''A Cosmic Christmas'' is a 1977 American-Canadian
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
animated
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 ...
, premiering on
CBC in Canada and in syndication in the United States on 4 December 1977. A Cosmic Christmas is the first special in the 1977 to 1980 series of television specials produced by
Nelvana Ltd. and was also the first animated production from the studio. It premiered on 4 December 1977 on
CBC Television.
It was submitted for the
Best Animated Short Academy Award.
Plot
Three aliens from an unknown planet, who bear a strong resemblance to the
Biblical Magi, visit Earth to know
the true meaning of Christmas. Peter, a young boy, and Lucy, his goose, are the first to encounter them. Unable to find the true meaning of Christmas in town, Peter takes them to his family's house in the woods. While Peter's grandmother tells the aliens about her memories of Christmas, Marvin, one of the town's bullies, steals Lucy. In the chase to rescue Lucy, Marvin falls through the ice in a lake. Peter attempts to rescue him but falls into the lake as well. The townsfolk, who were out searching for the aliens, attempt to save the boys but their human chain is not long enough to reach them. The three aliens, who had sworn not to interfere with events on Earth, decide to help in order to learn the meaning of Christmas. The rescue effort is successful. The townsfolk are quick to condemn Marvin for stealing Lucy, but have a change of heart when they realize that Marvin stole Lucy because he had nothing to eat. Peter offers Marvin and his friends the chance to join them for Christmas dinner and the aliens realize that family and the spirit of forgiveness are the true meaning of Christmas.
Cast
* Joey Davidson ... Peter
*
Martin Lavut ... Dad, Plutox, Santa Joe
*
Richard M. Davidson ... Lexicon (as Richard Davidson)
*
Duncan Regehr
Duncan Peter Regehr (born October 5, 1952) is a Canadian writer, multimedia artist, and film and television actor. He was also a figure skater and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood ...
... Amalthor
* Patricia Moffatt ... Mom
* Jane Mallett ... Grandma
* Marvin Goldhar ... Snerk
* Greg Rogers ... Marvin
*
Chris Wiggins
Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor.
Career
He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952.
Wiggins is probably ...
... Mayor
* Nick Nichols ... Townie
* Marian Waldman ... Townie
Release
The special was later released onto videocassette by
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...
in the early 1980s as part of the ''Nelvanamation (Volume 1)'' VHS release. It was later released onto a budget VHS from Diamond Entertainment. Both of these releases are out of print and there are no plans to release it on DVD.
See also
*
List of Christmas films
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmic Christmas, A
1977 television specials
1970s animated television specials
Christmas television specials
Canadian Christmas films
1970s science fiction films
Films directed by Clive A. Smith
Nelvana television specials
Canadian animated television films
Canadian animated science fiction films
1970s Christmas films
Science fiction television specials
1977 films
Alien visitations in fiction
1970s Canadian films
Christmas science fiction films