Christmas Is

"Christmas Is" - not as this animated TV short portrays it. But that's okay, because this 1970 film was probably meant as a sort of educational piece to encourage the children who always get the lesser parts in the Christmas play. Most live action movies about Christmas pageants show kids as the star, sheep and other animals, and shepherds - rather than the leading roles of Mary and Joseph and the magi. And, those kids are usually quite happy or okay with their roles.

Well, in this animated tale, Benji is a boy who's upset about having to be the second shepherd two years in a row. The school is at its last rehearsal and his big dog, Waldo, is at the rehearsal and makes a little mess. On his way home, Benji tells his neighbor, Jimmy, who thinks it's funny that he will be playing a shepherd.

But at home, Benji starts reading about the first Christmas. It must be a story book, because it differs from the Bible with lots of busy-ness from extra people. Pretty soon, Benji and Waldo become part of the story he's reading and he finds them there. As the nativity scene unfolds, he has a conversation with the second shepherd and discovers that his role was important in the story. Then back at home Benji is all excited and runs out to hurry back for the play that night. He runs into Jimmy and tells him he must go see it.

The film ends with the school children presenting the play and Benji reciting his line as the second shepherd.

I think "Christmas-Reviewer" misses the point. Benji and Waldo specials were all pretty simple animation. However, as a medium for delivering a message, they were all fairly good and impactful.. Christmas-Reviewer said "This is the worse (sic) special ever made". I'm assuming he meant "worst". He must not see many Christmas specials..or must restrict his (or her) viewing to secular Christmas specials (Rudolph, Grinch, etc). The Benji and Waldo series were all produced by Lutheran Television, and as such, they endeavor to present the actual reasons we celebrate Christmas and Easter. And that alone will keep people wanting to view these year after year. I saw it as a child, and have all the Benji and Waldo shows on DVD today. Why? because I still enjoy them.

This was the first of four shorts that Lutheran Television produced in the early 1970s that centered around Benji and his sheepdog Waldo. A lot of people put these specials down due to the limited animation style they used. Despite that the producers were able to hire a lot of talented people as the voices, it wasn't enough to save them from obscurity. Still, this is a half-decent look at the true meaning of Christmas when Benji and Waldo are transported 2,000 years back to the birth of Jesus Christ. Worth a look.

I LOVE this movie and miss viewing it every Christmas, the Easter Is version is very well put together too. Just the kind of shows needed for kids today, without the violence so prevalent now.

Review Date 1/16/2018

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Now Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB? When one of my reviews gets deleted IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review.

This program is terrible. The songs are poorly written and the story is on the level that even a 3 year old would find "STUPID AND BORING".

If the story wasn't bad enough the songs are worse. This is one of those cartoons that SNL loves to make fun of.

If you hate a child make them watch this