00:00 - "Here We Come A Wassailing" - By Tim Conner, Johnny Counterfeit, Dan Sachs, Reid Steward, Greg Black, Patric J. Miller, Will Vinton, Roxy Ragozzino, Bernadette Caughlin, Deborah Miller & Doug Aberle Claymation became part of the pop culture zeitgeist and was seen nearly everywhere in the mid-80's. Will Vinton, was the creative genius behind using this new technique of molding clay as the medium for animating scenery and characters. Domino's "The Noid" and the infamous California Raisins were very popular mascots for their brands and even spawned their own cartoons, shows and movies. Will Vinton's "Claymation Christmas" is a favorite of mine to watch at the holidays, so I wanted to share highlights from the film and soundtrack. Enjoy! ________________________________________________________________________ [below extracted from their wiki page] "Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration" is an animated Christmas television special originally broadcast on the American CBS TV network on December 21, 1987. The special featured stop-motion clay animation and was produced and directed by Will Vinton. The special is co-hosted by "Rex" (Johnny Counterfeit), an erudite Tyrannosaurus Rex, and "Herb" (Tim Conner), a dimwitted and bespectacled Styracosaurus with a gluttonous appetite. The two appeared in previous Will Vinton videos dating back to 1980 including "Dinosaur", but this Christmas special is the first in which they have dialogue and contemporary personalities, vaguely parodying Siskel and Ebert respectively. Situated in a facsimile of London's Christmas Square, Rex and Herb introduce several stand-alone videos of Christmas carols and holiday standards and discuss the origins of each song relating to different holiday traditions around the world. Among the musical performances: - The Biblical magi sing the verses of "We Three Kings" traditionally, while their camels sing the chorus in the style of doo-wop. - At Notre Dame Cathedral, The Paris Bell-Harmonic, a group of anthropomorphic church bells who strike their own heads with chime hammers to achieve their respective notes, performs "Carol of the Bells." The low C bell (the tonic) constantly dawdles and chimes out of tune, enraging the maestro, Quasimodo, who uses a slingshot on the bell to get the proper tone at the end. - A children's choir sings "O Christmas Tree", with the video depicting various scenes taking place inside of Christmas ornaments. - "Angels We Have Heard On High" is set to a walrus couple doing an interpretive ice ballet while several luckless penguins watch. - At a black church in the countryside, a soul/jazz hybrid rendition of "Joy to the World" plays out in colorful scenes. (This segment, using stylized, flat animation resembling paintings and stained glass windows, is the only segment not rendered in Vinton's trademark Claymation.) - The California Raisins perform a cover of the Temptations' version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,". Throughout the program, Rex futilely attempts to clarify the true pronunciation and meaning of the term "wassail', featured in the Christmas carol "Here We Come A-Wassailing". As the show progresses, Rex is accosted by different groups, all singing parodies of the song. - "Here We Come A-Waffling", by a kennel of dogs selling waffles from a vendor's wagon. - "Here We Come A-Waddling", by a gaggle of straggling geese carrying baskets of goodies. - "Here We Come A-Wallowing", by a herd of slovenly pigs on a John Deere-style field wagon gorging themselves on an abundance of assorted fruits. At the end, the entire cast performs "Here We Come A-Wassailing", and then "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as the end credits roll. A companion soundtrack album was released by Atlantic Records in 1988 and was available on LP, cassette, and compact disc. The album contains six songs not featured on the special, including an alternate version of "Angels We Have Heard On High". The song "O Christmas Tree", as featured in the special, was excluded from the soundtrack. ____________________________________________________________________ Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel "mike kling" www.youtube.com/@mikekling https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK69ZGug7uX5UdqxBoryvqw/playlists - Various vintage cartoon, movie and music clips featured, as well as, OVER 100 playlists of 80s songs and current radio hits too! Thanks! ____________________________________________________________________ Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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