''A Cosmic Christmas'' is a 1977 American-Canadian

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

animated

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

, premiering on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

in Canada and in syndication in the United States on 4 December 1977. A Cosmic Christmas is the first special in the 1977 to 1980 series of television specials produced by Nelvana Ltd. and was also the first animated production from the studio. It premiered on 4 December 1977 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. It was submitted for the Best Animated Short Academy Award.

Plot

Three aliens from an unknown planet, a

Biblical Magi In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

allusion, visit Earth to know the true meaning of Christmas. Peter, a young boy, and Lucy, his goose, are the first to encounter them. Unable to find the true meaning of Christmas in town, Peter takes them to his family's house in the woods. While Peter's grandmother tells the aliens about her memories of Christmas, Marvin, one of the town's bullies, steals Lucy. In the chase to rescue Lucy, Marvin falls through the ice in a lake. Peter attempts to rescue him but falls into the lake as well. The townsfolk, who were out searching for the aliens, attempt to save the boys but their human chain is not long enough to reach them. The three aliens, who had sworn not to interfere with events on Earth, decide to help in order to learn the meaning of Christmas. The rescue effort is successful. The townsfolk are quick to condemn Marvin for stealing Lucy, but have a change of heart when Peter's grandmother suggests he did so because he had nothing to eat. Peter offers Marvin and his friends the chance to join them for Christmas dinner and the aliens realize that family and the spirit of forgiveness are the true meaning of Christmas.

Cast

* Joey Davidson ... Peter * Martin Lavut ... Dad, Plutox, Santa Joe *

Richard M. Davidson Richard Davidson (born 1951) is a professor of psychology and psychiatry. Richard Davi(d)son may also refer to: * Richard K. Davidson (born 1942), American railway executive * Richard M. Davidson (theologian), Old Testament scholar and Seventh-da ...

... Lexicon (as Richard Davidson) *

Duncan Regehr Duncan Peter Regehr (born October 5, 1952) is a Canadian multimedia artist and actor. He was also a figure skater and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood in 19 ...

... Amalthor * Patricia Moffatt ... Mom * Jane Mallett ... Grandma * Marvin Goldhar ... Chief Snerk * Greg Rogers ... Marvin *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was a Canadian actor. Career Wiggins was born January 13, 1931, in Blackpool, England. He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada ...

... Mayor Thimbly * Nick Nichols ... Townie * Marian Waldman ... Townie

Release

The special was later released onto videocassette by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

in the early 1980s as part of the ''Nelvanamation (Volume 1)'' VHS release. It was later released onto a budget VHS from Diamond Entertainment. Both of these releases are out of print and there are no plans to release it on DVD.

In other media

The animated special was spoofed by RiffTrax on 20 December 2024.RiffTrax
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References

External links