey	Joshua Trundle
Tammy Grimes	Albert Mouse
John McGiver	Mayor
Patricia Bright	unknown
Scott Firestone	unknown
Bob McFadden	unknown
Allen Swift	unknown
Christine Winter	unknown

Gallery

External links

’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Internet Movie Database
’Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Big Cartoon DataBase

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed
content from Wikipedia (view authors).

Rankin/Bass

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer • Cricket on the Hearth • The Little Drummer Boy • Frosty the Snowman • Santa Claus is Comin' to Town • "A Christmas Tree" • 'Twas the Night Before Christmas • The Year Without a Santa Claus • The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow • Frosty's Winter Wonderland • Rudolph's Shiny New Year • The Little Drummer Boy, Book II • Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey • The Stingiest Man in Town • Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July • Jack Frost • Pinocchio's Christmas • The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus • Santa, Baby!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Italic title|''’Twas the Night Before Christmas'' (Rankin/Bass)}}
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:''’Twas the Night Before Christmas'' (Rankin/Bass)}}<!-- Do NOT add an extra paragraph space after this template.-->
+{{Title
-{{title|image=Title-nightbefore-rankin.jpg|director=[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]]<br />[[Jules Bass]]|writer=Jerome Coopersmith<br />from the poem by {{w|Clement Moore}}|release=December 8, 1974|runtime=25 minutes|available=VHS<br />DVD<br />[http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=399330808&s=143441 iTunes]<br />Blu-ray<br />[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D3OIAS/ Amazon Instant Video]}}
+|image=Title-nightbefore-rankin.jpg
-'''''’Twas the Night Before Christmas''''' is an animated [[Christmas]] television special produced by [[Rankin/Bass]] and based loosely on [[A Visit from St. Nicholas|the famous 1823 poem that opens with this line]]. It originally aired on {{w|CBS}} on December 8, 1974.
+|director=[[Rankin/Bass|Arthur Rankin, Jr.<br>Jules Bass]]
+|writer=Jerome Coopersmith<br>{{W|Clement Moore}} {{s|(poem)}}
+|release=December 8, 1974
+|runtime=25 minutes
+|available=VHS<br>DVD<br>Blu-ray<br>[http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=399330808&s=143441 Apple TV]<br>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D3OIAS/ Amazon Video]}}
+{{Quote|You don't know as much as you think because you only think with your head. So you have a lot of trouble believing in things you can't see or touch.|Father Mouse, attempting to wise up his know-it-all son Albert}}
+'''''’Twas the Night Before Christmas''''' is an animated [[Christmas]] television special produced by [[Rankin/Bass]] and based on [[A Visit from St. Nicholas|the famous 1823 poem that opens with this line]]. It originally aired on {{w|CBS}} on December 8, 1974.
 ==Synopsis==
 {{spoiler}}
-[[File:Twasthenight9.gif|thumb|250px|The Junctionville Town Hall]]
+[[File:Twasthenight9.gif|thumb|250px|The Junctionville Town Hall.]]
-The special is set in the fictional town of Junctionville, New York, around the turn of the 20th century. [[Santa Claus]] is offended by an anonymous letter printed in the town's newspaper (and signed "all of us") claiming that he doesn't exist. In response, he returns the entire town's letters to him unopened. Upon reading the anonymous letter in the newspaper, Father Mouse (voiced by {{w|George Gobel}}) — a mouse assistant to the human clockmaker Joshua Trundle (voiced by {{w|Joel Grey}}, the credited narrator) — immediately suspects that his brainy son, Albert, is its author. Albert (voiced by {{w|Tammy Grimes}}) confirms his suspicions, repeating the letter verbatim to him.
+The special is set in the fictional town of Junctionville, New York, around the turn of the 20th century. [[Santa Claus]] is offended by an anonymous letter printed in the town's newspaper (and signed "all of us") claiming that he doesn't exist. In response, he returns the entire town's letters to him unopened. Upon reading the anonymous letter in the newspaper, Father Mouse (voiced by {{W|George Gobel}}) — a mouse assistant to the human clockmaker Joshua Trundle (voiced by {{W|Joel Grey}}, the credited narrator) — immediately suspects that his brainy son, [[Albert Mouse|Albert]], is its author. Albert (voiced by {{W|Tammy Grimes}}) confirms his suspicions, repeating the letter verbatim to him.
-Father Mouse and the Trundle family devise a plan to appease Santa by building a singing clock tower for him, built with a special recording to play a song to coax him not to bypass Junctionville on [[Christmas Eve]]. Unfortunately, Albert enters it to explore it without permission and inadvertently breaks it, seriously damaging Joshua's professional reputation. Furthermore, the mayor (voiced by {{w|John McGiver}}), publicly embarrassed at the clock tower's failure, refuses to give Joshua access to it for repairs.
+Father Mouse and the Trundle family devise a plan to appease Santa by building a singing clock tower for him, built with a special recording to play a song to coax him not to bypass Junctionville on [[Christmas Eve]]. Unfortunately, Albert enters it to explore it without permission and inadvertently breaks it, seriously damaging Joshua's professional reputation. Furthermore, the mayor (voiced by {{W|John McGiver}}), publicly embarrassed at the clock tower's failure, refuses to give Joshua access to it for repairs.
-[[File:Twasthenight12.gif|thumb|250px|Santa Claus as he appears in the special]]
+[[File:Twasthenight12.gif|thumb|250px|Santa Claus as he appears in the special.]]
-[[File:Twas-the-night-before-xmas.jpg|thumb|250px]]
 Confessing his mistake, Albert volunteers to repair the clock tower himself and Father Mouse tells Joshua of the situation before waiting at his bed with worry on Christmas Eve. Although Albert does not complete his task until about one minute after the midnight deadline, the clock tower plays its song within earshot of Santa which convinces him to turn around and come to Junctionville after all. The special ends amid an animated telling of the eponymous poem, set to Santa leaving gifts at the Trundle home, performing the actions stated in the poem.
@@ Line 21: / Line 27: @@
 *"[[Even a Miracle Needs a Hand]]"
-When aired on {{w|ABC Family}} or other television networks, "Give Your Heart a Try" is often cut. Starting in 2011, however, it was reinstated in its entirety.
+When aired on {{w|Freeform (TV channel)|ABC Family}} or other television networks, "Give Your Heart a Try" was often cut. From 2011 onward, however, it was reinstated in its entirety.
 ===Soundtrack===
-[[File:1367_front_600.jpg|thumb|250px|The special's soundtrack adaptation]]
+[[File:1367 front 600.jpg|thumb|250px|The special's soundtrack adaptation.]]
 A soundtrack album was released on Disneyland Records DQ-1367 in 1976, featuring the special's complete soundtrack.
 ==Trivia==
-*Junctionville, New York is a fictional town meant to honor author Clement Moore, who was born in New York. It is apparently a seaside town, as one little boy is shown sitting on a sea stack throwing a drawing of Santa into the ocean. Its maritime nature may have been based on Newport, Rhode Island, where Clement Moore died.
+*Junctionville, {{W|New York}} is a fictional town meant to honor the original poem's author, {{W|Clement Moore}}, who was born in New York. It is apparently a seaside town, as one little boy is shown sitting on a sea stack throwing a drawing of Santa into the ocean. Its maritime nature may have been based on Newport, {{W|Rhode Island}}, where Clement Moore died.
+==Broadcast history==
+From the 1990s through 2017, the special was aired annually in the [[25 Days of Christmas]] on {{w|Freeform (TV channel)|Freeform}} and its predecessors. As of 2019, it currently airs annually on {{W|AMC (channel)|AMC}}'s [[Best Christmas Ever]] block.
 ==Availability==
-After acquiring the home video rights to the post-1973 Rankin/Bass specials, {{w|Warner Home Video}} released the special on VHS in 1993. It was later made available on Warner's first DVD release of ''[[Frosty's Winter Wonderland]]'' in 2004. Warner Home Video later gave it its own Remastered Deluxe Edition DVD in 2010. A Blu-ray of it was released the following year.
+After acquiring the home video rights to the post-1973 Rankin/Bass specials, {{w|Warner Home Video}} released the special on VHS in 1993. It was later made available on Warner's first DVD release of ''[[Frosty's Winter Wonderland]]'' in 2004. Warner Home Video later gave the special its own Remastered Deluxe Edition DVD in 2010, and followed it up with a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack release the following year.
-<gallery widths="200" bordersize="none" captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center" hideaddbutton="true">
+<gallery bordercolor="transparent" spacing="small" widths="200">
-TwasTheNight VHS.jpg|{{Gallery note|VHS|Warner Home Video<br />December 21, 1993}}
+TwasTheNight VHS.jpg|{{GNH|VHS|Warner Home Video<br>December 21, 1993}}
-TwasTheNight DVD.jpg|{{Gallery note|DVD|Warner Home Video<br />October 5, 2010}}
+Classicchristmasfavorites.jpg|{{GNH|''Classic Christmas Favorites'' DVD|Warner Home Video<br>October 7, 2008}}
-TwasTheNight Bluray.jpg|{{Gallery note|Blu-ray|Warner Home Video<br />October 4, 2011}}
+TwasTheNight DVD.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Warner Home Video<br>October 5, 2010}}
+TwasTheNight Bluray.jpg|{{GNH|Blu-ray/DVD combo pack|Warner Home Video<br>October 4, 2011<br>DVD is the same as the 2010 DVD-only release.}}
 </gallery>
 ==Cast==
-{| class="wikitable" border="1"
+{|class="wikitable"
-! Voice actor !! Character
+!Voice actor/actress !! Character
 |-
+|{{w|George Gobel}} || [[Father Mouse]]
-| Patricia Bright || voice
 |-
+|{{w|Joel Grey}} || [[Joshua Trundle]]
-| Scott Firestone || voice
 |-
-| {{w|George Gobel}} || Father Mouse
+|{{w|Tammy Grimes}} || [[Albert Mouse]]
 |-
-| {{w|Joel Grey}} || Joshua Trundle
+|{{w|John McGiver}} ||  Mayor
 |-
+|Patricia Bright || ''unknown''
-| {{w|Tammy Grimes}} || Albert
 |-
+|Scott Firestone || ''unknown''
-| {{w|Bob McFadden}} || voice
 |-
-| {{w|John McGiver}} || Mayor
+|{{w|Bob McFadden}} || ''unknown''
 |-
-| {{w|Allen Swift}} || voice
+|{{w|Allen Swift}} || ''unknown''
 |-
-| Christine Winter || voice
+|Christine Winter || ''unknown''
 |}
 ==Gallery==
-<gallery widths="125" captionalign="center">
+<gallery spacing="small" widths="200">
+.jpg
-Trundles_Watching_Santa.jpg
+twasthenightbeforechristmas-01.jpg
+twasthenightbeforechristmas-02.jpg
+f6d9c medium.jpeg
+twasblu03.jpg
+twasaud.jpg
+twasblu04.jpg
+Albert_Curious.jpg
+twasthenightbeforechristmas-08.jpg
+twasblu05.jpg
+tumblr inline mfkf2zcJJI1qjqi2i.jpg
+.jpg
+.jpg
+twasthenightbeforechristmas-04.jpg
+Santa's_Reindeer.jpg
+Twas-the-night-before-xmas.jpg
+.jpg
+Trundles Watching Santa.jpg
 </gallery>
 ==External links==
-*{{imdb title|0208654|'Twas the Night Before Christmas}}
+*{{imdb title|0208654|’Twas the Night Before Christmas}}
-*{{Bcdb title|54878|'Twas the Night Before Christmas}}
+*{{Bcdb title|54878|’Twas the Night Before Christmas}}
-{{wikipedia}}
+{{Wikipedia}}
-{{rankinbass}}
+{{Rankinbass}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Twas the Night Before Christmas}}
 [[Category:Specials]]
 [[Category:Rankin/Bass]]
 [[Category:Originally aired on CBS]]
-[[Category:Warner Home Video]]
 [[Category:1974 releases]]
 [[Category:Santa Claus filmography]]
 [[Category:Musicals]]
+[[Category:Films and specials based on books]]
+[[Category:Warner Home Entertainment]]