A Christmas Story

A somewhat obscure Hannah-Barbara Christmas special originally aired in December 1972, it was recently aired on TCM as their Wednesday night animated night in December 2025.

I had never seen it before as it was a little before my time on the original air date but I can see how it would have nostalgia appeal to those old enough to remember the original airing. Also, recommended to those with young children who want to show them a "deep cut" as it were for the Christmas specials.

Don't expect much, the jokes are pretty cliche and the animation isn't great, although it's not without a certain charm. The voice actors are pretty good, although a bit cheesy. As a cat person, I always hate seeing cats made out as the bad guys on these old cartoons, although having the cats talk like 1930's gangsters was sort of funny. At 30 minutes it doesn't really wear out it's welcome but unfortunately theTCM outro was cut off on my DVR recording so I'll never know what the guy had to say to Jacquelyn Stewart after the show wrapped up.

Watched this in the 70s and loved it, as well. Mid 50s now and Christmas memories return through this show and many others. Feel like a happy kid again waiting for the big day.

I was lucky many years ago..to see this. It is NOT really all that memorable of a story..as other have stated. HOWEVER..I am quite SURPRISED..no one else noticed..that the opening song in the cartoon.."All on Christmas day". was RE_WORKED into the song played on the "Enchanted voyage" dark ride.. at the Amusement park Kings Island, near Cincinnati Ohio. That ride is LONG gone, redid several times..now "boo blasters".. But form 1971-1983.. it was the enchanted Voyage..and this tune with different words..about the " happy friends that live in my tv".. played throughout the dark boat ride !!.

It's Christmas Eve and little Timmy's letter to Santa was somehow forgotten. So his dog and a mouse desperately try to track Santa down and deliver the letter so Timmy will have a good Christmas. A cute Hanna-Barbera Christmas special that seems to be all but forgotten today. It's corny stuff but enjoyable for what it is. Good voice work from Daws Butler and Paul Winchell, among other fine voice actors like Don Messick. The animation is adequate (it was made for TV, after all). It's also from Hanna-Barbera so you know there's a lot of corny jokes and loud sound effects. Thankfully there is no laugh track but you don't have to use your imagination to see the spots where it seems room was left for it. There are a number of songs, some of which were reused for later Hanna-Barbera TV specials. This isn't likely to become a new favorite of yours but if you enjoy old animated Christmas specials, it's certainly worth giving a try.

Here is a Hanna-Barbera Christmas TV special that my family and I loved and still do. But of course my parents refer to the title as "Timmy's Letter."

The special is set in a town and era almost like in Disney's Lady and the Tramp, and it was Christmas Eve. In one house, a little boy named Timmy (voiced by Andy Panda's voice actor, Walter Tetley) was read a Christmas story and tucked into bed. The resident mouse, Gumdrop (voiced by animation regular Daws Butler), while admiring the house all decorated for Christmas, noticed Timmy's letter to Santa on the floor. The letter must have fallen off the table and never been mailed. So he and the family dog, Gobber (voiced by Paul Winchell), set out to deliver the letter to Santa and save Christmas for Timmy.

I was very fortunate (and so is my family) to find it on TV and tape it because they don't show it anymore. So all I can say is that I loved this special from beginning to end. And I don't have any particular scene I like because I love this cartoon. I also love the songs in the special; three of them were replayed in later Hanna-Barbera Christmas programs.