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Christmas Is is an animated Christmas special produced for Concordia Publishing House and Lutheran Television by the Hollywood-based E.M.C. Corporation, in cooperation with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the Lutheran Layman's League and Concordia.

This special has aired only in syndication since its premiere in 1970. The special is the first of four animated features centered around a boy named Benji and his pet sheepdog Waldo. The two were later seen in The City That Forgot About Christmas and Easter Is (both in 1974), and a Bicentennial special called Freedom Is (1976).

The music in this special, including the theme song, was composed by Jimmie Haskell, who was known for arranging music for numerous films and TV shows as well as many popular artists including Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, Chicago and Bobbie Gentry.

Synopsis

Benji and his classmates are at school doing their final rehearsal for a Christmas play about the Nativity that evening, but all is chaos as one student can't get her lines down while another student is being belligerent. Miss Baxter, the teacher directing the play, decides that they all need to go home and get some rest before they come back later to perform, and she has all the cast group together to sing their song one more time- the theme song for the special, Christmas Is.

The students are preparing to head home when Benji wonders aloud, "Why do I have to be a stupid shepherd?" Miss Baxter tries to reassure him that he makes a very good 2nd shepherd while Benji's friend Tommy admits he loves playing 1st shepherd, and makes the observation that "after all the years of being a shepherd [Benji] still doesn't get the message". Tommy's words don't help, and Benji walks the rest of the way home alone, but he is accosted by another friend, a boy named Jimmy from another school who brags about playing an elf in their upcoming play about Santa Claus, but Benji, now jealous as well as dispirited, goes home where his dog Waldo is waiting for him.

Once at home, Benji continues his tirade, complaining about being 2nd shepherd for the second year in a row. Benji sits down and begins reading a story book about the first Christmas; he barely mentions that the story took place in a town called Bethlehem before he seemingly drifts off into a dream, floating on a cloud toward Bethlehem. Benji continues the story about how the king at the time, Caesar Augustus, decided that there needed to be a census taken, and every resident in the kingdom had to travel to their respective hometowns in order to be counted. The town of Bethlehem is greatly overcrowded by migrants and all of the inns are full, leaving many people to camp out on the streets until the Roman soldiers order them to disperse or be arrested. Waldo is angered by the leader and tries futilely to attack him, but the unaffected centurion is about to arrest the boy and his dog when he is distracted by an accident nearby, and Benji and Waldo escape by going into one of the inns. The innkeeper is exhausted from having to serve irate and impatient customers, especially the haughty soldiers, and Benji offers to help him out in exchange for a place to sleep, to which the innkeeper agrees.

As Benji helps out, he overhears some of the dialogue from the customers; some of them are talking about the census, while the soldiers are boasting about their power and authority over the residents, and most intriguing, others are discussing their need and desire for the Messiah to come. The innkeeper gets a knock at his door from another prospective customer whose wife is about to give birth. The innkeeper asserts that he has no rooms available, but when the man says they'll take whatever they can get, the innkeeper offers them the stable behind the inn, which they accept. Benji smiles as he recognizes the couple as Joseph and his wife Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus.

That night, Benji, Waldo, the innkeeper and others are awakened by a bright light in the sky. There is a commotion at the stable as a group of shepherds arrive and all kneel in reverence to the newborn baby Mary and Joseph now have. When the innkeeper asks what's going on, one of the shepherds reveals that an angel visited them in the fields and told them about the baby in the stable, and that He is the Messiah of the prophecy. The innkeeper and the others are all skeptical, but they have a change of heart when another shepherd tells them that they would "find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger". After Benji talks to one of the shepherds he begins to realize that if it weren't for them, nobody would know who the baby was. Now with a better understanding of his own role in the story, Benji is much more eager to be 2nd Shepherd, and invites Jimmy to come and see the play, which is a rousing success.

Voice cast

Voice actor/actress Character
Hans Conreid Innkeeper
Don Messick Waldo
Joseph
Richard Sacino Benji
Victor Perrin
Charles Perrin
Jerry Hausner
David Joyce
Coleen Colins Mary
Iona Morris
June Foray
Elayne Robbins

See also

External links

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