''The Christmas Toy'' is a 1986 television film directed by Eric Till and produced by

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

, featuring

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

's Muppets, including Rugby the Tiger who remembers how he was the Christmas Toy last year, and thinks he is going to be unwrapped again this year. The film, which originally aired on December 6, 1986 on ABC, was sponsored by

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

. The film has many plot points that are notably similar to ''Toy Story'', which was released 9 years later. Originally introduced by

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

, it was released on VHS format in 1993. In 2008,

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sop ...

(distributed by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

) released the special on DVD, but edited out Kermit's opening introduction due to legal issues with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. When it was released on Amazon Prime, Kermit's scenes were reinstated. The film later inspired a spin-off television series titled ''

Secret Life of Toys ''Secret Life of Toys'' is a 1994 children's TV series based on the 1986 Christmas TV special '' The Christmas Toy''. Each of the fourteen 30-minute episodes consists of two 15-minute stories. The show was taped in Monheim, Germany (near the Dut ...

''.

Plot

When no people are around, the toys still play in the playroom. But since a toy will be frozen forever if a person catches it out of position, they have to be very careful. It's Christmas Eve, and Rugby the Tiger remembers how he was the favorite Christmas toy last year and wants to be the favorite again this year, not be replaced by another toy. However, he does not realize that if Jamie unwrapped him again this year, she would see him out of his normal place that she usually puts him and he'd be frozen forever. Mew, the cat's toy mouse, follows him out of the playroom to help him after informing the other toys that Rugby left. Meanwhile, Apple the Doll, whom Rugby supplanted as favorite toy, leads a group of toys out of the playroom to rescue Rugby. Once they meet up with him in the living room, Apple tries to tell him what Christmas is really about. But Rugby refuses to believe her, and tries to get into the Christmas package and lets loose Meteora, Queen of the Asteroids, who does not know she is a toy, and thinks she has landed among aliens. The other toys must get Rugby out of the box and Meteora back in it before they are found and frozen forever. But Mew is caught, and frozen. Only then does Rugby realize what a good friend Mew has been to him, and how selfishly he has been acting. Rugby sings, telling Mew how much he cares for him. This brings Mew back to life, and then the other toys also know how to revive their other frozen friends.The Christmas Toy presents the darkest holiday of Jim Henson's career
The AV Club retrieved November 15, 2014 On the morning of Christmas Day, Jamie and Jesse enjoy their new toys alongside their current toys. While the kids are away, the toys sing "Together at Christmas". Kermit joins in at the end of the special.

Featured cast

Muppet performers

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Toy, The 1986 television films 1986 films 1980s Christmas films The Muppets television specials American Christmas films American television films Christmas television films Films directed by Eric Till Films about sentient toys

Plot

Featured cast

Muppet performers

See also

References

External links