That 90s Christmas Special! A Top Five List of Cartoons To Tickle Your Funny Bone

Before the 21st century, not many animated yuletide themed works were made. Even in the theatrical front, there was lots of live-action material, but when all I craved were cartoons, there just wasn’t many to find at all. Sure there was Frosty Returns, and the obligatory Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, but they weren’t memorable.  All I recall is that there were more televised 90s Christmas Specials than cinema scale. When I look back with the knowledge I have know, maybe the studios were waiting to hear back from what a new generation of kids said they liked.

Also, there’s the chance that all those fond cartoons from the 60s to 80s were getting sunsetted. As interest waned, and just what got played while the television station would have to change to keep with the time.

What I offer is a look at those ‘toons that were personal to me. And although The Nightmare Before Christmas (Amazon Link) is alone, perhaps there’s an obscure international flick to give Jack company! This work deserves to be a special entry.

A Pinky and the Brain Christmas (1995)

Brain never stops scheming, and on Christmas his plan to take over the world again! Just what’s presented is quintessentially priceless! When he and his companion dress up as elves and reindeer, all I had to do was laugh. This series simply represents the best in what a double act is all about, and it’s hard to find a bad episode!

“Christmas With The Joker”
From Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Honestly, this episode is very special for the simple reason The Joker’s song, “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells,” made it into the pop culture lexicon for the future. We even hear a rendition of it in Merry Little Batman, and that says it all!

A Flintstones Family Christmas (1993)
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

The fifteen-year gap between the very first Flintstones holiday special to the two released in the 90s is very unusual. It’s like this Stone Age family didn’t want to be relevant in the 80s, but to see them return in the following decade was a surprise. Both looks at how the patriarch has trouble dealing with the yuletide in two different forms.

One concerns him worried if he’d measure up to Santa, and the other is where he plays the seminal Scrooge in a play within a play. They’re both guilty pleasures that I’d simply watch because it nails down why the holidays should be about the people being together and goodwill more than anything else.

“Have Yourself a Goofy Little Christmas” From Goof Troop

Interestingly, not every Disney Afternoon cartoon had a holiday special. I’d come home to enjoy this special grouping of merriment and was always excited for Darkwing, Gargoyles and Tail Spin! And because of the comeback through Dynamite comics, I’d be remiss to not mention at least one work out of the half a dozen shows that defined this television programming block.

This Goof Troop episode with Pete being very his ususal gruff and bah humbug resonates with me. It’s not so much about him being an Ebineezer but rather just wanting to avoid Goofy. While some people like to make merry 24/7, others just want to take it easy. To find that balancing point makes for material for any sitcom to play up, and with this work, it’s just perfect!

To note, where there is “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” (1997) and “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” (1999), they don’t make the grade as the former has limited appeal and the latter is a compilation.