Telly tidings of comfort and joy
The Snowman and the Snowdog: an enduring Christmas favourite
I love telly. In particular, telly at Christmas. Far from a highbrow declaration, but an honest one nonetheless.
Each year, as a child, I would wait with the same feverish anticipation at my parent’s procurement of the RTÉ Guide as that of the Smyths catalogue. We would duly rip through it, planning our viewing schedule for the coming weeks. Each Saturday, sat in an unyielding pew.Â
I would invoke whatever sway I had with the crowd upstairs and beg each and every deity to hurry the sermon to conclusion in order to catch the opening credits of whatever instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise was being flashed into the nations living rooms that evening. I’m not going to say I made a lot of false promises in return, but I’m also not going to tell fibs to be printed in black and white!
Festive films are the equivalent of human catnip for me. There is nothing quite like that fizzy feeling when you happen upon one of your favourites in real time. Yes, streaming platforms are a wonder but I can lose copious banks of minutes by rendering my thumb into a craven and creaky position from scrolling.
Without doubt, I have a considerable number of favourites each year. Whilst I am not opposed to the schmaltz of a Christmas 24 saccharine movie bonanza- career focused woman inherits her recently deceased Aunt’s inn in rural small-town America which she has to claim by Christmas Eve or else relinquish the property. Not looking for love, she did not count on the stern, yet caring, resident vet/lumberjack/plumber/rescuer of cats from trees on melting her frozen exterior- I do however favour the classics; both new and old.
So, grab that blanket, secure your vantage point on the sofa and hit the ‘On’ button…
Nostalgia
Still high on the comedown from the heady excitement of The Den special from Lapland, broadcast on Christmas Eve each year it warrants something particular calm inducing the subsequent morning.
As is the want of children the morning of December 25 th, allowing our parents a lie-in was never on the cards. As stockings were emptied and selection boxes prised open, the TV was flickered into being and the inaugural programme of the day which heralded the commencement of the day, backlit most sitting rooms at that very juncture. It was Raymond Briggs, The Snowman – the animated, symphonic poem- scored by Howard Blake - which has endured many a past and present Christmas. It is a tradition that has found its way into our home, along with other additions from the same stable - Father Christmas and The Snowman and the Snowdog’.
Grab the tissues
Meet me in St Louis, is one of the great dividers - those who have viewed it and duly adored same and those who decree that they must watch it but have never quite gotten around to it. In a nutshell, it hails from the juggernaut studio of the time- MGM- and tells the story of a year in the life of the Smith family living in St. Louis leading up to the opening of the World’s Fair. It was MGM’s most successful musical of the 1940s. Judy Garland, in glorious technicolour, is luminous in every sense of the word and the film gave us the sob inducing song, Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas; performed to sublime perfection by Garland.
For a little pep in your step
Parents, we see you and salute you in your exhausted efforts at pulling together a magical, freaking Christmas! Want to feel better about the fact you forgot about Christmas jumper day in school and duly sent your offspring in with the top of their Christmas pjs instead? Then, Home Alone, is the one for you! Because you may have forgotten to purchase a bedazzled wool/polyester hybrid but did board a plane to another country and forget one of your kids? I think the heck not!
Home Alone, is 103 minutes of sheer and utter jubilant chaos and follows the escapades of Kevin McCallister, who must defend his home from two burglars after his family have accidentally left him behind to spend Christmas in France. Kevin’s mother, played by Catherine O’Hara (who has enjoyed a career resurgence on screen in recent years as the legendary icon, Moira-Rose in ‘Schitts Creek’), spends the duration of the film attempting to return from abroad to be with her son for Christmas. It is, in its entirety, a crowd pleaser for all ages.
On reflection
Never has another year given us all pause to be so thankful for family and friends. Up until now, there has been a cultural undertone of ‘Much wants more’- these past few months have given us all cause to reflect and reassess the value of our relationships and duly invest in same.
A sentiment echoed in Frank Capra’s, It’s a Wonderful Life. Set on Christmas Eve 1945, George Bailey is at a crossroads in his life, of which he sees no way out from. The entreaties of his family reach heaven where an angel by the name of Clarence, is assigned to George in order to earn his wings and to show him flashbacks of his life.
It is a widely lauded exploration of the human condition exploring a myriad of themes such as birth, growth, emotion and our own mortality.
Capra himself has gone on record as stating that it was his favourite film, amongst those he directed, and that he screened it for his own family each Christmas. It is, without doubt, one of a handful of films which rightly deserves an annual viewing and for me, is the quintessential seasonal classic.
Given the year it has been, the film in its entirety carries even more weight and re-enforces the idea that we all have within our capability, the tools to fashion our own version of a simple, yet wonderful life.
