Our favorite Disney (and Disney-adjacent) holiday viewing
Over the next six weeks, Disney will be showing some classic holiday movies and specials on ABC and ABC Family, including “The Santa Clause” and “Home Alone.” But there are some conspicuous absences in the schedule, and we’d like to fix that.
If you’re making your own holiday viewing lineup, here are some Disney and Disney-adjacent programs you should make a point to include:
Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas: In 1977, when “The Muppet Show” was becoming a smash hit, Jim Henson and his crew made this hour-long adaptation of a children’s book of the same name. The story is reminiscent of “The Gift of the Magi” and centers around Emmet Otter, his Ma, and a talent contest. It’s a sweet, innocent story and holds up pretty well almost 40 years later. It’s available through iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Here’s a clip:
The Muppet Christmas Carol: Light the lamp not the rat! Light the lamp not the rat! Sorry, but I still quote this at every opportunity. You might be surprised how often it comes up, actually. That’s far from the only memorably moment in “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” the fourth of the Muppet movies. This Christmas, Disney is showing “Scrooged,” but we see no sign of Jim Henson’s adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story. Come on, how can you resist …
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas: The 1997 direct-to-video sequel to “Beauty and the Beast” takes place with the Beast’s castle still under enchantment. Beast forbids Christmas until Belle, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Chip change his mind. The movie may be best known as the video that launched a thousand Christmas Belle dresses. If the sequel is too cheesy for you, treat yourself to a rerun of the original movie. It’s plenty festive.
Phineas & Ferb Christmas Vacation: There are far fewer than 104 days of Christmas vacation, but leave it to Phineas and Ferb. As the boys decorate Danville for Christmas, Dr. Doofenshmirtz tries to ruin Christmas with his “Naughtyinator.” If you find yourself wondering what to do one day over Christmas vacation, watch this extended episode from the series’ second season.
A Very Possible Christmas: If Kim Possible were a real girl, she’d be about 25 years old now — out of college and probably running a private detective business with Veronica Mars. But alas, KP was cancelled after graduation in 2007, and we still miss her. In this 2003 special, Ron tries to give Kim more time with her family for the holidays, but it does not go well. You can watch the full episode online at Disney Video.
