Muppet Babies, "My Muppet Valentine"

Happy Valentine's Day!

I come back from a much too long hiatus to bring you a Valentine's Day episode of the beloved 80s Saturday morning cartoon Muppet Babies. The Babies share with each other their ideas for a great Valentine's Day. Cute lil' hilarity ensues.

Enjoy! I hope you don't mind the first five minutes, which are ads for other Muppet-related videos. Maybe you'll want to seek them out!

Also, last year I was a guest on the Advent Calendar House podcast with host Mike Westfall and guest Joey O, discussing the Muppet Show pilot The Muppets Valentine's Show from 1974. You can listen to the podcast here.

Thanks!

Here Comes Garfield (1982)

Welcome back everyone! I hope your holiday season was a great one! Mine was good, if a bit rushed, with the late start and too many non-related activities getting in the way, but even a less than stellar holiday season is better than no season at all.

But enough of that; we have a whole new year ahead of us. New opportunities, new challenges, and new resolve to take life on. Let's do it!

My first new article of the year features someone who does just that--in his own lazy, selfish way. Today I present the TV special Here Comes Garfield, the first animated special for the famous fat cat. Debuting October 25, 1982, the special finds Garfield unwittingly getting Odie captured by the local dog catcher, leading Garfield to break him out and get him home. It's interesting to see him actually care about Odie, whom he usually tortures, showing his true affections for the slow-witted canine.

Although nearly forgotten now, this special paved the way for his other specials, most notably his beloved Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. It all started here.

Enjoy! Stay tuned all year long!

Night Court, "New Year's Leave"

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas Day or Hanukkah. We have one more holiday left in the season, and we celebrate it with an episode of the great sitcom Night Court.

In "New Year's Leave," the crew deal with an elderly man who escapes a hospital to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square in memory of his late wife, as well as a man dressed as the Baby New Year who claims to be the real thing.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Nutcracker Fantasy (1979)

Today's feature looks like a Rankin/Bass production, but it isn't (although it is obviously heavily inspired by them).

Nutcracker Fantasy is a Japanese-produced stop-motion animated film released in 1979 by the Japanese studio Sanrio. This adaptation is a loose one, but there are still nutcrackers, evil mice, swordplay, and the usual stuff you associate with the story. The Nutcracker has been adapted almost as much as A Christmas Carol has, and your mileage may vary regarding your interest in the story, but if you're a fan, this one is for you.

Enjoy!

The Pac-Man Christmas Album

The Pac-Man Christmas Album was released in 1982 by Kid Stuff Records, a children's record label that came and went in the 80s and was similar to Peter Pan Records. They did several Pac-Man related records including this Christmas one. 

I didn't have this record as a kid, but if I had, I would have loved it. I was deep into anything Pac-Man or Christmas, so put the two together and I was all in. I didn't listen to it until last week, and I have to say, even as a 45-year-old man, I enjoyed the record un-ironically. It's corny of course, but it's cute, earnest, and totally early 80s Christmas.

Plus, I really love the cover art.

Enjoy!