''Benji's Very Own Christmas Story'' is a 1978 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 ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

featuring

Benji Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise. Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an un ...

the dog and is one of two such ''Benji'' specials to have been nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Patsy Garrett Virginia "Patsy" Garrett (May 4, 1921 – January 8, 2015) was an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a radio performer at the age of seven, Garrett is best known for her seven years on Fred Waring's ''Pleasure Time'' radio sho ...

and Cynthia Smith reprise their respective roles as Mary and Cindy. The special was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on December 7, 1978.

Plot

Mary and Cindy from the ''Benji'' films are on a promotional tour in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and are asked to be grand marshalls of a Christmas parade in

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). ...

. Due to a broken leg, Kris Kringle is sending his elves out to deliver presents, and, as this will force them to miss the parade, he wants them to meet Benji first. With help from Mary and Cindy, Kringle realizes the true meaning of Christmas and performs a musical number showing how

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

appears all over the world.

Cast and crew

Cast

* Benjean as

(daughter of original Benji Dog, Higgins) *

as Mary * Cynthia Smith as Cindy Chapman *

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

as Kris Kringle

Crew

Directed by

Joe Camp Joseph S. Camp Jr. (born April 20, 1939) is a motion picture director and writer who is best known as the creator and director of the ''Benji'' films, as well as ''Hawmps!'' and ''The Double McGuffin''. Camp resides in Bell Buckle, Tennessee wit ...

Nominations and awards

''Benji's Very Own Christmas Story'' was nominated for an

in 1979 for Outstanding Children's Program along with ''

A Special Sesame Street Christmas ''A Special Sesame Street Christmas'' is a 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the better-known '' Christmas Eve on Sesame Street''. The special was first broadcast on Friday, December 8, 1978, at 8 PM ET on CBS, pre-empting ''Wonde ...

'' and ''

Once Upon A Classic ''Once Upon a Classic'' was an American television program hosted by Bill Bixby. The program aired on PBS from 1976 to 1980 as a production of WQED in Pittsburgh. The episodes consisted of adaptations of such classic literature as ''A Connecticu ...

'' with '' Christmas Eve on Sesame Street'' being the eventual winner. Actress Cynthia Smith was nominated for a Youth in Film Award (now known as the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

) in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

for her performance. The other nominations in her category were

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bird ...

for '' Hanover Street'',

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

for ''

Just You and Me, Kid ''Just You and Me, Kid'' is a 1979 American comedy film starring George Burns, Brooke Shields, Lorraine Gary, Ray Bolger, Leon Ames, Carl Ballantine, Keye Luke and Burl Ives. It was directed by Leonard B. Stern and was released in July 1979 by ...

'',

Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hadley Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in ''Lipstick'' (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in ...

for ''

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

'' and

Trini Alvarado Trinidad "Trini" Alvarado (born January 10, 1967) is an American actress best known for her performances as Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel ''Little Women'' and Lucy Lynskey in the comedy/horror fi ...

for ''Rich Kids''. The winner was

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...

for ''

A Little Romance ''A Little Romance'' is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Laurence Olivier, Thelonious Bernard, and Diane Lane in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on ...

''. The film was also nominated in the category of Best TV Series or Special Featuring Youth. Also nominated in the same category were ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...

'', ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'', ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...

'' with the eventual winner being ''

Eight is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

''.

References

External links

Official web site of Benji and Joe Camp
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benji's Very Own Christmas Story 1978 television specials 1970s American television specials Films about dogs American Broadcasting Company television specials American television films 1970s English-language films Christmas television specials Christmas television films Benji Films directed by Joe Camp Films scored by Euel Box American Christmas television specials Santa Claus in film

Plot

Cast and crew

Cast

Crew

Nominations and awards

See also

References

External links