One Movie Later: Take a Holly Jolly Blast from the Past with These Two 1987 Xmas Specials
by James Coulter
Does anyone remember 1987? Boy, what a year. Baby Jessica. Iran-Contra. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Predator. Princess Bride. And the births of Kesha, Zac Effrom, and—well, me!
Yes! Yours truly was born on Jan. 26, 1987. The year holds a special place in my heart, not only because it was my birth year, but also because it saw the premiere of two of my favorite Christmas specials–the kind of specials I watch every Christmas because the holiday wouldn’t be complete without them.
The first is a Muppet Family Christmas, which premiered on ABC on Dec. 16. 1987. If you think Avengers: Endgame was the biggest crossover of all time, for millennials like myself, this special was our Avengers. Not only did it star the titular Muppets, but also other Muppet characters from other Muppet productions, including Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies.
The best part of the special was seeing all the Muppet characters bounce their personalities off of each other, from Animal considering Cookie Monster a kindred spirit after seeing the blue monster scarf down an entire platter of Christmas cookies, to the Swedish Chef attempting to cook Big Bird for Christmas. (Yes, that actually happened!)
My second favorite special from my birth year was A Garfield Christmas, which premiered on CBS on Dec. 21, 1987. While our favorite fat cat hates Mondays, he absolutely loves Christmas, even if he doesn’t always show his holiday spirit.
As usual, our beloved grumpy cat has a lot to be grumpy about during the holidays, from trudging through the snow to nearly killing himself setting the star on the Christmas tree, but he still manages to reveal his softer side during the warmer holiday.
Helping the literal grumpy puss come out of his shell is Grandma, a spunky, feisty granny with more vim and vigor than her own grandchildren. Despite her rough and tumble exterior, like Garfield, she too has a sentimental side that the cat manages to help her reveal during the special’s more touching moments.
While A Muppet Family Christmas is not available on streaming or home media, the special has been uploaded to YouTube. A Garfield Christmas is streaming for free on Tubi, PlutoTV, Plex, and The Roku Channel.
Both specials were recently discussed on the recent episode of the One Movie Later podcast. Listen to the full episode on Acast, Spotify, and Amazon Music: https://shows.acast.com/chattin-on-the-ridge/episodes/one-movie-later-1987-christmas-specials-muppet-family-xmas-g
