Told by
Angela Lansbury
Original
Airdate: December 19, 1975
Airs annually on AMC's Best Christmas Ever
Available
on DVD
While most of the creative Rankin/Bass’
specials are Santa stories and adaptations of popular Christmas
songs, their work also includes interesting down-to-Earth Christmas
specials. That’s the case with this special
which takes place in a setting you normally wouldn’t see in most shows today,
an abbey. It also presents Christmas’ religious origins as a driving force for the
plot taking place long after they occurred.
The story is about Sister Theresa and the nuns from the abbey
rescuing a young orphaned shepherd boy named Lucas from a lightning storm. They tend to him when they learn he was blinded by the storm. The heart of the special is Lucas and his
growing bonds with everyone at the abbey, especially Sister Theresa. He may not have the most interesting
personality, but while cursed with his blindness and needing constant help, it
really shows that Lucas has the perfect environment to call home. Sister Theresa makes for the perfect maternal
figure for him, coming off as a woman who has great respect for the faith. This
trait is further sold by Angela Lansbury’s voice work for the character. Their bond is strengthened when they discuss
a common interest. Throughout the
special, Sister Theresa is shown working on Christmas cards based on the snowy
locations of her home village in the mountains. Her cards are also of historical snowy
settings like the nativity. When she tells Lucas about what
she does while explaining the magic and beauty of Christmas snow, he understands what she describes and makes a white
Christmas his secret wish. The catch is that it’s unlikely since the village is close to
the sea. While we’re on that subject,
when Lucas is explaining his wish to a girl
named Louisa, there’s a moving cover of the classic Irving Berlin song, “White
Christmas,” from Angela Lansbury. It really should be played on the radio more
often. Basically, Lucas’ bond with
Sister Theresa has a lot of love and endearment to it which makes it worth
rooting for to stick. However, like
Christmas snow falling in the village, it doesn’t seem likely. The head
priest, Father Thomas, feels that a boy of Lucas’ kind should be placed in an
orphanage. On a side note, it would be
easy to make Father Thomas look like the bad guy for suggesting this, but
thankfully he’s considerate of the situation enough to keep him likable.
The moments of the mother-son like bond between Sister Theresa and Lucas are well-done and serve as a good center for the special. However, there are a couple scenes that feel like they were added to pad out the plot, with two instances standing out the most. One is a musical number of Father Thomas convincing the nuns and the village children to take down the Christmas decorations they put up until the big day. It’s a nice memorable tune that can easily be applied to today’s commercial world that gets ready for Christmas too early, but it doesn’t add anything significant. There’s also a subplot where Lucas plans to give Sister Theresa his dog and sheep as a Christmas gift to remember him when he leaves the abbey. Three bullies decide to prank him by hiding the sheep. It’s messed up that they’d want to pull something so harsh on a BLIND kid. At least they have some hearts when they regret their actions as the sheep escape into wolf-infested woods, and they help Lucas rescue them. The scene is pretty uneventful since the kids simply go save the sheep and do so easily, and despite a shot of wolves, they never do anything to raise the stakes. Also, if it was cut, nothing would be lost.
Fortunately, the following scene at a Christmas pageant works as a solid finale where, as the nativity story is told, little miracles happen to tie into it. Snow falls on the village, the flakes restore Lucas’ vision, and his sheep gift to Sister Theresa gets him to stay at the abbey after all. It’s an ending that sells the power Christmas possesses with many miracles happening amidst an abbey Christmas play. This allows the whole special to serve as a reminder that no matter how much things change, the meaning of the holiday will always remain.
The moments of the mother-son like bond between Sister Theresa and Lucas are well-done and serve as a good center for the special. However, there are a couple scenes that feel like they were added to pad out the plot, with two instances standing out the most. One is a musical number of Father Thomas convincing the nuns and the village children to take down the Christmas decorations they put up until the big day. It’s a nice memorable tune that can easily be applied to today’s commercial world that gets ready for Christmas too early, but it doesn’t add anything significant. There’s also a subplot where Lucas plans to give Sister Theresa his dog and sheep as a Christmas gift to remember him when he leaves the abbey. Three bullies decide to prank him by hiding the sheep. It’s messed up that they’d want to pull something so harsh on a BLIND kid. At least they have some hearts when they regret their actions as the sheep escape into wolf-infested woods, and they help Lucas rescue them. The scene is pretty uneventful since the kids simply go save the sheep and do so easily, and despite a shot of wolves, they never do anything to raise the stakes. Also, if it was cut, nothing would be lost.
Fortunately, the following scene at a Christmas pageant works as a solid finale where, as the nativity story is told, little miracles happen to tie into it. Snow falls on the village, the flakes restore Lucas’ vision, and his sheep gift to Sister Theresa gets him to stay at the abbey after all. It’s an ending that sells the power Christmas possesses with many miracles happening amidst an abbey Christmas play. This allows the whole special to serve as a reminder that no matter how much things change, the meaning of the holiday will always remain.
This isn’t the most exciting or creative Rankin/Bass special
and it does feel noticeably padded in parts. What pulls it through is a highly
engaging bond at its heart, and a setup that demonstrates how special Christmas
is through the miracle of something as simple as snow. It might not be of must-watch status, but
there’s still some meaningful value.
Recommended
The Ranking
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
- The Year Without a Santa Claus
- Frosty the Snowman
- The Little Drummer Boy
- The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
- ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Cricket on the Hearth
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next special, the true Frosty the Snowman sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland.
If you would like to check out other Rankin/Bass special reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment