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🎃 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we flew a sleigh made out of a dumpster into space with the California Raisins in “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration.”  This time, we’re reanimating a creepier creation of his from 1991 — a Halloween special that premiered in May for some reason.  🎙 Sammy Hain and Chad Young join us for “Claymation Comedy of Horrors,” starring the scheming Wilshire Pig on a quest to uncover the secret lab of Dr. Frankenswine.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  IMDb’s photo gallery from this special.  “The Adventures of Mark Twain.”  Todd Tolces’ website and YouTube résumé.  Michele Mariana (Wilshire) on “Sesame Street” as Cecile, the singing ball of clay.  Herb from Burger King.  Will Vinton wanted to build a theme park called Claymation Station with Wilshire Pig as its Mickey Mouse.  Raphael opened the floodgates for characters made for children saying curse words.  Sheldon the Snail bears a passing resemblance to The Noid.  A closer examination of the bathroom graffiti.  Today’s TV Trope: Removable Shell.  Does Famine’s business card say he’s from Limbo, Illinois?  ****  📼 Commercials:  McDonald’s Coke Float Commercial, 1991, aired during this special.  Another Zelda Podcast.  ****  “Claymation Comedy of Horrors” © 1991 Will Vinton Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1990s #halloween #claymation

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we were Dreaming of a White Ranger with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.    This time, they’re away helping Santa, so Zordon surprises Alpha by teleporting in a bunch of children for a Christmas party.  🎙️ Andre Bennett and C.J. Belanger joins us for a very bonkers Power Rangers home video, plus a mini tribute to the late Jason David Frank, who’s seen as both the Green and White Ranger here because nobody cares about continuity during Christmas, I guess.  📺 You can watch “Alpha’s Magical Christmas” on YouTube, preserved by Dinosaur Dracula.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Chosen Sentai Jetman.”  “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always.”  Morphed: Cheryl Saban’s Journey from Beach Bunny to Philanthropist.  The real-life Command Center: The House of the Book at the American Jewish University.  Baby Groot and the bomb that will kill everyone.  Andre proves “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Karate Club Video (1994)  Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fan Club (1994)  The Magic of the Season.  ****  “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “Alpha’s Magical Christmas” © 1994 Saban Entertainment, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1990s

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, our hearts and golden harmonicas went out to “A Chipmunk Christmas.”  This time, it’s Scrooge Sunday, so get set to have some fun in this Dickens of an episode of “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”  🎙️ Tommy Coombs and Sean Sotka joins us in Hollywood — or at least a nearby cartoon suburb where Alvin turns his greed up to 11 and blames it on his lonely old neighbor who doesn’t know how to plant a garden.  📺 You can watch “Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll” on Internet Archive.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll” on Munkapedia.  Pee-wee Herman’s breakfast machine.  “Paperboy,” the video game.  “Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.”  Dads with trash bags on Christmas morning.  “A Chipmunk Reunion.”  A Seville family portrait featuring Dave’s abnormally large head.  Mickey Mouse’s 1980s Epcot spacesuit.  Today’s TV Trope: Sounding It Out.  Southern California’s Blizzard of 2023.  “Here Comes Christmas,” the TV version, and the album version.  ****  📼 Commercials:  The Chipmunks are Coming to Target (1990)  Cool Kids Club.  ****  “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll” © 1989 Bagdasarian Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1980s #scroogesunday #dic

🫓 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we helped our favorite talking babies stop a true meanie in “A Rugrats Chanukah.”  This time, we’re ignoring the rules of another long-standing tradition as “Rugrats” reimagines the story of Passover.  🎙️ Sarah Shay and Zach Gozlan join us as we witness grown men throwing temper tantrums and ending up locked in the attic.  📺 I found this special hiding in a 4-hour VHS recording of Nick on CBS from 2003.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Pilot House on “I Dream of Jeannie,” which would not be seen the night this premiered.  Fact-Checking “Fact-Checking A Rugrats Passover.”  As of this recording, the Sultan of Brunei in 1995 is still sultan.  “Noozles,” which co-starred Cheryl Chase (Angelica) and was not “The Adventures of the Little Koala.”  The 4 categories of Jewish holidays.  Melanie Chartoff (Didi, Minka) as the principal in “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.”  The controversy over Boris and Minka’s design.  “The Song That Doesn’t End” from “Lamb Chop’s Play Along.”  The Maxwell House Haggadah.  A Haggadah of Our Own.  “Bible Adventures.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Country Crock Spreadable Sticks (1994), featuring Jack Riley (Stu).  Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (2003)  The Studio Demands It!  ****  “A Rugrats Passover” © 1995 Viacom International Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1990s #passover #nickelodeon

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we witnessed goodness make the badness go away in “The Smurfs’ Christmas Special.”  This time, we’re taking a one giant puppy open sleigh ride back to 1987 to spend another Christmas with the Smurfs.  🎙️ Lindy Kempe and Donnie Storms join us to help the Smurfs save Christmas for a poor human toymaker and his gravely ill wife, while Brainy and Hefty get lost in medieval Crime Alley.  📺 You can watch “’Tis the Season to be Smurfy” for free on YouTube, or an upscaled version including the opening credits.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Look at the adjective…”  The crazy backstories of the Smurfs’ Puppy and Sassette.  The Great Cookie Thief.  New and improved Joker products!  Painter Smurf paints like “Duck Amuck.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Smurf-Berry Crunch Cereal (1983)  Bad Princess Movies.  ****  “’Tis the Season to be Smurfy” © 1987 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1980s #hannabarbera

💝 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we visited the Easter Bunny’s underground nightmare factory in “The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise.”  This time, it’s 1982, and love and hockey are in the air we get all warm and fuzzy with the Bear Family’s Valentine’s Day capers.  🎙️ Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas joins us as Brother Bear gets stalked by a secret admirer, and his Papa’s public displays of affection send him into orbit.  📺 You can watch “The Berenstain Bears’ Comic Valentine” for free on YouTube.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The Broad Street Bullies.  Totally Rad Christmas on Chuck E. Cheese.  Homer Simpson’s rabbit trap.  The bottom brick scene in ”Bloodsport.”  A set of clips from this special set to “Let’s Hear It for The Boy” by Deniece Williams.  ****  📼 Commercial:  McDonald’s Berenstain Bears Happy Meal Toys (1986)  ****  “The Berenstain Bears’ Comic Valentine” © 1982 Joseph Cates Co., Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1980s #valentinesday #berenstainbears

🎄 It’s the Advent Calendar House’s 10th season, and to celebrate, every episode is revisiting familiar faces and places already covered on the podcast.  Previously, we spent Christmas with the Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series.” This time, we’re returning to the 1997 premiere of the redesigned, rebranded “New Batman Adventures.”  🎙️ Andre Bennett and Joey O. join us on a festive tour of Gotham City through the Joker’s hideously redrawn eyes.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The Batman Adventures Holiday Special original comic.  “Welcome to Our OOL.”  Dark Night: A True Batman Story, by Paul Dini.  Arleen Sorkin on “America’s Funniest People,” a her appearance as a jester on “Days of Our Lives” that inspired her casting as Harley Quinn.  Kevin Conroy on being recognized while volunteering after 9/11.  “Finding Batman,” by Kevin Conroy, from DC’s Pride 2022.  Paul Dini’s original cel from Harley and Poison Ivy’s shopping spree.  Tim Drake’s animated debut, and a shocking Muppet tangent.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Batman and Alfred Diet Coke Commercial (1989)  Festive Foreign Film Fans.  ****  “The New Batman Adventures” and “Holiday Knights” © 1997 Warner Bros.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1990s #dc #comics #warnerbros

🎄 It’s 2002, and we’re trapped in a horrifying world where Kermit the Frog doesn’t exist.  🎙 Lindy Kempe, Adam Jurotich, and Erik Johnson join us for a spectacular, spectacular Christmas Eve extravaganza starring Kermit in the George Bailey role of the Muppets’ perfectly silly take on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” also featuring Joan Cusack, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, the cast of “Scrubs,” and Whoopi Goldberg as God, Herself.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Muppet Wiki’s list of similarities between this special and 2011’s “The Muppets.”  Joe Snow.  Hoggle from “Labyrinth” at the Unclaimed Baggage Center.  Director Kirk Thatcher as the punk on the bus in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and ”Picard.”  Jonathan Bruce, who’d later appear in “Elf.”  Deleted scenes include more of Carson Daly, Santa, and a lost cut scene with Snoop Dogg.  The giant Bossmen Muppets.  A scheduling conflict robbed this movie of actual Steve Irwin.  Fozzie as “that green guy who stole Christmas.”  Today’s TV Tropes: Celestial Bureaucracy, Laser Hallway, and Lampshade Wearing.  The Yoda Muppet has his own Muppet Wiki entry.  So does Amy, the Dancing Brick!  The World Trade Center in alternate timeline Piggy’s apartment window, and that’s not the worst part of that scene.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Mastercard Priceless Getaway Sweepstakes Commercial starring The Muppets (2002)  Acid Washed Memories, a retro pop-culture celebration podcast starting January 9, 2023.  ****  “It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” © 2002 The Jim Henson Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #2000s #muppets #itsawonderfullife

🎄 It’s 2012, and I found a 60-year-old tangerine under a floorboard in my bedroom that’s the perfect size for a snowman’s nose… or is it?  🎙 Adam Parker Sibun from Merry Britsmas joins us for another walk in the air back to 2012 for the charming sequel to the British Christmas classic, “The Snowman,” by the now-late Raymond Briggs.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  I finally got a copy of the original Raymond Briggs book!  UK Christmas’s “The Snowman” TV listing history.  Raymond Briggs hails Christmas sequel to his Snowman classic (The Guardian, 2012)  Billy has a picture of Fungus the Bogeyman in his room.  The Snowman finds a 1960s toy Batmobile in the shed. Maybe it lost a wheel.  A newer version of Andy Burrows’s “Light the Night.”  An older version of Andy Burrows’s  “Hometown.”  “Funny Looking Angels,” a 2011 Christmas Album by Smith & Burrows.  ‘Walking In The Air’ composer told to send a demo tape for The Snowman sequel (NME, 2012)  London landmarks seen in the special.  Let’s start building more creative snowmen with orange slices for ears and asparagus spear mustaches.  The Snowdog Art Trails around the UK, including Snowdog sculptures displayed in Brighton.    ****  📼 Commercial:  IRN-BRU Snowman Advert, 2011.  ****  “The Snowman and The Snowdog” © 2012 Snowdog Enterprises Ltd.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #2010s

🕎 It’s 1998, and we’re praying for a miracle after getting stuck in a snow bank on the side of a dark highway with only an eighth of a tank of gas.  🎙 April Ryley joins us on an enlightening revisit to the Flashy Girl from Flushing on her first Hanukkah as a married woman. Also, Ray Charles is here!  📺 You can watch “The Hanukkah Story” for free on Facebook.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  April visits the Sheffield residence, and so can you.  Fran Drescher in “UHF.”  Fran Drescher says she had to fight to let ‘The Nanny’ be Jewish (L.A. Times, 2020)  Benjamin Salisbury (Brighton) on “Teen Celebrity Jeopardy” in 1997.  Daniel Davis (Niles) on “The Fran Drescher Tawk Show” in 2010.  Max’s childhood memory of his dad at Christmas reminded me of Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table.  What to do if you’re stranded in a car during a winter storm.  Kenny Rogers Roasters still exists, but only in Asia.  ****  📼 Commercials:  3 Musketeers Commercial starring Fran Drescher (1998)  Hyrule Podcasters, an audio “Let’s Play” through The Legend of Zelda.  ****  “The Nanny” and “The Hanukkah Story” © 1998 Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Co. Medien KG.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1990s #hanukkah

🎄 It’s 2016, and a Scrooge-like unicorn is brewing a potion to eliminate Hearth’s Warming Eve from the calendar. That’s how potions work, right?  🎙 Jon and Bin from Bin’s Toy Bin and Santa by the Minute join us for a Scrooge Sunday canter through a “Christmas Carol” adaptation set in Equestria, the world of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.”  📺 You can watch “A Hearth’s Warming Tail” for free on YouTube.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Mike on Santa by the Minute.  The first My Little Pony special, from 1984: “Rescue at Midnight Castle.”  Patton Oswalt on My Little Pony.  Patton Oswalt literally on My Little Pony.  “It’s a Pony Kind of Christmas,” featuring characters who don’t celebrate Christmas singing Christmas songs, so the show’s composer had to clarify it wasn’t canon.  The mysterious “Derpy,” a.k.a. Muffins.  A short tangent about “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” air fresheners.  Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There.  A scene was cut featuring Discord in the Jacob Marley role.  He’s not in this episode, but there’s a character named Cheese Sandwich who is literally “Weird Al” Yankovic as a pony.  Bin takes roll call at the Hearth’s Warming Eve party.  ****  📼 Commercials:  My Little Pony Dream Castle Commercial (1983)  The Hub Network: 12 Days of Ponies Promo (2014)  ****  “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” and “A Hearth’s Warming Tail” © 2016 Hasbro Studios.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #2010s #scroogesunday #hasbro

🎄 It’s 1973, and a musical cricket is about to save the Christmas spirit during New York City’s quietest power failure.  🎙️ Michael DiGiovanni join us for a one-cat open sleigh ride into Chuck Jones’s beautifully animated sequel to “The Cricket in Times Square.”  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  A very insightful Letterboxd review.  Name That Christmas Special’s screenshot gallery for this special.  Today’s TV Trope: Bully Bulldog.  Mel Blanc’s voice for the Alley Cat sounds his voice for Clarence the Cat in “Birds Anonymous.”  DiGio introduces me to Yorkshire pudding.  “Down by the Old Mill Stream.”  The similar “Joy to the World” segment from “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration.”  The final Classic Film Jerks movie, “Babes in Toyland (March of the Wooden Soldiers).”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Mel Blanc American Express Card Commercial (1971)  Rediscover the 80s podcasts, including The 80s Weekly and Memory Jogger.  ****  “A Very Merry Cricket” © 1973 Chuck Jones Enterprises.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1970s #chuckjones

🎄 It’s 1970 by way of 1990, and I just noticed the Santa Claus at the mall is actually my gym teacher.  🎙 Andy Gattis joins us on a revealing trip back to The Wonder Years as we salute Robert Picardo’s standout performance as Coach Cutlip… and Santa.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help from My Friends” over the opening credits was replaced for streaming with a soundalike, only they don’t sound alike.  Almost all the original music is replaced, including a surf rock cover of “Sleigh Ride” by The Ventures.  Fred Savage in “Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time,” featuring Rex and Herb from “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration.”  Coach Cutlip’s drawing of the female reproductive system.  Oops, Wikipedia linked to the wrong Jay Lambert (Tommy). Here’s the right guy.  Brandon Crane’s (Doug Porter) new podcast, “The Errorist.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Pepsi “Love Letter” Commercial with Fred Savage (1990)  TGI Podcast.  ****  “The Wonder Years” and “A Very Cutlip Christmas” © 1990 New World Television.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1990s

🎄 It’s 1997, and Tim Curry as an evil pipe organ is literally bringing down the house.  🎙 Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies join us as we journey into the depths of Disney’s direct-to-video library for an unnecessary but charming midquel that explains why the Beast hates Christmas and raises even more questions about the curse on his castle.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Bad Princess Movies on Disney’s original “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Enchanted Christmas.”  Coming Soon previews from the original VHS.  Kathie Lee Gifford sang the soundtrack for “Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin.”  Behind “Prince Adam,” the Beast’s real name Disney never made official but keeps occasionally using.  Tim Curry as Darkness in “Legend”  and as Hexxus in “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.”  How tall is the Beast’s castle compared to the real world’s tallest castle?  Disney can’t keep the Feather Duster’s name straight, either.  The West Wing at Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom.  The terrifying air conditioner in “The Brave Little Toaster.”  The loudest organ ever built.  Belle wears her dress from this special during Christmastime at Disney parks.    Lisa Temming on designing Belle’s Christmas dress.  ****  📼 Commerciasls:  Disney Home Video Collection (1997)  Tiger Electronics Beauty and the Beast handheld game (1994)  Holidays After Dark.  ****  “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” © 1997 Disney Enterprises, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1990s #disney

🎄 It’s 1975, and a shepherd boy just lost his sight after staring directly at a lightning bolt.  🎙️ Mike Troxell joins us as we return to enchanted world of Rankin/Bass Christmas specials for an overlooked, underrated, and redundantly titled hidden gem about neither the first Christmas, nor the first Christmas snow.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Vox’s Emily St. James ranks all the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials.  A very brief history of the Christmas card.  Was There Really Any Winter’s Snow at the Time of the Nativity in Bethlehem?  Flash blindness is real.  Arthur Rankin Jr. recalling how Irving Berlin really, REALLY didn’t want “White Christmas” in the special.  This exact sound of a wolf howling (or, actually, a coyote) is heard over and over again.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Toys “R” Us Time of Year Christmas Commercial (1976)  Christmas Creeps.  ****  “The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow” © 1975 Rankin/Bass Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1970s #rankinbass

🎄 It’s 1990, and a little girl’s Christmas wish is about to get shot out of the sky.  🎙 Joey O. join us for the podcast’s first voyage into the Disney Afternoon as Baloo the cargo pilot bear attempts to save his boss’s daughter’s belief in Santa.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Joey’s Christmas TV lineup that he wrote on a piece of paper around 1991 and found again 30 years later.  The TaleSpin/Quantum Leap joke.  Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” the animated one, is somehow Germany’s biggest box office draw ever.  “Tales of the Gold Monkey,” a single-season TV show that inspired “TaleSpin.”  “What a Dummy,” an even shorter single-season TV show featuring Janna Michaels (Molly) and a living ventriloquist’s dummy.  Joey’s Interview with Pat Fraley (Wildcat), again!    Today’s TV Trope: String-on-Finger Reminder.  Cape Suzette and Louie’s Place on the Disney Wiki.  Flunkey, the Einstein-haired monkey from “The Jungle Book” whose “TaleSpin” counterpart appears to be Santa Louie’s “elf,” Waldo.  ****  📼 Commercials:  McDonald’s TaleSpin Happy Meal Toys (1990)  Snow in Southtown.  ****  “TaleSpin” and “Jolly Molly Christmas” © 1990 The Walt Disney Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1990s #disney

🎄 It’s 1979, and no one wants to go to Pat Boone’s lame Christmas party, but everyone’s here to dunk on him.  🎙 Guy Hutchinson extends an invitation to discover this bizarre but wholesome special featuring the Hudson Brothers, the stars of “The Ropers” as themselves but also still as the Ropers, and a criminally brief appearance by Yogi Bear and his Hanna-Barbera friends.  📺 You can watch the “Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special” on Tubi.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Pat Boone’s album of heavy metal covers from 1997.  TV Guide’s ad for the special, prominently featuring Yogi Bear and friends.  “The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show,” as seen in a “Family Guy” cutaway gag.  “The Seventh Python,” Brett Hudson’s 2008 documentary about frequent Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes.  “Largo al Factotum,” the “Figaro” song from “The Barber of Seville.”  Dinah Shore’s giant belt buckle.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Master Charge Christmas Commercial (1979)  Season’s Eatings.  ****  “Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special” © 1979 Cooga Mooga Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1970s #hannabarbera

🎄 It’s 1971, and Alastair Sim is delivering an even more animated performance as Scrooge.  🎙️ Michael May and Rob Graham join us as we invade your personal space for salute an animated adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” that bent the rules and became the last TV special to win an Oscar, directed by Richard Williams and executive produced by Chuck Jones.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Michael May’s Christmas Carol Project entries on 1971’s “A Christmas Carol.”  CED Magic’s “Christmas Carol” screen adaptation directory.  John Leech’s original illustrations for the Dickens story.  AfterLUNCH on Christmas Ghosts (And One Carol in Particular).  The rarely seen Phantom Hearse.  Visions of Young Scrooge’s favorite stories dancing in his head.  Alex Williams’s website and blog post about his memory of voicing Tiny Tim at age 4.  One notable businessman from the future and his gross nose.  The Making of Richard Williams’s “A Christmas Carol.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  NyQuil Scrooge Commercial, circa 1968.  Bell Telephone Christmas Commercial (1978)  “The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday,” by Ed Daly.  ****  “A Christmas Carol” (1971) © Richard Williams Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #1970s #scroogesunday

🎄 It’s the Advent Calendar House’s 5th anniversary, so instead of celebrating one Christmas special, we watched three!  🎙️ Jeff Somogyi and Paxton Holley help us clear the runway as we salute Disney’s trilogy of 2009’s “Prep & Landing,” 2010’s “Operation: Secret Santa,” and 2011’s “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.”  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Disney’s Prep & Landing Website from 2009 is still up with character and gadget profiles.  “Tiny’s Big Adventure,” a minute-long short starring Magee’s assistant.  Super Golden Crisp Cereal’s Sugar Bear musical Christmas ornament.  Prep & Landing Easter eggs.  Santa’s castle looks familiar.  Noel’s early cameo in “Operation: Secret Santa.”  A hat tip to the Classic Film Jerks.  Captain Avalanche and Snowball’s poster looks like a Batman and Robin Detective Comics cover.  “Naughty, Naughty Children” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.  “Nuttin’ for Christmas” by the Plain White T’s.  “The Ballad of Nessie,” who makes 2 cameos.  Ralphie from “A Christmas Story” appears.  “Mansion: Impossible,” featuring Wayne and Lanny prepping the Avengers Mansion.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Coca-Cola: Santa Packs are Coming (1994)  Campbell’s Soup: Snowman (1995)  Can’t Wait for Christmas’s reminder to play “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson more.  ****  “Prep & Landing,” “Operation: Secret Santa,” and “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” © Disney.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s9 #2000s #2010s #disney

🎄 November 1st is Christmas Podcast Day! I don’t make the rules; I just use the hashtag.  🎙 Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas and Matt Spaulding from North Pole Radio join us as on a very important mission to dig up the original animated adventures of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a 1948 short film that predates the song.  📺 You can watch “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” courtesy of the Library of Congress.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s First Starring Film Role (Library of Congress, 2014)  The 1951 re-release, featuring the new “Rudolph” song.  The Advent Calendar House episode on Rankin/Bass’s “Rudolph.”  Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Sing-Along Songs.  Water Polo, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Chevrolet: The Life of Jam Handy (Collegiate Water Polo Association, 2019)  Matt’s Little Golden Book of Rudolph, illustrated by Richard Scarry.  Paul Wing’s Rudolph record from 1947.  “Rudolph’s 2nd Christmas.”  George Klensinger, who arranged the original Silent Night intro, also composed “Tubby the Tuba.”  “The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree.”  James Bond and Blofeld fight on a bobsled in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”  Ear trumpets, and Daisy Duck’s mother using one in “Donald’s Diary.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Closer to Christmas.   ****  “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” ©1948 The Jam Handy Organization.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s8 #1940s #christmaspodcastday #rudolph