Conceived and used with the
permission of Matthew Constantine and Brad Gullickson, the original dorks.
Everyone has a “Top 5.” But Brad and Matt, choosing to walk a
different path, amended that to “A Fistful…” over at their blog, In the Mouth
of Dorkness. A film-centric blog where
they also discuss comics and books and TV, these two regularly share their top
5, ranging from “Heroic Kids” to “Spies” to “Summer Movies” to “Punches” to all
things in between. Always fun, often
insightful, and something I hope to regularly pilfer for Warrior27. As they say:
If you’re going to steal, steal
from those you know relatively well, who will not sue you.
Christmas is my favorite time of
the year. I love the decorations, the
packages, the treats, the general good cheer, but most of all I love the fantasy
that surrounds the whole endeavor. I
love the idea of Santa Claus, of one person traversing the Earth in order to
bring joy to little girls and boys. It’s
magical, and that hits me right where it counts. And a big part of the joy comes from all the
stories that have been crafted around this time of year—whether those are
television specials, films, books, or theatrical dramas. Here are five of my favorites:
5. The Father Christmas Letters by
J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien was the first author I
actively collected, and I collected everything.
I have three different editions of these letters to his children,
written by Tolkien with accompanying drawings, which recount adventures in the
North Pole with Santa, his elves, and the North Polar Bear, among other
characters. They’re lively and fanciful
and a whole lot of fun to read. They
made such an impression on me that I’ve taken it upon myself to do something
similar, writing letters to my own boys, from Santa, for quite a long
time now. It’s one of my favorite things
to do at Christmas time.
4. The Life and Adventures of Santa
Claus, by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Michael Ploog
This is one of my favorite comics, all time. A tale recounting the
early life of Santa, how he came to be the “man in the red suit,” and the adventures
and challenges he faced in becoming the immortal and benevolent saint that he
is. Based on L. Frank Baum’s novel—yes,
the man behind The Wizard of Oz—with breathtaking art from Mike Ploog, who had
been working in film for a number of years before returning to comics with this
and a few other projects, at the time, it is a masterful lesson in adaptation and the craft of comics.
For the art alone, this book is worth it, but the narrative holds its own, as well, and
provides an exciting tale for sharing during this holiday season.
3. Miracle on 34th
Street (the original, black-and-white version, please)
My favorite Christmas movie, by
far. The story of the real Santa Claus,
living among us without our knowledge, who returns the holiday to its joyous
and charitable roots through taking a position as the Santa Claus at Macy’s
Department Store. Put on trial, through
the machinations of a relentlessly horrific “psychologist” at Macy's, a lawyer Kris Kringle has befriended must prove, beyond a reasonable
doubt, that this man is, indeed, the one, true Santa Claus. And he does that,
while Kringle’s generous nature also helps to instill in the young woman who
hired him, as well as her daughter, a faith in humanity and life they had both
set aside. It's smart and funny and fantastic. I Love it!
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles
Dickens
There’s a reason (or many reasons) why this is
considered a classic. Dickens crafts a wonderfully
imaginative and magical narrative that deftly gets across the aspirational core of the
holiday season without shoving it down readers’ throats. If you’ve only ever seen the television or film adaptations, do yourself a favor and read the original. The writing is beautiful, and any questions of
internal logic you might have from those adaptations, as I did, will be
answered through this definitive text.
1. Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Nothing even comes close to this
Christmas special, for me. I love every single thing about
this special—Oscar teasing Big Bird with questions of how Santa gets
presents to everyone, the kids surprising Bob with their use of sign language
when singing the holiday song he taught them, the tomfoolery (yeah, I used “tomfoolery”)
at the ice skate rink to open the show, and the final revelation of the magic
of Santa, as Big Bird awakes, icicle dangling from his beak, to find himself
alone on the roof of the apartment building—and I never miss a chance to watch it every year. On Christmas Eve, natch.
Happy Holidays!
-chris
No comments:
Post a Comment