A Cosmic Christmas

Cosmic Christmas was heavily promoted prior to its release during the 1977 Christmas season. Our family watched it and loved every minute. The plot provided a new twist on the traditional Christmas story, and the characters where very well defined. The fact it was a Canadian production also sparked our interest. We have always been interested in the possibility of extra-terrestrial beings visiting planet Earth. We also believe they are most likely to come in a friendly fashion rather than as invaders, as is so often portrayed in films. Because of these interests and beliefs, Cosmic Christmas was very satisfying to watch. Our children were quite young at the time and it helped us talk to them about the possibility of visitors from space and the likelihood that they would be friendly and not something to be feared. We have never seen the film since then, and would very much like to see it again. Does anyone know if it is available?

I saw A Cosmic Christmas when it first aired in 1977. At the time, I didn't think too much of it but over the years I've come to accept it as a Yuletide perennial just like Rudolph and Frosty. It doesn't feature any well known characters but it's not easy to forget. (how many kids have a goose for a pet?) The story is about Three Wise Men/aliens landing on earth and searching for the meaning of Christmas. The animation is actually a bit eerie at times. A Cosmic Christmas does a good job of examining the commercialism and hypocrisy that abounds during the season (the town mayor is a hoot!) The music is almost mystical and somewhat touching. Many Yuletide specials are synthetic, bland and predictable but this one is genuinely original and imaginative.

I remember when this showed on television in 1977, I think it was on Channel 7 (abc)? Everything about was/is great!! It is just so intriguing to see this idea taking place in space about this family and has a science-fiction flavor to it. I definitely loved the art style and animation. Nelvana is a company I definitely remember, along with other animation they such as Rome-0 and Julie-8(?), Animalympics(great, great, art work and animation, very, very, excellent with cool music) and there are still more that Nelvana made something about 2 racoons (I can't remember the name, and the other one had to do with Halloween) Their animation and art style is clearly evident but A Cosmic Christmas stands out just because, for me, because it had elements that I like such as star ships, well in this case a space wagon (if I recall this correctly) and the boy had an unusual pet, looked like a flying razor making funny sounds. This animation is another in a long list of little known productions from the late 70s that I remember very well in my childhood and it partly the reason I am a graphic artist. Oh, I did not like Rock n Rule because I have absolutely no interest in the subject and where they were going with the story. I saw the movie and I still feel that way. Nelvana since then have made animation but the quality of it has lessened. It is exactly like the Hanna-Barbera studios. Their most skillful and talented animators displayed their artistry in the 40s but as time went along the animation may have gotten smoother but the drawings in the passage of time and with different artists the designs became less detailed until by the mid 60s and early 70s Scooby doo(Ugh.) style of animating and design just prevailed. Which is why I do not respect HB today. Seems to have happened with the Nelvana animation house.

I had been looking for Cosmic Christmas for a long time. Finally, I saw a blog on IMDb that said it was a released in 1989 as an extra on the '50's cartoon Littlest Angel VHS. I found it on Amazon and got it for Christmas. Only $7 including shipping. Funny that The Littlest Angel is less than 15 minutes long and Cosmic Christmas is about 25 minutes. While not high quality, it was still a joy to watch. It was as I remembered... a little odd, exaggerated characters and a poignant message of Christmas - Christmas loving is giving to those who are deemed undeserving.

The only thing that makes it not a 10 is that it is not on DVD, but I still highly recommend it. I think it is the off-beat funny characters and the out of this world story line that was intriguing to me as kid. I mean I have often been asked what would I do if aliens came to earth and I have said that if I wasn't too scared, I would ask them if they had heard about Jesus. This cartoon while not being evangelical in any way, shape or form - it does tell aliens the meaning of Christmas, which I thought was great as a child and still do.

In the early 80s at my elementary school we watched this every year during the Christmas season (on a projector!). I've always remembered it fondly but the details obviously became faded over time.

I remember the story was about how a kid with a goose for a pet is visited by 3 floating aliens who want to know the meaning of Christmas. As the boy tries to explain things to the aliens he discovers the magic of Christmas for himself. At the end the aliens belt out some crazy electro-Christmas music on their alien instruments for the whole town and then blast off into space, leaving the image of a Xmas tree in their wake with their shining ship acting as the crowning star.

After college I started to get nostalgic about my childhood and wanted to see this again however I had no idea what it was called and internet searches were pretty useless. I'm very excited (and also relieved!) to finally track down the details of this show.

They just don't make'em like they used to. I cant wait to see it again!