''Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls'' is an American television

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptation ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on December 11, 1983. The special is inspired by the

Wacky WallWalker The Wacky WallWalker was a toy molded out of a sticky elastomer. It was shaped similar to a spider, and when thrown against a wall would "walk" its way down. It was a hugely popular toy in the early 1980s. Before its introduction in the United Sta ...

toys that were imported from Japan and merchandised by

Ken Hakuta Ken Hakuta (born 1951), known as Dr. Fad since 1983, is a South Korean-born Japanese-American inventor and television personality. Hakuta, as Dr. Fad, was the host of the popular children's invention TV show ''The Dr. Fad Show'', which ran from 1 ...

in 1982. The toys are small plastic octopus-like figures molded out of a sticky

elastomer An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''elastic p ...

; when thrown against a wall, the figures slowly "walk" down as the appendages briefly adhere to the surface. More than 200 million of the toys were sold in the early 1980s. Hakuta set up the TV deal with NBC, and said that the young boy in the special bore a "distinct resemblance to Mr. Hakuta's 4-year-old son, Kenzo." In the special, the WallWalkers are extraterrestrial octopoids from the planet Kling-Kling, sent to Earth to discover the

true meaning of Christmas The true meaning of Christmas is a phrase that began to appear in the mid-19th century when a shift toward a more secular culture resulted in a national backlash. Christians began to see the secularization of the celebration day of the birth of Ch ...

. The team of aliens — Wacky, Big Blue, Springette, Stickum, Crazy Legs and Bouncing Baby Boo — disguise themselves as

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 ...

, but they're discovered by a spoiled human boy, Darryl, who needs a lesson in the Yuletide spirit. Darryl threatens to inform the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

about the aliens, unless they help him earn money to buy an expensive toy car. At an orphanage, Crazy Legs discovers the kindness of strangers, and Darryl and the WallWalkers listen to the story of

the Three Wise Men The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

and the

Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask him: ...

. Learning his lesson, Darryl donates his presents to the orphanage. The special was not well-received, and was in the bottom five of the

Nielsen TV ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

for the week.

Cast

Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Ho ...

: Wacky *

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other c ...

: Big Blue *

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series ''Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrench ...

: Springette *

Marvin Kaplan Marvin Wilbur Kaplan (January 24, 1927 – August 25, 2016) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Best known as Henry Beesmeyer in '' Alice'' (1978–1985). Early years Kaplan was born on January 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, t ...

: Stickum *

Howard Morris Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...

: Crazy Legs *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

: Bouncing Baby Boo, Darryl's Dad, Kenzo, Alien Astronomer *

Scott Menville Scott David Menville (born February 12, 1971) is an American actor who is known for his voice work in animated films, television series and video games. Life and career Menville was born on February 12, 1971, to television animator and writer C ...

: Darryl *

Cheri Steinkellner Bill Steinkellner and Cheri Steinkellner are an American husband and wife screenwriting duo, known for their work on ''Cheers'', '' Teacher's Pet'', its film adaptation of the same name, and '' Bob.'' They wrote the book of the musical ''Siste ...

: Darryl's Mom * Other voices by Sharman Di Vono, Bill Scott

Reception

Suzanne Barnes of ''

The Cedar Rapids Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily newspaper, print newspaper and online news source published in the United States, American city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The first paper was published as an evening journal, branded the ''Evening Gazette'', on Wednesday, ...

'' observed, "I personally don't believe that the whole purpose of ''Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls'' was to illustrate the true meaning of Christmas. I believe it was simply a 30-minute commercial for Wacky Wallwalkers."

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt1150937 NBC television specials Christmas television specials 1980s animated television specials American Christmas television specials Animated Christmas television specials