An odd christmas special I originally uploaded on a very alternate RU-vid account I had forgotten about. Well here it is in it's full glory... this odd special I watched and liked as a kid. Now... I dunno what the hell I was thinking...
36:20 I think the parents deserve an oscar for that emotional performance they gave for finding out their daughter fell off a cliff. Such good acting, I was moved.
Once I say this special, I was like " Well there goes the money that would've been given to charity but rather made on of the the laziest Christmas special ever seen.
Mrs. Hopewell gave such a compelling, and phenomenal performance in this movie. Literally the greatest character performance I’ve seen in any piece of media 100,000,000/10
Treess can hear and feelll alll our thoughtss and emotionss....and mrs.hopewelll lovedd the kidss...but i guess you need a strongg instinctt to understand this.
The part at 23:15 where Ms. Mavilda's animation suddenly gets more detailed is honestly one of the most terrifying parts of this thing. And it's already terrifying enough.
He's an amateur. Everyone who worked on this were. Not surprising The Family Channel would be the only network that would air something as forgettable as this.
I grew up in an "orphanage", as people call it. There were people there who dedicated their lives to making us as happy as possible under terrible circumstances. The myth of the Evil headmistress is a Dickensian remnant from a bygone era. Merry Christmas to all who give their time and effort to making children without homes as happy and comfortable as they can. You are not forgotten.
Actually, a lot of people who worked in orphanages in the 1800s and early 1900s didn't like children. They got the jobs so they could have power over the kids and could be very abusive. There were many good people as well, of course.
A bad one. XD Especially in context... Mavilda wasn't good at ANY point in the story. So saying that she learns that she wins by being good can make kids think that some of her actions WERE good, which they weren't. and that moral doesn't make a lick of sense. At all. XD
And it's not even good. The lights aren't even all the way on the freaking tree. XD So they blew all that money for "good light effects" yet they're pure crap. XD
Literally no one on this movie's IMDb page has any other credits. The producer/director (Flamarion Ferreira, which I gotta admit is one of the most awesome names of all time) is credited as a background artist on Land Before Time, no other producing credits. Some of the technical crew have worked on other stuff, but no one in the voice cast, or the writer, the production manager, etc. I kinda want to track down some of the people who worked on this and get the story behind this thing.
I've spent the last half-hour trying to find out everything I can about this. Here's what IMDB has given: - Flamarion Ferreira is listed as the director, but if you go to his IMDB page, he's also listed as the animator and character designer. He's also apparently been a part of several other animated TV shows and movies like Babes in Toyland, Fantastic Four (the series), He-Man, She-Ra, the Smurfs, Animaniacs, the list goes on. Here's his IMDB page so you can see what I mean: www.imdb.com/name/nm0274319/?ref_=tt_ov_dr Something I found interesting is that for every single project he's listed as working on, he's listed as NOT an animator but as either a background artist, a colour stylist, or a modeller. Much more of the first than the other two. Might explain the stiff animation. - None of the actors are listed to have been in any other movies, with the only exception being Helen Quinn (Mrs. Mavilda). The only other thing she's worked in is some BBC documentary mini-series from 1994 called, "Tales from the Opera," (note: she's not an actor in this; she's listed as being "herself" on IMDB) which I haven't found any more information on. - The editor, Joseph Simon, is listed as a production manager for a lot of the same TV series that Flamarion Ferreira worked on, and has only credited as an actual editor for one other short that was made 20 years earlier. The production manager, meanwhile, had no other credits as such. So just to reiterate, someone whom the director likely KNEW was an actual production manager was given the job of editor, while someone who apparently had NO experience in film making was given the job of production manager. That's as far as I'm digging (for now at least). Feel free to go digging yourself or check to see if I got things down right; in which case, here's the IMDB page: www.imdb.com/title/tt1651146/?ref_=nm_flmg_anm_13
Same here. It'd be fascinating to learn about the making of this production and why it's like this. I think Flamarion Ferreira might have a Facebook page, on that note.
I loved the part where Ms. Mavilda said “it’s mavildin’ time” and mavilded all the kids in the orphanage. Out of all the holiday movies in existence, this was one of them!
I hope Helen Quirk (Mrs Mavilda's voice actress) got the respect she deserves, she was the only one who gave a damn about her performance and putting emotions in her words. And yet, this little movie is a gem of that kind of trash that makes you laugh so much you can't get tired of it, I love it and the fact that they choose actual children to voice them and you can hear them stuttering and talking in an almost-incomprehensible way, instead of putting there adults to form long and complex sentences in a perfect english, is quite good. Still, long live Helen Quirk and her Mavilda's performance and long live Mavilda herself, the only one who got that the kids were putting up a literal cult for a tree and tried to stop them.
Ben Jackson It IS accurate on how little kids talk, but (Correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think that's how kids are supposed to talk in film because they could be hard to understand at times.
For some reason, the only character in this movie I care about is the mayor. Don’t ask why, his smile is just wholesome. This movie sucks, but it’s damn funny, so I love it
What a masterpiece. The animation is absolutely stunning. Each character is likeable & well developed. The concept is original & clever. The plot is intense & compelling. The villain's motivations make so much sense. The acting is some of the best I've seen in cinematic history. This is greatest film since Twilight. I know this is a bold statement, but I honestly think this is even better than everyone's favorite film, Catwoman. This is almost as much of a masterpiece as Fifty Shades Of Grey is
Phenominal is an understatement for their emotional, heart wrenching performances. Yep it's defintly up there with Batman And Robin as well both Justin Bieber films as the greatest fil ever
I can't believe how good these characters are, they're interesting,funny,charming. I mean their characters are as good as the last Airbender movie characters.
You are the one who started, mate. When I wrote my comment about Nostalgia Critic's joke (The clinically still alive thingy) I was simply agreeing with the joke. And somehow, you insulted me back. So, I demand a REAL apology from you, young mate. Goodluck. I will delete my first comment after that
I actually knew about The Christmas Tree LOOONG before people like The Nostalgia Critic and Phelous and CR covered it. This travesty was on an old recorded VHS tape that my family had, sandwiched between How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Chipmunk Christmas (both of which involved the great Chuck Jones), and I would usually skip over it or avoid watching it because of how dull and lifeless it was most of the time, though I still clearly remember moments of it like the scene in which Mrs. Mavilda is struck by lightning right out of nowhere. It amazes me how The Christmas Tree has been re-discovered all these years later, as well as just how much of a mess it really was, with it even being compared to "The Room", of all things! I'm usually curious about obscure media, especially animation, and I like knowing what the behind-the-scenes of certain productions was like. In this case, especially, I can't help but wonder how they managed to botch up something like this so badly. Would Flamarion Ferreira even be willing to talk about this if someone asked?
1:28 - AAH! MOVEMENT! Oh, I'm sorry, that so rarely happens in this special! 1:53 - The kids were obviously exposed to too much car exhaust to imagine such a non-imaginative idea.
Niklas, what a refreshing comment. My mom was partly raised in boarding schools. The loneliness she felt was horrible. I am so happy you where surrounded by caring people. They helped you shine for others. God Bless You and those you love.
Friendly reminder that the “Peanuts” VAs were little kids, some of which couldn’t even read or memorize a script. And their deliveries had much more emotion and articulation put into it, more that this pathetic excuse of a “Christmas special” Timestamps (watch, you won’t regret it): 4:12 6:13 16:04 23:15 33:24 38:26
I never actually watched Matilda, or read it. But I heard that it's one of the best novels done by Dahl himself. To me, I love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant peach, and the BFG. They are pretty amazing
Best quotes 23:27 Pappy: What can we do? High-pitched voice kid: What about your mother? 4:12 We come from the mayor’s 39:30 Oh look Santa's leaving (Pause at 39:39) 6:23 Lilly: My teddy bear has only manarm. But my mom said santa will bring mm duwarm for him at trismas. 36:09 Pappy's mom: “oh god what do you mean”
OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. (Yeah, this Christmas special is _so bad_ that I started swearing.) I came across this due to seeing Nostalgia Critic. And he has never been more right. The animation: creepy. The dialogue: unemotional. I swear, this is worse than _Twilight,_ and that is saying something. The characters/Actors: again, creepy. The worse thing about this is that it's a _Christmas Special. A fucking Christmas Special._ _-Rant Over-_
She's probably the most interesting character in this special, but that's a pretty low bar. It's like being the prettiest man at the Rush Limbaugh look-alike contest.
I guess with a name like Mrs. Mavilda, you don't have a choice but to be evil 😂 --And I love how the rest of the kids have this impassioned, Annie-like plot to get help from Santa Claus & Pappy's like, "Wth? Why I gotta go?!" 😭 Also, Lily's man-ish hand 31:07 💀
The mother JUST found out that her own daughter Lily 'died', and then she's like 'oh well, at least the fucking tree is going to be alright!' Jesus lady! How about some despair for your lost daughter??!
4:16 I have never seen horrible lack of emotion in an animated holiday special than what just saw and heard. Dear God, it's a holiday special. Show some emotion.
Some things I'm surprised NC didn't comment on: 3:07 Ok I know they're trying to make her sound really evil, but couldn't keeping the children from feeding feral and potentially dangerous animals and letting them in the house be considered reasonable? 3:45-4:00 Um, why??? Why must the the mother and children live separate from the father for a period of time just so he can work at a saw mill? What exactly is the logic behind that decision? It's not like the mill is army basic training. Is this town like communist USSR where the government decides what job you have and what your living arrangements will be? 10:35-10:55 why does the narrator keep jumping between tenses 11::25-11:40 wait, so the mayor new about the children wearing rags? What happened to being fooled by her dressing a couple of them up every time he came? 14:45 Then why does the wish have to be simple? 15:10 Um, they were doing it one at a time. 15:20 doesn't betting on a card game usually involve partitioning the money out in various sums rather than just having it all in one lump sum? 18:40-18:45 I would say that it is unlikely that the mayor won't be suspicious when the same trick is pulled twice, but given how dense he is, I'll give that a pass 29:15-29:20 Look, I know Mrs. watzherbitch doesn't really care about the kids that much, but you really think she isn't going to notice if one out of all seven of them goes missing? 30:45 um, is the dog supposed to be dead? 33:55-34:10 Why is she talking to him as if this is the first time telling him about this evil plan? It's like they decided took two different versions of the same scene but forgot to cut one. 34:25 Why is she busy packing instead of notifying her husband and the police about her missing children? 35:31 If you want to be a martyr for environmentalism yourself, go ahead, but endangering the lives of the children while doing it doesn't make you much better than mrs. whatsherbitch 36:00 where the fuck did all those people come from? 36:25 where the FUCK did all those people come from? 38:33 no need for a comment, just play a Monty Python's Holy Grail clip 39:29 Um no, no he doesn't. Check that shot again. 38:50 Three reindeer? 39:50-40:00 A. Wasn't the orphanage already part of city property? B. Um, I don't think the mayor has the authority just to pull eminent domain on any part of town. Does separation of powers exist at all in this town? 40:11 yeah good luck with that once the ACLU finds out 40:30 when did he stop being an emotionless zombie? 40:43 um, there are seven children is this shot. There always have been. Who are these extra two kids you're talking about. Because if you mean your own kids they're standing over there with the five orphans to make seven. 41:38 yeah, she's only guilty of child neglect, embezzlement of public funds, failure to report two missing children, and brandishing a deadly weapon at people. Let's give her another chance and reinstate her.
You figured it out! This story takes place in the Soviet Union, despite being a U.S.- Brazilian production. It's set "way up north," and the USSR by and large qualifies as such. The mayor's some sort of local party boss, what with his absolute power over the town. Or ... what if this town's a GULAG?! That's why there are so many orphans. Mrs. Mavildova -- I mean, Mavilda -- is providing these little counterrevolutionary tykes with reeducation through labor. I think NC would've mentioned all this and a lot more if his video were hours and hours long, because this thing has that many little delights like this.
Also, at the end of the special the narrator mentions TWICE that we shouldn't be worried about Mrs. Mavilda... um, what reason did she give us to make us worried about her? Everyone hated her.
