The Little Rascals Christmas Special

U.S. animated television Christmas special

Christmas
Comedy

Based onOur GangWritten byRomeo MullerDirected byCharles Swenson
Fred WolfStarringPhilip Tanzini
Jim Gatherum
Randi Kiger
Al Jocko Fann
Robby Kiger
Darla Hood Granson
Stymie BeardTheme music composerGreig McRitchieCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishProductionProducersRomeo Muller
Fred WolfEditorRich HarrisonRunning time24 minutesProduction companiesKing World Productions
Muller-Rosen Productions
Murakami Wolf SwensonOriginal releaseNetworkNBCReleaseDecember 3, 1979 (1979-12-03)

The Little Rascals' Christmas Special is an animated Christmas television special based on the Our Gang comedies of the 1920s-40s. The special was produced by King World Productions, and first aired December 3, 1979 on NBC.^[1] It is a spoof of the 1905 O. Henry short story The Gift of the Magi.^[2]

Plot

Spanky (Philip Tanzini) and Porky (Robby Kiger)'s mother (Darla Hood) is a single mother during the Depression. Money is tight with very little left over to buy anything nice. When the boys overhear Mom talking on the phone about a blue comet, they think she is ordering for them a Blue Comet train set for the holidays. However, Mom was talking about the train, but rather a vacuum cleaner. Realizing that she confused her sons, she exchanges a coat she had ordered for the train. When she gets sick and the boys realize the truth, they enlist the help of the gang to raise the money to get the coat back. Meanwhile, two neighborhood bullies steal the train set so now there are no gifts for the boys or their mom. A grouchy Salvation Army Santa (Jack Somack) arrives to spread cheer.

Cast

Philip Tanzini – Spanky
Jimmy Gatherum – Alfalfa
Randi Kiger – Darla
Al Jocko Fann – Stymie
Robby Kiger – Porky
Jack Somack – Santa
Darla Hood – Mom
Stymie Beard – Mr. Klugger (The Butcher)
Cliff Norton – Angry Man
Frank Nelson – Sales Clerk
Melville A. Levin – Delivery Man
Hal Smith – Uncle Hominy (Alfalfa's Uncle)
Naomi Lewis – Sales Lady
Ike Eisenmann – Bully

Notes

While initially airing on NBC, the special later went into television syndication, most recently airing in December 2009, on ABC Family, which later became Freeform.
The Little Rascals mention that their club, the Reindeer Club, was originally the Woodchucks Club. This is a nod to the Our Gang short Anniversary Trouble.
Two of the original Our Gang cast members, Darla Hood and Matthew "Stymie" Beard, provide voices. Hood portrays the mother of Spanky and Porky, while Beard plays the neighborhood butcher.
Darla Hood's final role. She died nearly six months before this special aired.
Following the release of this special, the animated cels were reused for 156 thirty second Public Service Announcements, featuring the Little Rascals. The principal voice actors reprised their roles for these commercials.

References

^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 257–260. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays--Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 172. ISBN 9781476672939.