December in the 80's was a magical time of year to be a kid. Not only did we get all the fantastic toys for Christmas, but every year, throughout the holiday season, the television would segue from regularly scheduled programing to air animated holiday specials. They'd come on just late enough that it could be a family event, but early enough that we'd get to enjoy it just before bedtime.
Each half hour block was special. Perfectly crafted with just the right number of advertisements to remind us of all the toys on store shelves, the treats to be had from local restaurants and grocery stores, and all other manners of consumption in between. But at the heart of it was that cartoon which would come out of hiding just once a year, fill your eyes with wonder, bringing smiles, laughter, action, adventure, drama, but at the root of it, a classic holiday message of peace, giving, love, and joy.
It's become my own personal tradition each year to pull a holiday special off the DVD shelf each day to enjoy. It's a ritual which not only has become my way of counting down the twenty-four days of December leading up to my favorite holiday, but my way of reminding myself that no matter what's happening in the world, my day-to-day grind of work, life, health, trials, and tribulations, that for a moment, all of that can be put a side, and I can simply become a kid again, even if it's just at heart.
While I wish I could share the actual special with all of you, be it by inviting you all to my home to join me in front of the fireplace with a bowl of popcorn, sadly, that's just not feasible. However, between sites such as Youtube, Arhcive.org, Dailymotion, and Vimeo, you can probably find them to watch. Of course, for those of you so bold, you could also pick them up on DVD yourself, something I would highly recommend. If not for yourself, for your children.
During Christmas Eve, Pac-Man, along with his family are having fun in the snow, but end up having to fight off and eat the Ghost Monsters. When they are defeated, the ghosts' eyes come across Santa Claus in his sleigh, scaring his reindeer and making him crash.
Pac-Man and his friends take Santa to his house for shelter, where he explains to them, who are unfamiliar with Christmas, what it is and that he needs to get back to delivering gifts. Pac-Man volunteers to search for Santa's lost toys along with his dog Chomp-Chomp, while his friends rebuild Santa's sleigh.
As they search for the gifts, Pac-Man and Chomp-Chomp find out that the Ghost Monsters have found them. The ghosts then chase and injure Pac-Man, while Chomp-Chomp takes the sack of toys. The two make it back to Pac-Man's house and return the gifts, and the sleigh has been fixed. Santa says it is too late to save Christmas, but Pac-Man gets an idea that might work.
Pac-Man and the gang drive somewhere, but then get cornered by the Ghost Monsters. Pac-Man attempts to reason with them, telling them how cheerful and warm Christmas is, and they, touched by this, let them pass. The group arrive in the Power Pellet Forest, and Santa's reindeer eat the Power Pellets, making them fly again. When Pac-Man and his friends and family arrive back in his house, they realize there is a Christmas tree and presents left inside, and celebrate Christmas along with the Ghost Monsters (who came inside attempting to attack them, only to change their minds when Pac-Man gives them presents).
There are a select few cartoons that when I see them that they mentally transport me back to a specific place and time from my childhood. For Hanna-Barbera's Pac-Man animated series, it takes me back to a time of catching it on the old rabbit ears when it aired as reruns on the USA Network. For you kids out there, that was back when you had to really work for your television, turning dials while moving antenna back and forth, desperately trying to get the clearest picture possible. There were times when we had to settle for semi-snowy pictures, with a hint of static sound in the background, and we were happy to do so if it meant we got to see a cartoon or two. As fond as those memories are, thank goodness for DVD home video releases.
Wanting to get a little more holiday joy, I pulled out a couple more DVD's and enjoyed some random Christmas themed episodes. Today's picks were:
- Tex's Terrible Night from Bravestarr
- Christmas Cats for Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats
- Claymation Christmas Celebration featuring the California Raisins
- A Cleveland Brown Christmas from the Cleveland Brown Show
- Christmas Quakers from Count Duckula
- Dexter Vs. Santa from Dexter's Laboratory
- A Dickens of A Christmas from the Dukes
- Fa-La-La-La-Ed, and Jingle Jingle Jingle from Ed, Edd n Eddy
- Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, the 1970 Rankin / Bass classic
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