'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 6: Taking Flight

Taking Flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

This episode starts up a new part of the main story where the Voltron Paladins and their associates use their castle as a ship to help anyone in the galaxy who’s in need and eventually defeat the Galra Empire.  However, even with this new layer to the plot set up, doesn’t mean that everything we see leaves an impact on the ultimate goal.  At this time, the team is especially set on rescuing the people of the Balmera Hunk and Coran had visited in the last episode with Hunk especially thinking hard about saving Shay and her people.  However, during their mission, the team gets sidetracked by a pair of rebels on the run from Galra, Rolo and Nyma.  At first, they seem perfectly sympathetic on account of trying to escape a tyrannical empire like Galra, and Rolo even gives them vital information about Galra, should they be defeated, leaving the team perfectly fine with try and help them repair their ship.  At the same time, Hunk has the right idea of being wary of what the rebels say which makes for an interesting character moment coming from a large, light-hearted character like him.  However, most just write Hunk’s concerns off as wanting to save his “girlfriend” Shay, particularly from Lance.  Speaking of Lance, his cocky lady’s man ways really go too far here when he’s instantly smitten with Nyma.  It starts off as standard goggling over beautiful appearances, but things really get out of hand when he allows Nyma a ride in his Voltron lion.  While what Nyma says to him can be interpreted as easily impressed by what Lance shows her, it can also be seen as an obvious act, something Lance is idiotically not considering around someone he doesn’t even know.  Plus, going so far as to show her the workings of a component of the galaxy’s most powerful defense weapon is beyond too dangerous to let his guard down, especially since the castle was JUST attacked.  Sure enough, during their flight in the lion, which admittedly has its nice moments, Nyma ambushes Lance and she and Rolo capture his blue lion to turn it over to Galra for money.  Despite being fueled by idiocy, the following scene of the team rescuing Lance’s lion from Rolo and Nyma is a very exciting one that takes us through an asteroid field complete with awesome moments of Keith taking out their ship with his lion, and all for someone he has a rivalry with.  One thing to appreciate is that despite their actions, Rolo and Nyma still show their sympathetic sides for lamenting how they turned out because of living under Galra for so long and hope that the Paladins will defeat their emperor.  This story is overall fine for what it is despite frustrating moments, but it feels like a distraction placed in the middle of something big which we didn’t really need.  Apart from information about how the team can eventually defeat Galra and in-between scenes of Witch Haggar and her druids working on something called to Komar Experiment, foreshadowing Voltron’s impending ultimate threat, the whole episode really lacks in importance.  At least by itself, it’s a good watch with prominent moments. 8/10

The Ranking

1.      The Rise of Voltron

2.      The Fall of the Castle of Lions

3.      Return of the Gladiator

4.      Tears of the Balmera

5.      Some Assembly Required

6.      Taking Flight

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where after this detour, we finally "Return to the Balmera."

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 5: Tears of the Balmera

Tears of the Balmera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This episode is primarily a continuation of the previous one where some of our heroes are given shining moments in reclaiming their castle from Sendak.  From the title, you might think that the main focus would be on the two most light-hearted characters in the cast, Hunk and Coran, retrieving a crystal from a Balmera, a living creature that serves as a planet for smaller creatures.  There are some enjoyable moments from this part of the episode from the many ways Coran shows off his eccentricity, even amidst the dark aspects of Balmera the inhabitants teach them, and Hunk, who’s always prided on nervousness and looking for the easy way out in the past, showing concern for the Balerans and wanting to help them, and for good reasons.  They live in harmony taking what they need from Balmera while giving something to them in return, but things become complicated with it now owned by the Galra Empire.   Because of their problems, two Balmerans represent two believable reactions to Hunk and Coran’s presence.  One named Shay wants to help their cause believing they can give to the Balmera in ways no one has in a while and expressing hope for the future by possibly leaving with them, and another called Rax is loyal to his home and wants the outsiders to leave.  Rax even goes darker in his beliefs when he orders Hunk, Coran, and Shay, who helps them get their crystal behind Galra’s back, to be attacked even imprisoning Shay who allows Hunk and Coran to escape with their crystal.  Overall, this part has further implications of how hard Galra’s rule is on what they conquer, creativity with the concept of Balmeras, and bits of humor coming from the protagonists at the center, even if it seems to gloss over things at times such as with Coran apparently cracking his spine while lifting their crystal and act like it never happened in the next scene.  Surprisingly, this business with the Balmera doesn’t get the most focus.  That honor goes to Pidge who has to help Allura and the Paladins regain control of their castle while being hunted down from Sendak’s army.  In addition, we see more of her past such as the details of what she went through when her dad and brother got captured during their mission, how she got banned from flight school when using their computers to look up information on them during the flight, and her being unsociable with Lance and Hunk when they first met.  It’s always great to see the past of appealing characters, and it makes me wish we’d see more pasts from other main heroes besides her, Shiro, and Allura.  Regarding Pidge’s past, it allows her to move forward with her mission to stop Sendak and actually be a valued member of the team, just after wanting to leave it.  Watching her evade capture/death from the enemy brings out a lot of shining moments for her despite losing her drone, Rover, needing help from Allura’s mouse friends in the final takedown and hearing her closest companion, Shiro, get attacked as leverage to get her to surrender.  While the latter point loses its impact when we see her push on later without a scene of her making her choice in between, she still plays a significant role in helping the team reclaim the castle and defeating Sendak, and the episode ends with a heartwarming scene of her declaring that her loyalty belongs to the Voltron team.  It’s an engaging example of how facing one’s past can lead to great changes in the present.  While the story could have been tweaked with a few additional scenes and things can drag at times, there’s enough heart, creativity, and nice character-building moments to make me consider this a strong entry. 9/10

The Ranking

1.      The Rise of Voltron

2.      The Fall of the Castle of Lions

3.      Return of the Gladiator

4.      Tears of the Balmera

5.      Some Assembly Required

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Paladins enter the galaxy and stop to help seemingly common refugees as they start "Taking Flight."

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 4: The Fall of the Castle of Lions

Fall of the Castle of Lions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While all the episodes we’ve seen have always ended well for Voltron and its Paladins, this episode is where their quest to defend the universe starts showing its difficulties as the Galra Empire hits it hard.  Their impeding effect is especially felt when you consider that we open with a celebration the team has with their new allies, the Arusians.  Amidst the happy, light-hearted scenes at the party, we also see a lighter side to Allura as she gathers secrets about the Paladins from a race of mice who are also the remaining survivors of her home planet, including one she skirts around about Pidge, or Katie, being a girl.  However, it’s around here where things start getting heavy when Pidge reveals that she’s leaving the team to find her family.  As emotional as Pidge’s arc is, it’s concerning that she’s not considering the serious repercussions of this move.  Voltron needs all its Paladins to work, and without it the universe is doomed.  They do talk about this later on, but this move is too drastic to get behind.  Not only this, but other Paladins talk about wanting to go home to, which nicely reveals a vulnerable side to someone as full of himself as Lance who considers how far away he is from Earth.  Finally, the Galra Empire, led by Zarkon’s notorious commander, Sendak, initiates their attack which starts putting the odds against what seemed unstoppable.  First, they reprogram Pidge’s drone friend, Rover, to destroy the crystal that powers the Altean’s castle that holds the Voltron lions.  Then, they separate the team by knocking out Shiro and keeping him and Lance, who was wounded when the crystal was destroyed, hostage, and force Hunk to leave with Coran to find a new one, and power the castle up to keep Keith and Allura out.  They also plan to take the castle into orbit to keep the Voltron lions for themselves, but in a tense scene that cements that her loyalty is to the Paladins, Pidge finds a way to destroy the engine to prevent it from takeoff.  However, the episode ends with Sendak demanding her to be found, leaving the audience to guess what will become of her and the rest of the team for that matter.  Even if it’s an abrupt end to the episode in particular, you know that all this is a huge lead in to something bigger.  Voltron, the only hope for defense of evil, is now in danger of being stolen, and our heroes are separated.  After getting to know their personalities, including through the events here, it’s worth being concerned for their safety and hope they can find a way out of this.  While some characters may have head-scratching mindsets at times, this is the point where the care for them hits a high point. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1.      The Rise of Voltron

2.      The Fall of the Castle of Lions

3.      Return of the Gladiator

4.      Some Assembly Required

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of this episode's thrilling continuation which also serves as an addition to this show's lore, "Tears of the Balmera."

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator

Return of the Gladiator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to providing us with another major battle for Voltron to fight, we also get a lot of depth to the most compelling characters of the series so far.  Shiro and Pidge have been the only characters to have some sort of background to their personalities.  Shiro was held prisoner by Galra and is still in the process of recovering his memory, while Pidge is shown to be considerably desperate to find his family who were imprisoned with Shiro, even in the heat of battle.  These characters having the most background of the five Paladins makes the bond they share all the more compelling.  However, the story brings a major strain in the bond when they learn from the prisoners they saved from the Galra Empire ship back in the premiere why they refer to Shiro as “The Champion.”  While held prisoner, Shiro was forced to fight in gladiator battles with powerful monsters, and during the fights, he beat the most powerful monster of all.  However, when Pidge asks what all this has to do with his family, the prisoners reveal that Shiro injured Pidge’s brother in a fit of rage, which understandably traumatizes Pidge, making him question his trust in Shiro and become more determined to find out where his family is.  This whole sequence sets up an engaging dilemma where Pidge has doubts in his trust, and Shiro has to deal with the fact that he did something horrible in the past.  Their conflicts are cut short though when the Paladins have to team up to fight a Robeast, the creature sent by Zarkon and Haggar.  Even with the tensions risen by having to fight a beast who turns out to not be an easy win for Voltron, it’s great that Pidge and Shiro don’t let their emotional traumas cloud them from the battle at hand.  In fact, Shiro gets his own chance to shine when he points out ways to weaken the Robeast by equating it to the monster he faced in prison.  True, Keith is the one who finishes it off by cleverly plugging his Paladin bayard into his lion, but Shiro’s efforts still play a good role in the beast’s takedown.  In addition, the whole fight gets Shiro to remember that while he did hurt Pidge’s brother, it was for the noble cause of getting him out of fighting into another prison, and Pidge heartwarmingly understands the reasons for his actions.  We also learn that Shiro found out that Pidge is actually a girl named Katie which adds another later to his…or her…character and justifies her seeming feminine.  I do hope that we learn why Katie feels the need to pretend to be a boy in the future though.  The episode also introduces us the inhabitants of the Paladins' planet of residence, Arus.  Their scenes are cute in how they view Allura as the “lion-goddess” and show dedication to the beings they share their planet with, but they don’t seem too important to the plot, and it appears that they may just be used as tools in Zarkon’s next attack as a scene following the Robeast’s defeat shows.  Even with that, there’s still a lot to love in this episode with action, heart, and character development. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1.      The Rise of Voltron

2.      Return of the Gladiator

3.      Some Assembly Required

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Paladins face their first true challenge in "The Fall of the Castle of Lions."

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

 

'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 2: Some Assembley Required

Some Assembly Required

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all the major information about Voltron and the Paladins assigned to pilot it revealed in the premiere, we now start easing into more routine styles for our heroes.  At the same time, constant reminders of the Galra Empire promising to keep coming back to attack, backed by newly revealed information of how they’ve been conquering countless planets in the universe, almost being set on the Paladins’ home planet, Earth, remain a serious issue for the heroes to consider.  In the case of this issue, they’re put through constant vigorous training exercises to form Voltron so to be prepared during all future attacks from Zarkon and his armies.  The problem behind all their attempts is that while they have decent individual competence in the heat of battle, the Paladins don’t know how to work well as a team, which is revealed to be the necessary step to forming Voltron.  From this reveal, as well as the constant mentions of how the characters have issues working as a team in the previous episode, it’s clear that teamwork is going to set itself as major theme for the series.  One thing to appreciate about the lack of teamwork is how it’s presented.  At first, you’d think that it’s all because the characters can’t get along with each other leading to pointless incessant bickering.  Apart from Lance and Keith, their problems are mostly due to a lack of understanding on exactly how to do it.  Plus, some characters have deeper reasons for their lack of cooperation like Shiro still being traumatized by his time as a prisoner of the Galra Empire, and Pidge still wanting to find his family, and apparently his “girlfriend” as depicted by constant looks at a picture.  The training exercises themselves have an enjoyment factor to them with how they’re constructed like drones attacking the Paladins and each one falling down a hole when they're not protected, someone going through a maze where the only one watching him can see the walls that can give him a shock, and the use of equipment that visualizes the process of the Paladins clearing their mind.  Through it all though, we also see a new side to Princess Allura.  She has a major sense of urgency to get the team to focus more, making it so that the training courses match the intensity of what future encounters with Zarkon will bring.  As admirable as her desire to get the Paladins ready is, she can get overbearing with expecting so much from them this early on which don’t always come off as enjoyable.  Sure, her bossy attitude may lead the Paladins to finally work together when they stage a food fight against her, but that kind of brings unfortunate implications on promoting nasty behavior to solve your problems.  The team forming Voltron afterwards is still a great payoff though, making me expect all Voltron formations will be awesome visual spectacles.  I have to wonder though if this is truly the last of the Paladins’ teamwork issues.  Getting over them in one episode shouldn’t be that easy, but with a growing enemy threat shown through frequent scenes of Zarkon and his witch wife Haggar sending a mysterious creature to their location, we’ll soon see how good their teamwork really is.  Overall, despite some overbearing character moments, this is a solid follow-up to the premiere with new information on the workings of Voltron and the entertainment mined from learning how to form it. 9/10

The Ranking

1.      The Rise of Voltron

2.      Some Assembly Required

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where see exactly what was sent to fight the Paladins in "Return of the Gladiator."

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 11: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1 Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron

From the perspective of the ultimate first-time viewer, I’ll be covering the first season of one of the most popular animated series made for Netflix:

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Season 1)

Basic Premise

In today’s age of entertainment, it’s amazing to note the wide variety of ways to watch shows and movies.  Before, you only had what was playing at the local cinema to consider your options, including short films, newsreels, and even cartoons.  Then, with the rise of suburbia came the rise of television which provided entertainment for the majority of families.  For a long time, TV was the only way to introduce new series, meaning all audiences of certain programs had to make sure they were near their sets to stay updated with what was going on and would lose a lot if they missed it.  Things got better with the rise of physical media such as DVDs which would allow people to view all shows at their own pace, not just favorite recent ones, but also old shows they had never seen before.  Now, we’re in the age of digital streaming where one subscription could make all sorts of shows readily available without the need to put in a disc.  As someone who’s grown up with physical media, I’m not really used to digital streaming, but now that I got a subscription to the popular video site, Netflix, possibilities for more animated series reviews are endless.  Sites like Netflix even have a number of shows made specifically for there, including animated ones.  One of these Netflix-original series is going to be the subject of the coming series of posts; Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Since I’m new to Netflix, I’m going into this show completely blind with very little knowledge of what’s to come.  From what I can gather, it’s about these five guys who control parts of a giant robot and defend the galaxy.  I can easily see that it’s an interesting premise, and with the right execution, there could be a big grand story.  Plus, some of the creative forces behind the show were a part of the crew for the shows of the Avatar franchise and is a production of one of today’s biggest animation studios, Dreamworks, so the show could turn out epic.  However the show turns out, I’m still excited for my first viewing of an animated series made exclusively for Netflix, and how it turns out will all be documented in my first set of reviews on its 11-episode first season.  Special thanks goes to my friend on Facebook, Omar Choudhury for requesting this series for reviewing.

 

Now on with the reviews:

The Rise of Voltron

Kicking off the series with a 68-minute premiere, we get introduced to the main story and characters with a bang.  Everything is told with a big cinematic scope that introduces us to this vast science-fiction world.  Much of it comes from what we learn about Voltron, how it works, and what it was a part of which serve as creative additions to help the series stand out.  It’s a huge robot from the planet Altea used to defend the galaxy from the forces of evil composed by five smaller lion robots of different colors, each one representing a different personality trait.  The lions are also known to have been controlled by just the right person suited for them known as Paladins.  However, Altea was attacked by the Galra Empire led by the evil Emperor Zarkon and the King Alfor, commissioned the Voltron lions to be hidden for safety.  This background of the titular robot is shown to have a lot of layers to it revealed to us in the first episode, which makes it all the more compelling.  Aiding in Voltron’s appeal are the characters that we follow throughout the episode.  The five people selected to be the new Paladins for the Voltron lions all have distinct personalities that bounce off each other as well as identifiable flaws for them to overcome throughout the series.  We have the vain and cocky Lance, the nervous motion sickness-prone Hunk, the studious calculating Pidge, the temperamental Garrison dropout Keith, and the captured explorer who has the most knowledge of the Galra Empire out of the five, Shiro.  Even if their flaws can get overbearing at times, it’s acceptable since this is the first episode and they have plenty of time to develop.  There’s also Princess Allura and her humorous and eccentric royal advisor Coran, the sole survivors of Altea who awaken from hyper-sleep to help the Paladins, teach them about Voltron and their conflict with Galra.  Although Allura herself merely presents herself as a magical being who helps the heroes, the scene of her seeking console from the memories of her late father as well as how she has to deal with being the sole survivor of her planet show that she has some promise for a more realized character later on.  This is just one example of the genuine sense of emotion present here.  Other emotional moments include Shiro slowly learning more about who he used to be before getting captured on his Kerberos mission, Pidge attempting to save his family who were captured with Shiro despite the dangers, and Keith fighting through his tempers to bond with his assigned lion.  Each one of these moments help flesh out these characters and fill them with promise for the future.  Speaking of the future, when Voltron eventually forms in the heat of a siege and beats an invading Galra ship, it’s a well-constructed, epic moment after all that buildup, and the final mention on how the battle was just the beginning of what the Paladins have to do really anticipate you to see more of it, not to mention, if they can manage to successfully work as a team like the entire episode was pushing towards.  For its big grand scope with the story, distinctive characters, genuine emotion, and epic payoffs, this premiere is an effective start to the series letting you know that we’re in for an exciting animated experience. 9.5/10
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where training to form Voltron truly begins in "Some Assembly Required."

'Toon Reviews 10: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials Part 19: Santa, Baby! + Final Thoughts

Santa, Baby!

Told by Patti LaBelle

Original Airdate: December 17, 2001

Does not currently air on TV

DVD Out of Print

Available to watch in parts on YouTube as of 2017

Part 1:

In an interesting turn events, Rankin/Bass came together to create one more Christmas special, 16 years after their previous one.  Ultimately though, it would end up being their most unknown special of all. It’s never been re-aired after its premiere. No DVD releases are available nowadays and older ones are near impossible to find.  Above all, the only way to watch it without owning it is through a low-quality YouTube upload recorded from a camera in front of a TV screen.  Plus, with the death of Arthur Rankin Jr. in 2014, this is pretty much guaranteed to be the last Rankin/Bass special ever.  Personally, it’s a shame that this is the case, for even if it’s not the most spectacular, interesting, or creative special, it's quite good for what it is.

This is one of the company’s more down-to-Earth stories. The focus is on a common family of Heptune Street, a city area sorely lacking the Christmas spirit, or general friendliness.  There’s a little girl named Dakota whose biggest passion is to find homes for all the stray pets of the city. This is made difficult by the jerk superintendent, Mr. Sweet, who wants to close the shelter and doesn’t want them running around in the apartment building Dakota’s family lives in.  While that’s going on, Dakota’s father, Noel, is struggling to come up with a perfect Christmas song for his company, isolating himself in the process.  However, everything changes when Dakota rescues a bird from the cold, and it turns out that she’s the magical partridge in a pear tree called Melody Birdsong.  She's thoroughly entertaining with her witty one-liners and her ability to make the gifts from “12 Days of Christmas” appear. Another magic power is granting people wishes, and since Dakota saved her, she earns the wish.  Thinking considerately, Dakota wishes for Noel to write the hit song he’s desperate for.  You’d think that Noel would just write a great song right there. Then the story takes a more interesting turn, showing that there’s more to him finding the right tune than one might expect.  Melody has Noel pose as a salvation Santa asking for money from city citizens.  This setup just causes Noel a lot of humiliation at first. Then through spending time with his daughter and wife in the process, with a fun cover of the title song performed at one point, he reaches out to more of Heptune Street.  With his family’s help, Noel performs many acts of community service, which may not be the most exciting thing to see.  Nevertheless, it’s nice to see how his little acts lead to one much bigger. It's an upbeat sequence where he sets out to clean up a playground and decorate a Christmas tree, and the whole street joins in to help, all set to a hip-hop cover of carols.  It’s an effective and exciting way to get across the theme of the importance of community.  Seeing this street of join Noel in his services and make what they do fun and exciting is perfectly reflective of a neighborhood of different people. It's also incredibly nice to see them all in one environment.  This is especially pleasing when you consider how harsh certain characters can get at certain points.

Although this special has a great mindset on stressing the importance of community, the harshness that surrounds Heptune Street really gets overbearing at times. I mentioned before how the city citizens aren’t all that friendly at first, but they later come around.  However, it’s Mr. Sweet who proves to be the most stubborn.  It’s one thing for him to be annoyed by the animals in the shelter, but his jerkiness goes way beyond just that.  He’s always claiming ownership of everything, not just the building, and dictates what people should do about Christmas without any good reasons.  They try to make him sympathetic by talking about him losing his wife, but aside from one mention, it’s never brought up again. Also, when he deliberately ruins the animal shelter, forcing the homeless pets into the cold streets, his past does nothing to make him more likable.  Sadly, even the main protagonist has a lot of unnecessary harshness to him.  Noel isn’t nearly as bad since he clearly tries to bond with his daughter.  Regardless, his isolation from his family while writing his song makes him come off as a big complainer which isn't compelling.  The worst from him comes after Mr. Sweet wrecks the animal shelter. Dakota begs Noel to help, and he shows no interest in the matter despite all the service he did for the community, right down to calling the animals dumb.  That is just not cool, showing no support for what his daughter cares about.  As harsh as some of Noel’s moments are, they fortunately lead to a moment that singlehandedly saves his portrayal.  When he finds out that Melody put him through everything because Dakota wanted him to have a hit song more than anything, he admits family is more important than his own desires. Then through attempting to rescue a kitten despite running into all sorts of dangers, Noel once again brings the whole community together.  It starts when Mr. Sweet also has a redeeming moment through realizing he went too far with trying to get the animals out. He helps Noel rescue the kitten declaring that the animals deserve a home.  Then everyone around decides to pitch in and restore the shelter further enhancing the special’s community theme. Not to mention, this finally brings about Noel’s song, “Heart and Soul of Christmas.”  It sells the theme, its tune is memorable fits the tone of the setting, and Noel writing the music on the shelter walls fits the creative process of real life songwriters.  This final sense of community brings all plot points together so well, the following scene of Melody having Noel and Dakota fill in for an injured Santa feels unneeded.  Melody claims what he was doing was preparing him for this role which makes sense.  However, the neighborhood being united, Noel getting his song, and the shelter pets getting homes feel like a more appropriate end result.  Still, the scene is full of Christmas spirit which is appropriate after everything Noel learned throughout the special. Further, it sells the power of the holiday that the Rankin/Bass specials have been known to demonstrate.

The story itself may not be all that creative or grand enough for what would ultimately be this company’s final special and can get a little harsh at times.  It still has enough good qualities to refer to it as a forgotten gem.  The sense of community is strong. The music is catchy and fitting for the setting. The hand-drawn animation has the same Rankin/Bass charm as well as modern refurbishments. Best of all everything amounts to an impactful feeling of Christmas.  It’s a little sad that this final work is so unknown, but it really leaves us wondering how different today’s Christmases would be if this led to Rankin/Bass producing more specials.

Recommended

The Ranking

1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
2. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
3. The Year Without a Santa Claus
4. Frosty the Snowman
5. The Little Drummer Boy
6. Jack Frost
7. The Stingiest Man in Town
8. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
9. Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
10. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
11. Santa, Baby!
12. Pinocchio’s Christmas
13. The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
14. Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July
15.  ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
16. Frosty’s Winter Wonderland
17. The Little Drummer Boy Book II
18. Cricket on the Hearth
19. The Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold

Final Thoughts

Going through all the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials this month has certainly been an enlightening experience to say the least.  It’s intriguing to note how much respect their work has for Christmas, covering nearly every aspect. They include figures in the holiday's popular songs and stories, the lifestyle and origins of Santa Claus, the beauty and fun of winter,  traditions, and even the religious aesthetics.  Each work has a special Christmas feeling that will forever give you a positive outlook on the holiday from the environments to the storytelling and characterization. 

Many leads of the stories they tell are likable and often times sympathetic. Given the pleasing, Christmassy designs of the worlds they live in, following them all throughout is something to look forward to.  Enhancing what the main characters go through is a clear sense of imagination. It's felt in the versatile side characters, the ways customs of holiday figures move the plot forward, and especially the use of music.  Almost all these specials, even the weaker ones, are easily masterful when it comes to music.  The background orchestrations are grand and immersive for all the scenes they convey whether they’re light-hearted, slow and intimate, sad, or intense and threatening.  Not only that, but you’re practically guaranteed to walk away with many songs of a special playing in your head.  The songs created specifically for certain specials have a lot of spirit and energy in their craftsmanship. Plus, all established Christmas songs many specials are based upon have the perfect talent to perform them, making their covers the first ones I think of.  Like with many great animated works, music brings everything strong about these specials together in ways you can’t describe any other way than Christmas.  One other strong aspect of these specials is that in addition to being cute, fun, and Christmassy, they’re not afraid to resort to dark and threatening measures to tell their stories.  A good number of these plots, especially for the earlier specials, put many of our heroes into serious situations.  They know that life, even in Christmassy settings, isn’t all fun and happiness.  We see characters excluded for their differences by society, dealing with harsh opinions from outsiders, constantly being threatened by death, and getting their whole worldviews altered by traumatic experiences such as losing parents.  When the hearts of the specials are truly in it, these dark moments are in perfect balance with the cuter and happier moments, investing the audience with a believable tone.  In fact, the darker aspects are what make the happier and pleasing moments of Christmas impactful.  Without them, the specials would end up too light-hearted and not as immersive.  They also help display powerful messages many specials share. Themes include how those who are different can still make a significant impact, the importance of putting aside your needs for your friends, how the spirit of Santa Claus will always exist as long as there's generosity and giving from everyone, and always putting faith and trust in God even through endless hardships.  Overall, these specials are not just genuine feel-good Christmas treats. With their daring storytelling decisions and powerful themes, they’re also impactful animated works worth making a tradition of watching.

As much as I praise these Rankin/Bass specials, I have to admit that only a select few are worth making traditions of watching.  For all the amazing specials, this company also have a fair number of specials that don’t stand out nearly as much.  It doesn’t have to do with the animation quality of the specials which, even in their great works, can get awkward in motion and lack good lip sync at times.  This is especially not a big deal since it does become smoother and more stylized with every new special.  It all has to do with the storytelling quality.  For starting out with such daring specials so close together, it’s hard to believe that many others are rather uneventful.  These are cases where the overall stories aren’t all that creative and feature mostly fun and safe moments without any heavier or darker moments they can incorporate.  As a result, those kinds of specials aren’t nearly as spectacular.  Other times, the stories can be fueled by unbelievable mean-spiritedness that can prevent you from getting all that invested.  Such examples include Santa ignoring a whole town because one resident doesn’t believe, the protagonist having questionable morality, or residents acting jerky for no good reason.  There are also specials that are hard to take seriously as Christmas specials preventing them from the status of “traditional” viewing. At times the holiday is barely mentioned, the customs feel more fitting of another holiday, and background on a holiday figure doesn’t always feel like a good fit.  These detracting factors are especially prevalent in the sequels to the more popular specials, and I’m not preferring those produced by other studios. Even the ones Rankin/Bass themselves made have significant issues.  They have a tendency to have strong continuity in some areas, but show no regard to the very thing in others, especially when attempts at giving depth to lore from the predecessors end up devaluing what made certain parts of what came before so powerful.  Now, even if a number of Christmas specials are noticeably stronger than others, in my eyes, none of them are bad.  In fact, each of them are worth viewing for one reason or another.  Some could be for wholesome bonds, certain stand-out characters and/or songs, the spirit of Christmas shining through despite all weak points.  Basically, not all Rankin/Bass specials will be ones that you’ll want to watch traditionally.  However, they’re all capable of leaving an impact in some way, further demonstrating how much they embody the spirit of Christmas.

It may be apparent that some, but not all, Rankin/Bass Christmas specials are amazing works , but those that do turn out strong are practically ones Christmas wouldn't be the same without.  For that, they deserve to be called a household name at that special time of year, whether they’re works loved the world over, or lesser known ones.  So, be sure to keep the best of Rankin/Bass’ holiday repertoire playing every year and be sure to track down the highest ranked specials you may not know. Most of all, never hesitate to share them with many generations to come, for Christmas is synonymous with the one and only Rankin/Bass.

Recommended

With that, my look at the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials has come to an end.  It was great sharing my thoughts on them with you this holiday season as much as it was looking into them.  Be sure to come back after the holiday for the next set of reviews, this time on the first season of a Netflix-animated series, Voltron: Legendary Defender.  Until then:

Stay Animated Folks,

And Merry CHRISTMAS!