''12 Tiny Christmas Tales'' (stylized onscreen as ''12 tiny Christmas tales'') is an American
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
animated short film
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
that was broadcast on
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
on December 7, 2001.
This project was animated and directed by
Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Awards-nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting ...
and Inspired by Christmas cards that Plympton began drawing for his parents in 1964.
Plot
It's the night of Christmas Eve. A grandmother and her three grandchildren are relaxing all cozy beside a fireplace in the living room. As it gets late, the grandmother tells her grandchildren that it's time for bed. However, the children do not want to go to bed without a story. After mistaking a cookbook for a holiday book, the grandmother selects the correct book and tells heartwarming, albeit bizarre, tales of Christmas.
Segments
The stories are based on eight-panel sequences.
*Victor the Tree
When Victor was young, his mother told him if he was a good tree and grew straight, he will be chosen as the village square tree. So, little tree Victor grew big and straight which would guarantee to make him become the village square tree. A lumberjack comes by and saws him down, but a tree spirit appears and takes Victor to the village square and everyone is happy.
*Cecil the Snowman
A boy builds Cecil the snowman and a girl neighbor builds a snow girl - both boy and girl dislike each other and run inside crying. Cecil and the snow girl come alive. Cecil fell in love with the snow girl, but they were separated by snow fissure. That did not stop Cecil: he jumped all the way to the other side of the snow to be with his love and lived happily ever after. The boy and girl who built Cecil and the snow girl respectively see them together the next morning and make amends.
*Blitzen
Blitzen, the reindeer, was telling jokes in the North Pole to his friends. Meanwhile, he was imagining himself in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
being famous telling his jokes. After his comedy routine is received poorly,
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
arrives and takes Blitzen home to the North Pole since he appreciates the reindeer's jokes.
*The 12 Days of Christmas
Accompanied to the song of the same name, a lady opens the door and receives many different types of birds as gifts from her true love as the days passed. In the end, she gets tired of having the birds around and cooks them and have dinner with the man.
*A Little Veggie Christmas
A small vegetable in the market was excited about Christmas, but her fellow vegetables are not - they tell of bad things that happen to them as they are turned into meals. Nervous and frightened, the small vegetable is then bought by an old lady and taken home; instead of being turned into a meal, it is placed above a door as a
mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
decoration and watches touched when a man and woman kiss each other.
*The Killer Snowflake
Old Bob went for a walk in the night, but went missing the next morning. The next night, widow Hadley went shopping and did not return. A trap was set and the killer - revealed to be a snowflake - was trapped and taken to court. His crystallized tears were turned into a very beautiful snowflake. He fell in love and moved into a house into the woods.
*Lester the Tie
A colorful tie named Lester wants to be selected and worn, but the other ties dismiss him since he looks outrageous. He was chosen by a girl in the store, who gave it to his father as a Christmas present. Her dad, however, returned the tie since it looked strange. But then her daughter went back to get the tie and used it as a wreath crown’s bow. Lester is glad.
*The Dancing Bear and the King
The kingdom was sad because the king was sad in the holiday season. He was not able to get the holiday spirit, even costumes did not work. So the village got a dancing bear for the circus to make the king happy, and he finally did.
*The Boy Who Loved Christmas
Eugene the boy loved Christmas on all the seasons:
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
,
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
,
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
,
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
and
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
. He always went around with his Santa Claus Christmas costume and singing "
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed th ...
". On Christmas Day, three carolers are singing the song when Eugene arrives... wearing a skeleton costume and saying "Trick or Treat!"
*The Peddler and the Donkey
Long ago, a peddler was traveling with his horse pulling the carriage. A “crazy local dog” scared the two and they ran away. They hit a bump and took off into the sky, with the peddler's items falling off to people below and they accept them as gifts. He later is revealed to be the origin of Santa Claus.
*The Plucky Present
An animated present falls off from Santa clause’s bag. The animated present tries to find his destination which he believes is Jimmy's house. After avoiding numerous obstacles from cars and a dog, he arrives at Jimmy's house. Inside the present, however, is a girl's dress - the present misread his tag and learns he was originally to be sent to Jenny’s house. The plucky present takes off once again to be with Jenny.
*The Carolers
A man was trying to sing but a dog was interrupting him howling, so the man demanded the dog leave. The howls around a corner and gains an audience. After seeing the dog get applauded, the man decided to come closer to the dog and joins the dog by singing.
After the grandchildren are taken to bed and fall asleep, the grandmother leaves their bedroom and her shadow transforms into Santa Claus and says "Ho! Ho! Ho!"
Cast
*Madelon Thomas as Grandma
*Billy Schneider as Older Boy
*Madeline Rogan as Little Girl
*Peter Dylan Rogan as Younger Boy
*
Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pa ...
as Blitzen / Angry Guy (credited as Pete Zarustica)
*Tony Carroll as Plucky Present / Lester the Tie / Announcer / Santa Claus / Dad
*
Rebecca Honig as Veggies
*Sheldonna Smythe as Little Girl (Lester the Tie)
Additional voices
*Bill Plympton
*Maureen McElheron
Songs
In this film there are nine original songs, which were written and executive-produced by Maureen McElheron. Hank Bones instead served as a producer. Finally, "
Kalinka Kalinka may refer to:
Places
*Kalinka, Kardzhali Province, Kardzhali Municipality, Bulgaria
*Kalinka Temple, a temple in northern India
*Kalinka, Lublin Voivodeship, a village in the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland
*Kalinka, Russia, the name of several ...
" was the only famous song inserted into it.
# "Cecil the Snowman"
# "Remember Christmas"
# "Victor the Tree"
# "Blitzen's Theme"
# "Everyday's a Holiday"
# "Donkey and Peddler"
# "Plucky Present"
# "Killer Snowflake"
# "Veggie Christmas"
# "Kalinka" (traditional version)
Credits
* Animated & Directed by: Bill Plympton
* Camera: John Donnelly
* Editor: Anthony Arcidi
* Sound: Georgia Hilton
* Associate Producers: Maureen McElheron and John Holderried
* Music Producer: Hank Bones
* Art Supervisor: Signe Baumane
* Artists: Jesse Schmall, Andrea Breitman, Sasha Vetrov, Lori Samsel, Celia Bullwinkel, Rose Bevans
* Voices: Madelon Thomas, Billy Schneider, Madeline Rogan, Peter Dylan Rogan, Pete Zarustica, Tony Carroll, Rebecca Honig, Sheldonna Smythe, Bill Plympton, Maureen McElheron
* Plymptoons
See also
*
List of Christmas films
Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television; since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year d ...
Notes
*
External links
*
{{Bill Plympton
2001 television films
2001 films
2000s animated short films
2000s Christmas films
American Christmas films
American animated television films
Films directed by Bill Plympton
Christmas television films
2000s American films
Santa Claus in film