Long, long ago the world didn't have any snow and winter was a time of wind, darkness and cold. One day a group of kids with a heartfelt cause to transform the season marched to the Ministry of Winter to persuade the all-powerful, icy-hearted Mr.Winter to use his magic and bestow the great gift of snowfall upon the world. It's a gift that makes the season full of wonder and joy, it is The Gift of Winter.
Canada
Canada
❄❄❄ I have seen the far more polished Witch's Night Out at least a dozen times and wasn't aware this even existed. Drawn directly on the cells, what you see are minimalist scribbles moving and talking. The message that abusive people are often hurting and isolated is one which isn't always popular and like everything, can be used irresponsibly but is still something I strongly believe in. Not as an excuse to continue treating people badly but just as inalterable fact. I was talking to someone recently about not actually believing in hate; that what Yoda should have said is fear leads to anger which leads to more fear and anger but hate is an illusion. This is a beautiful, ephemeral place, a moment. The whispering trees are especially curative and helped ease my own lonely winter blues. ❄❄❄
To anyone who has ever seen Witch's Night Out, the artwork of The Gift of Winter will be unmistakable. This thirty minute short, coming four years before the more well-known Halloween classic, tackles the story of how Winter got its snow back.
Sick of cold, dark but not snowy winters, Goodly, Nicely, Rotten, Malicious, Small, Tender and Bazooey travel to the Ministry of Winter to lodge a formal complaint with the boss, only to find that Winter is not interested in changing anything, much less adding something white, fluffy and fun...
This is alright, but it's not quite as much fun as the sequel. The art style remains the best part of this, so perfectly capturing a late 60's/early 70's vibe, and the voice acting from Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Valri Bromfield and Gerry Salsberg is wonderful, even though you can pretty easily pick Aykroyd's voice out from every character he does.
A nice straightforward animated 30-minute TV special about returning joy to Christmas. There's a good message, especially rare in these older TV specials directed at children, that cranky/rude/mean people are often hurting and are neglected. The highlight, though, is the animation, which is drawn directly onto the cells. I love the whispering woods.
Simple line-drawing characters, color-coded, and with names like Goodly, Nicely, Malicious, and Rotten, relay the story of the first winter snow in this charming animated TV Christmas special. Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd lend their versatile voices to several different characters as the citizens of a town protest to the Ministry of Winter about the harsh conditions of the season, leading to the first winter precipitation. I loved the simplicity and even rough-edge to the animation, which seemed fitting and which was surprisingly expressive with only a few squiggly lines. It should be a better-known seasonal film, though it does have a cult following, along with its sequel, the Halloween special Witch's Night Out, which is also terrific. Highly recommended…
Most interesting thing about it is that Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner did multiple characters' voices.
LOVE THE ART STYLE, it moves slow, even at 24 minutes, but has a very worthwhile message.
beautiful and thoughtful, even if in a weird sorta presentation.
holidaze 2021
5 people and, it's okay to cry.
IT'S GOOD TO LAUGH
IT'S GOOD TO CRY
IT'S EVER SO GOOD TO BE ME
In what feels like a Southpark episode, people from a modern suburban neighborhood journey to the Parliament of Winter to ask him to make winter more fun. Some of the adults plan to commit an act of violent terrorism, but they didn't count on two children joining them.
If you're like me and you’ve only seen the sequel, Witch's Night Out, you'll be surprised at how different this first special looks. The character designs are similar, but the whole thing has a charming unfinished animation style. Gilda Radner, Dan Akroyd, Valri Bromfield, and Gerry Salsberg all voice multiple roles. In retrospect, both this special and the second are pretty crazy.
An unseen '80s' animated Christmas special is truly a gift of winter. This one is more interesting than good, but I'm glad to finally see it.
