THE CHRISTMAS TOY

The Christmas Toy is a cute, well-meaning special executed in a rather strange, make-do kind of way.

I was ten years old in 1987, and the one thing that paralleled my love for playing with my dollhouse was Christmas. In fact, I loved Christmas so much that at all random times of the year I would decorate the dollhouse, pretend it was December, and put on Christmas for my dolls. My next door neighbor was right there with me, and our obsession culminated in an elaborate staging of A Christmas Carol (with us acting out our dolls acting out the parts of the play) on the 4th of July. I mention this for two reasons:

1.) I'm very surprised I missed Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy, when it aired.
2.) I'm horrified that the production values aren't a whole lot better than that play we put on on my living room floor.

The Christmas Toy is a cute, well-meaning special executed in a rather strange, make-do kind of way. I'm sure if it had been animated the story would come across as delightful as it actually is, but watching this odd collection of Muppet knock-offs bungle their way through the adventure leaves a lot to be desired. You can almost recognize lots of familiar Muppet voices, but they're coming out of the wrong characters, and I kid you not, the whole thing has the look and feel of an afternoon of play taped with a home video recorder.

The story itself takes place on Christmas Eve, and operates on the premise that dolls and stuffed animals walk, talk, and lead independent lives when people aren't looking. It's imperative that they return to their places before a human sees them or else they will be frozen forever. As the toys prepare for the arrival of new friends, Rugby the stuffed tiger drifts into a nostalgic reverie. He fondly recalls the previous Christmas, when Jamie lifted him from his box and proclaimed him the "most specialist" toy ever. The others realize that this year will bring a new "most specialist" toy, but poor Rugby is intent on reliving the experience. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaves the playroom and begins his trek downstairs. His plan is to find a shiny gift box and climb inside so that Jamie can unwrap him all over again.

Naturally Rugby's friends are concerned, so Apple the doll leads the rescue mission and a brave few follow Rugby downstairs to set him straight. Surprisingly, his greatest ally turns out to be a little cat toy named Mew. He's an adorable stuffed mouse who's forever being ribbed for smelling funny. The poor thing is stuffed with catnip and can't help how funny he smells, but he proves to be a loyal friend with a kind heart. Though the toys must accept that Meteora, Queen of the Asteroids (a sucky, evil-looking doll) is bound to be crowned this year's "most specialist", they learn a great deal about the friendships they share and the love Jamie has for them. Christmas, they realize, is not about replacing the old with the new, but rather appreciating what you have and welcoming new friends into your life. As I type this, I'm struck by how lovely it all sounds, so it's a shame that the sentiment is somewhat lost in translation. The content may be good, but the form (even for a Jim Henson fan) is actually cringe-inducing.