The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold

I laughed, I cried. If you are looking for a heartfelt cinematic experience this is the film for you. The plot? Complex. The music? Exhilarating. Dinty? Extremely clever. Its a Christmas classic for a reason. Its subtle portrayal of the nuances of Irish culture are also excellent and not over done in the slightest. No spoilers of course, but let me just that I was completely fooled by the beautiful Colleen and feel utterly betrayed. The only downside to this movie is that the accents barely sounded Irish! Maybe tell your voice actors to step it up a little. I can overlook the bland accents though in light of all the excellent features.

Blarney! Watch out for the harpies and banshees, and hold on to any gold you have. Here is a wonderful holiday story which takes place in the Emerald Isles. Even though the song, "Christmas in Killarney," was performed in this Rankin-Bass holiday special, too bad Bing Crosby wouldn't heard singing it. My favorite song, next to "Christmas in Killarney," would have to be the one about "The Golden Gold of Ireland." So put on your best pair of Killakillarney shoes and enjoy this Irish tale of Yule tide warmth. Don't to forget to watch more great holiday specials from Rankin-Bass. One of wich I also recommend is Pinocchio's Christmas.

Simple cabin boy Dinty Doyle is sent by his captain to retrieve a pine tree for Christmas on an uncharted island. He discovers that it's populated by leprechauns. He's the first human on Tralee in two centuries. When he digs up the tree, he unleashes a banshee named Old Mag the Hag. She needs the leprechauns' gold before Christmas. After a storm, Dinty follows a rainbow to a cave of gold guarded by Blarney Kilakilarney.

This is another Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated Christmas special. It goes too far trying to connect Christmas with leprechauns. Who knows if this is some kind of Irish folklore but it doesn't connect. The stop-motion still has its charms but the plot is bland. It's more exposition than thrilling adventure. I wonder if somebody pulled leprechauns out of a hat.

I agree with many of the other reviews, if you're looking for something up to the quality of other Rankin bass classics this is not the special for you. However, as a lover of bad media, this short TV special has become something I watch every year. Firstly, it's only 25 minutes so it doesn't overstay its welcome. For one thing, the Christmas aspect of this special is completely tacked on and unnecessary. Secondly, the main character is an absolute idiot and causes every problem in this special and doesn't solve any of them. Third, the villain banshee is a whiny hag, who none of her plans work. I won't spoil the ending but it's also weird and entertaining. If you're looking for a so-bad-it's-good Christmas special... this is the best I've found.

I say this not because I dislike the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials- I actually love them- but because when people talk about the specials(on IMDb and off) The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold has often been described as their worst. While there is a few I still have to re-watch and while it is not as terrible as others have said, I do have to agree that generally The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold is a lesser effort of theirs. Of course it has its redeeming qualities. I do think the visuals, a mix of conventional animation and stop-motion puppetry, are terrific, with great detail and some good atmosphere. The music is not the most inspired of the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials there is(overall Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer has the best songs), but the scoring has some nice amounts of whimsy and the songs are memorable particularly Christmas in Killarney. Golden Gold of Ireland is also quite rousing. Art Carney does a wonderful job also as Blarney, joining the vast list of big Hollywood names filling the narrator roles for a Rankin/Bass Christmas special. Where The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold doesn't score so favourably is in the story. I do think the length was far too short to begin with, but as well as feeling rushed the whole time, the story does suffer from trying to cram in too much, under-developing what's there and from a lack of heart, feeling too mean-spirited sometimes. While I admired the animation, the camera shot quality on occasions doesn't give us enough time to breathe and really take in what we're seeing. The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold does have some of the least inspired writing of the specials, it lacks the poignancy of Little Drummer Boy, the charm of Frosty the Snowman and the wit of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, in short it just felt too bland and drab. The characters didn't engage me, the banshee is unbearably annoying and the leprechauns are characterised in a very stereotypical and potentially offensive way. Of the voice acting, only Carney really makes an impression, the others don't really distinguish themselves. Overall, didn't hate it but for Rankin/Bass an unfortunate disappointment. A fellow Rankin/Bass fan said that St Patricks Day and Christmas don't mix together and after seeing The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold I can see where he was coming from. 4/10 Bethany Cox