A Cosmic Christmas

A Cosmic Christmas is a 1977 Canadian Christmas television special, and was one of the first out of the six television specials made by Nelvana Limited. It premiered on December 4, 1977 on CBC Television and was syndicated in the U.S.[1] It was considered for a Best Animated Short Academy Award.[2]

A Cosmic Christmas
Scene from the film
Directed byClive A. Smith
Produced byMichael Hirsh
Patrick Loubert
Screenplay byIda Nelson
Laura Paull
Story byPatrick Loubert
StarringJoey Davidson
Martin Lavut
Patrick Moffatt
Nick Nichols
Music bySylvia Tyson
Production
company
Nelvana Limited
Distributed byCBC (TV, 1977)
Viacom Enterprises (U.S. Distribution)
Warner Home Video (VHS, 1980s)
Release date
  • 4 December 1977 (1977-12-04) (Canada)
Running time
26 minutes
CountryCanada

Plot

Three aliens from an unknown planet, who bear a strong resemblance to the Biblical Magi, visit Earth to know the true meaning of Christmas.[3] Peter, a young boy, and Lucy, his goose, are the first to encounter them. Unable to find the true meaning of Christmas in town, Peter takes them to his family's house in the woods. While Peter's grandmother tells the aliens about her memories of Christmas, Marvin, one of the town's bullies, steals Lucy. In the chase to rescue Lucy, Marvin falls through the ice in a lake. Peter attempts to rescue him but falls into the lake as well. The townsfolk, who were out searching for the aliens, attempt to save the boys but their human chain is not long enough to reach them. The three aliens, who had sworn not to interfere with events on Earth, decide to help in order to learn the meaning of Christmas. The rescue effort is successful. The townsfolk are quick to condemn Marvin for stealing Lucy, but have a change of heart when they realize that Marvin stole Lucy because he had nothing to eat. Peter offers Marvin and his friends the chance to join them for Christmas dinner and the aliens realize that family and the spirit of forgiveness are the true meaning of Christmas.

Cast
  • Joey Davidson ... Peter
  • Martin Lavut ... Dad, Plutox, Santa Joe
  • Richard M. Davidson ... Lexicon (as Richard Davidson)
  • Duncan Regehr ... Amalthor
  • Patricia Moffatt ... Mom
  • Jane Mallett ... Grandma
  • Marvin Goldhar ... Snerk
  • Greg Rogers ... Marvin
  • Chris Wiggins ... Mayor
  • Nick Nichols ... Townie
  • Marian Waldman ... Townie

Reception

A Cosmic Christmas was critically acclaimed by Canadian critics, and was a success. It was also a major breakthrough for Nelvana, helping Canadian animation establish a medium in the animation industry. The success of A Cosmic Christmas lead to Nelvana producing another television special titled The Devil and Daniel Mouse, which premiered in October 1978. These specials took place in different holidays, for example, Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter. These specials were produced by Nelvana between late 1978 and early 1980. They concluded it with the September 1980 special Take Me Up to the Ball Game.

Release

The special was later released onto videocassette by Warner Home Video in the early 1980s as part of the Nelvanamation (Volume 1) VHS release.[4] It was later released onto a budget VHS from Diamond Entertainment. Both of these releases are out of print and there are no plans to release it on DVD, but it is available on Amazon Video.[5]

References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 97-98. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. "Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1977 |". Cartoonresearch.com. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 580–582. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. "Nelvanamation Four Cosmic Fantasies in One the Devil Mouse Romie-o Julio-o Please Don't Eat the Planet a Cosmic Christmas: Movies & TV". 7 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  5. "Cosmic Christmas: Jane Mallet, Marvin Goldhar, Chris Wiggins, Martin Lavut: Amazon Digital Services LLC". Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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