'Twas the Night Before Christmas

I agree that this is a classic. I was born shortly before this cartoon was made, so it was a big part of my Christmas ritual growing up. The morale is great ("even a miracle needs a hand") and the songs are GOOD. They crept in my head at an early age and stayed there 'til this day. I see a lot of my adolescent, atheist, Ivy League self in the defiant Albert, who derides Santa as a myth, but also in Mr. Trundle, who works devotedly for something he believes in. I'm not talking literals here, people, but there's something nice about believing in something greater than yourself, or your known quantities.

I have always loved animation and Christmas specials. Rankin/Bass had already done some of my absolute favourites like Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, and I remembered Twas the Night Before Christmas from childhood. So I thought to myself, why not revisit it?

I am so glad I did. It really is a treasure. I personally would loved for it to be a tad longer, however the story still charms and the message still resonates. The animation perhaps is not the best I've seen from Rankin/Bass but it does have a certain warmth to it.

I just love the music. All the Rankin/Bass specials have great music, and Twas the Night Before Christmas is no exception. The incidental music sparkles and of the songs Even a Miracle needs a hand makes me sing along and I have to say I forgot how emotional Give your heart a try was.

Twas the Night Before Christmas has very good writing also, with the reciting of the poem Twas the Night Before Christmas bringing me back to my mum reading it at Christmas Eve to help us sleep and several parts coming across as touching. You really relate to the characters as well, even Albert, who wouldn't love talking mice though? The voice acting is very dynamic, with Joel Grey especially impressive. In conclusion, a Christmas treasure that brought all those memories back. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Cynical mouse Albert writes an insulting letter to Santa, which ticks Santa off. Afraid Santa will pass them up this year, the town of Junctionville enlists clockmaker Joshua Trundle to build a clock that will play a special song for Santa on Christmas Eve. But Albert, curious about how the clock works, breaks it. Now there will be no Christmas for Junctionville unless Albert can somehow fix the mess he created.

Charming Rankin-Bass Christmas special. This one has more traditional animation, like Frosty, instead of the stop-motion animation we all know & love from other specials. But it's still very good animation with wonderfully expressive faces on the humans and the mice. It's full of beautiful sentiment, lovely music, and great voicework. Joel Grey and Tammy Grimes were especially memorable. I remember as a little kid being fascinated with the way Albert the mouse spoke. This was one of the constants from my childhood Christmases and holds a special place in my heart.

This may quite possibly be the best Christmas special out there. It is just like Braveheart, except minus the warriors and plus Christmas, Mice and a Clock Maker. My sister and I are in our mid-twenties and we watch this movie multiple times a year. Who doesn't love singing mice? It is a heartfelt tale that will encourage children of all ages to believe in Santa. Claymation is great, but few things are as Christmas-y as animated mice and humans co-habituating. You will laugh, you will cry, you will eat all three flavors out of the holiday popcorn tub that your mom bought you. Stay up late to catch it, or hunt online to buy it, it is a must have for every Holiday movie collection.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas has always been one of my favorites. The story about a clockmaker who creates a singing clock to help convince Santa that people still believe in him might seem a little odd now, but the message is still clear. The songs are fantastic in this special. "Even a Miracle Needs a Hand" is one that I am singing year-round. As a kid, I always looked forward to watching this every Christmas. It wasn't until recently that I found it on VHS.

South Park did a parody of this show a few years ago in an episode of "A Crappy Christmas." I'm sure that 90% of the South Park audience didn't even get the parody, and that's a real shame.

'Twas the Night before Christmas stands tall right along with all of the other Rankin/Bass holiday classics.