50 Fun Facts About Christmas Cartoon

In the 1964 stop-motion special, what does Hermey the elf dream of becoming instead of a toymaker?

He finally gets his wish and pulls every one of the Abominable Snow Monster's teeth, which is what makes the beast harmless.

Which folk singer voiced Sam the Snowman, narrator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)?

He also sang 'A Holly Jolly Christmas' for it, and the special has aired every year since 1964, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV special.

In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, what has prospector Yukon Cornelius spent his life seeking?

He tests every strike by licking his pickaxe, and the Abominable Snow Monster ends up as his reformed sidekick.

Who rules the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

He is a winged lion who flies around the world each night collecting unloved toys until homes can be found for them.

What does Yukon Cornelius nickname the Abominable Snow Monster in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

The original 1964 broadcast never showed Santa collecting the misfit toys; that scene was added after viewers wrote in to complain.

The jazz score for A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) was written and performed by which pianist's trio?

Along with 'Linus and Lucy', he wrote 'Christmas Time Is Here' and 'Skating' for the special, whose soundtrack was added to the National Recording Registry in 2012.

Whom did the producers of A Charlie Brown Christmas hire to voice the Peanuts gang, an unusual choice then?

Charles Schulz also refused to let CBS add a laugh track, and the special was made on a small budget in about half a year.

When Linus explains what Christmas is all about, which book of the Bible does he recite from?

He drops his security blanket as he speaks, a detail fans have pored over for decades.

What does Lucy tell Charlie Brown to go and buy for the play?

He ignores her and picks the only real tree on the lot, a tiny sapling that sheds needles when a single ornament is hung on it.

Which horror-film legend narrated and voiced the Grinch in the 1966 TV special?

The book's Grinch was drawn in black and white; the green skin was invented for television because director and author agreed nothing else looked right.

The uncredited bass singer of 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' was better known as which cereal mascot's voice?

Because his name was left off the credits, the song was misattributed for years to the special's narrator and to Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Which Looney Tunes director co-produced and directed the 1966 Grinch special?

He and Dr. Seuss had worked together before, on the Private Snafu training cartoons during World War II.

Which voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel played Cindy Lou Who in the 1966 Grinch special?

She went uncredited here and returned to Christmas cartoons as the little girl Karen in a snowman special a few years later.

By how many sizes does the Grinch's heart grow at the end of the story?

With his newly enlarged heart he saves the sleigh from tumbling off Mount Crumpit and returns everything to Whoville.

Which gravel-voiced entertainer narrates the 1969 special Frosty the Snowman?

Unlike the puppet-animated Rudolph, this special used traditional hand-drawn animation with character designs by Mad magazine's Paul Coker Jr.

What is the name of the magician's rabbit who steals the hat and befriends Frosty?

The rabbit was voiced by Paul Frees, who also played Santa and the traffic cop in the same special.

Frosty the Snowman's animation was outsourced to which Japanese studio, founded by Astro Boy's creator?

Osamu Tezuka's studio was busy at the time with its own TV series, but Rankin/Bass relied on Japanese animators for nearly all its output.

Which dancing legend narrates Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) as the mailman S.D. Kluger?

The special sets out to answer the questions children ask about Santa: why the red suit, why the chimney, why the stockings.

Which grouchy mayor outlaws all toys in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town?

He tripped over a toy duck on his front steps, which is what set off the ban in his gloomy town of Sombertown.

What does young Kris name the lost penguin he befriends in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town?

Kris was raised by the Kringles, a family of toy-making elves, after animals rescued him as a foundling on their doorstep.

Which Disney regular voiced the Winter Warlock in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town?

The Warlock's melted heart is what leads to the song 'Put One Foot in Front of the Other', and his last bit of magic makes the reindeer fly.

In The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Snow Miser and Heat Miser are the feuding sons of whom?

She forces the brothers to compromise so it can snow in Southtown, the small Southern town where the story unfolds.

Which Oscar-winning actress narrated The Year Without a Santa Claus as Mrs. Claus?

Santa himself has come down with a cold in early December and decided to skip his Christmas Eve run altogether.

Which two elves does Mrs. Claus send south for Christmas spirit in The Year Without a Santa Claus?

The story comes from a 1956 book by Phyllis McGinley, a poet who won a Pulitzer Prize five years later.

Mickey's Christmas Carol was released to theaters in 1983 in front of a re-issue of which Disney feature?

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short but lost to a claymation short called Sundae in New York.

The 1982 film The Snowman is based on a wordless picture book by which author-illustrator?

The film keeps the book's silence: apart from its one song, there is no dialogue at all.

Who sang 'Walking in the Air' in the original 1982 film The Snowman?

Aled Jones's cover came in 1985 and reached number five on the UK singles chart, which is why he is so often wrongly credited.

In the first Simpsons episode broadcast, a 1989 Christmas special, what job does Homer take?

The greyhound the family adopts, Santa's Little Helper, was a 99-to-1 long shot Homer bet on at the dog track.

'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' aired first, but where did it fall in production order?

It went out first because other early episodes had animation problems, which is why it looks more polished than the episodes that followed.

Who directed the 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Tim Burton wrote the original poem and produced, but Selick ran the shoot; he later directed Coraline.

Who provided Jack Skellington's singing voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Elfman also wrote every song and the score, while Chris Sarandon handled Jack's spoken lines.

Under which Disney-owned label was The Nightmare Before Christmas originally released?

Disney worried the film was too dark and scary for kids; it went on to become the first animated film nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar.

How many roles does Tom Hanks play in The Polar Express (2004)?

Motion capture let him play the Conductor, the Hobo, Santa, the Scrooge puppet, the boy's father and even the Hero Boy himself.

Which streaming service released the hand-drawn 2019 film Klaus?

It became the service's first animated feature nominated for an Academy Award and won the BAFTA for Best Animated Film.

Which Oscar-winning actor voices the reclusive toymaker Klaus in the 2019 film?

Jason Schwartzman plays the spoiled postman Jesper, and Rashida Jones voices Alva, a teacher who has given up and turned fishmonger.

The director of Klaus had earlier created which animated franchise from his original story 'Evil Me'?

Sergio Pablos was a Disney animator first, supervising Tantor the elephant in Tarzan and animating Hades in Hercules.

Arthur Christmas (2011) was made by Sony Pictures Animation with which British studio, known for Wallace & Gromit?

Bill Nighy voices Grandsanta, a 136-year-old former Santa who insists on flying the old sleigh, Evie.

What kind of animal is Olive, the title character of Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)?

The whole story springs from a mondegreen: hearing 'all of the other reindeer' as her own name.

In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode 'Christmas Who?', who first explains Christmas to SpongeBob?

The episode was also the first main-show appearance of the live-action Patchy the Pirate and his parrot Potty.

Who dresses up as Santa Claus to make it up to SpongeBob in 'Christmas Who?'

Guilt over a homemade gift gets the better of him, and he ends up handing out everything he owns to Bikini Bottom.

In 'Arnold's Christmas', Arnold tries to reunite Mr. Hyunh with a daughter he lost during which conflict?

Helga secretly gives up her prized Nancy Spumoni snow boots to persuade the records clerk to find Mai.

In Rugrats' 'The Santa Experience' (1992), where do the parents take the babies for Christmas?

Chuckie spends the episode terrified of Santa and trying to stop him from coming at all.

Which Oscar-winning actress narrated the 1968 stop-motion special The Little Drummer Boy?

The boy, Aaron, travels with a donkey named Samson, a lamb named Baba and a camel named Joshua.

What homemade gift does Odie make for Garfield in A Garfield Christmas Special (1987)?

Garfield's own gift is a bundle of old love letters he found in the barn, written to Grandma by her late husband.

Who is the villainous Cossack king in the 1979 Rankin/Bass special Jack Frost?

Buddy Hackett narrates as a groundhog, and Robert Morse voices Jack.

Which chipmunk pair are hiding in the tree Mickey and Pluto cut down in Pluto's Christmas Tree?

It ends with Donald and Minnie among the carolers at the window; the short was directed by Jack Hannah.

Who narrates the 1999 direct-to-video anthology Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas?

Its 2004 sequel, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, switched from hand-drawn animation to CGI.

Which animator, later famous for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, directed 1982's Ziggy's Gift?

Ziggy spends the special as a street-corner Santa collecting for the poor, dodging crooked Santas and a suspicious cop.

Rankin/Bass's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985) adapts a 1902 novel by which author?

The Wizard of Oz creator has Santa raised in the Forest of Burzee by a wood nymph named Necile.

Which animator made the first Rudolph cartoon in 1948, as a Montgomery Ward advertisement?

It came out a year before the famous song, so its credits originally played over an instrumental 'Silent Night'.