George and the Christmas Star

Ever since I was young I have seen this on numerous occasions and I can't say what it is, but it is that type of special you just don't forget.

It's to bad that it is not aired anymore here in Canada. Also it's to bad that it hasn't received a proper DVD or Blu-Ray release (the artwork is very detailed, so I think a 1080p scan of the negative would really bring out a lot more detail than what you can currently see in the current composite video), as the release I have from DigiView is a poor transfer from a VHS tape.

As far as story gets, it really stretches credibility---think of this as the Canadian version of a Looney Tunes cartoon, except that it's one of those one-off cartoons. The Paul Anka songs really go great with this cartoon, and while they are not Christmas songs, they still add to the atmosphere.

Anyway, this special deserves to be up there with "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rankin/Bass' Frosty The Snowman" and Hanna-Barberra's "The Nativity". And for Canadian cartoons, it's right up there with "The Log Driver's Waltz".

10 out of 10. Go check it out this Christmas!

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST

The special opens with a man named George, who lives alone with his pet cat, finishing up the decorations on his Christmas tree by putting up a paper star. However, when he looks at the result, he finds it disappointing and tries several odd alternatives before looking out the window. He sees the Star of Bethlehem shining in the sky outside and decides that it would make the perfect topper for his Christmas tree.

This is not your ordinary Christmas special. It is very different. Give a try

Before I comment on how awful this 'thing' is, I'll just give you a brief rundown of the plot. A boy/human/man creature (that would be George) decides that his Xmas tree is rather bland and decides that THE actual Xmas star will look good perched on the top. So he heads off to space in a rocket, which he just-so-happened to own, and meets a robot and some space pirates. He also meets Santa, who is buzzing through space, with a log cabin on his sleigh, and is able to survive in the vacuum minus a helmet when everyone else needs one.

What? Seriously...what??? The animation of this tripe is atrocious, even by 1985 standards. Not even CITV would have accepted quality this low when desperate to fill up the schedule. But the worst thing about it, by far, is the narrator and voice of George. He speaks with an emotionless Irish/Scandanavian accent that seems like it's read phonetically off cue-cards with absolutely no understanding of the words themselves.

Total garbage. Let it fall into obscurity where it belongs.

Abosulutley wonderful. If you want something different than the usual Christmas fluff check this out. Love the experimental Canadian animation and ridiculous story line. Just accept it. It's meant to be silly escapism. One of the better Sci-Fi Christmas specials. I loved it. It's fun. Odd to hear Paul Anka do the music as well. This VHS will get played each Christmas for sure :) I wanted to keep my review simple but they say that I need to add more lines, so here's another. And another. And another. Another line is about to come up right about now. Here it is. Anyway I'll definitely be sharing this film with friends. Looks like I need one more line. Here is line number 10. See ya folks!

If your a Paul Anka fan... two songs written and performed by music legend. Check out the video for "Anyone Can Reach a Star," a song by Paul Anka from George and the Christmas Star that was never released as a single or on any album