''The Little Rascals' Christmas Special'' is an

animated 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 anim ...

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 ...

based on the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' comedies of the 1920s-40s. The special was produced by

King World Productions King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States independently established in 1964 until acq ...

, and first aired December 3, 1979 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 ...

. It is a spoof of the 1905 O. Henry short story ''

The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimenta ...

''.

Plot

Spanky (Philip Tanzini) and Porky (Robby Kiger)'s mother (

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Dav ...

) is a single mother during the Depression. Money is tight with very little left over to buy anything nice. When the boys overhear Mom talking on the phone about a blue comet, they think she is ordering for them a ''

Blue Comet The ''Blue Comet'' was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City. Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) president R.B. White in 19 ...

'' train set for the holidays. However, Mom was talking about the train, but rather a vacuum cleaner. Realizing that she confused her sons, she exchanges a coat she had ordered for the train. When she gets sick and the boys realize the truth, they enlist the help of the gang to raise the money to get the coat back. Meanwhile, two neighborhood bullies steal the train set so now there are no gifts for the boys or their mom. A grouchy

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Santa (

Jack Somack Jack Somack (September 1, 1918 – August 24, 1983) was an American chemical engineer, and actor. He is best remembered for his appearance in the Alka-Seltzer "spicy meatball" television commercial. Life and career Somack was born in Chicago ...

) arrives to spread cheer.

Cast

* Philip Tanzini – Spanky * Jimmy Gatherum –

Alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

* Randi Kiger – Darla * Al Jocko Fann –

Stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

* Robby Kiger – Porky * Jack Somack – Santa *

– Mom *

Stymie Beard Matthew Beard Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981) was an American actor. As a child actor, he was most famous for playing Stymie in the ''Our Gang'' short comedy films of 1930–1935. The role was so well known that he adopted the name ...

– Mr. Klugger (The Butcher) *

Cliff Norton Clifford Charles Norton (March 21, 1918 – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades. Early years Norton was born in Ch ...

– Angry Man * Frank Nelson – Sales Clerk * Melville A. Levin – Delivery Man * Hal Smith – Uncle Hominy (Alfalfa's Uncle) *

Naomi Lewis Naomi Lewis (3 September 1911 – 5 July 2009) was a British poet, essayist, literary critic, anthologist and reteller of stories for children. She is particularly noted for her translations of the Danish children's author, Hans Christian A ...

– Sales Lady *

Ike Eisenmann Ike Eisenmann (born July 21, 1962) is a former American actor, producer, and sound effects specialist who has been active in the entertainment industry since childhood. Early life and education Eisenmann was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Ru ...

– Bully

Notes

* While initially airing on

, the special later went into

television syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

, most recently airing in December 2009, on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

, which later became Freeform. * The Little Rascals mention that their club, the Reindeer Club, was originally the Woodchucks Club. This is a nod to the

short ''

Anniversary Trouble ''Anniversary Trouble'' is a 1935 ''Our Gang'' short subject, short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. It was the 134th ''Our Gang'' short (46th talking episode) that was released. Plot Spanky's appointment as treasurer of the Ancient and Honery O ...

''. * Two of the original Our Gang cast members,

and

Matthew "Stymie" Beard Matthew Beard Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981) was an American actor. As a child actor, he was most famous for playing Stymie in the '' Our Gang'' short comedy films of 1930–1935. The role was so well known that he adopted the name ...

, provide voices. Hood portrays the mother of Spanky and Porky, while Beard plays the neighborhood butcher. *

's final role. She died nearly six months before this special aired. * Following the release of this special, the animated

cel A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...

s were reused for 156 thirty second

Public Service Announcements A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

, featuring the Little Rascals. The principal voice actors reprised their roles for these commercials.

References

External links

The Little Rascals Christmas Special - Youtube

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Rascals Christmas Special, The 1979 television specials 1970s American television specials 1970s animated television specials NBC television specials Christmas television specials Our Gang films Television shows written by Romeo Muller American Christmas television specials Animated Christmas television specials Works set during the Great Depression