Simpsons Roasting on An Open Fire

I know, The Simpsons have done A LOT of Christmas episodes, but I thought it be best apprpriate to review their very first one as my first Simpsons Christmas episode review, which also happens to be the pilot episode for the series back in 1989 after being shorts during The Tracey Ullman show. So does this episode prove that, or does it feel as unecessary as the most recent seasons (sorry, I personally think it has really overstayed it's welcome now)? Let's find out

Story: The story involves the Simpsons family as they prepare for Christmas as Bart wants a tattoo (which he gets & results in the family spending all of their Christmas money to get it removed), Homer being forced to work as a department store Santa to get money for Christmas when the power plant doesn't get their Christmas bonus (despite only getting $13 out of it)This also shows the origins of how the family got their beloved dog, Santas Little Helper, as Homer goes to a greyhound race to bet on dogs to get more money for Christmas presents & bets on him despite losing & adopts him after noticing his previous owner being abusive towards him. One part I love in this is that considering it's a Pilot episode, it does a great job at establishing the premise of a dysfunctional cartoon family & their. Although it isn't as funny as the future episodes since the humour isn't really the focus (or the pop culture references thank God!), I do like that they focus on the emotional aspects as we surprisingly get to feel for Homer as all he wants to do is give his family a perfect Christmas despite his selfish ways & financial problems (thanks to Bart's stupidity) & relationship between him & Bart is also surprisingly sweet after Bart realizes the department store Santa is his dad! As for the rest of the story, including the heartwarming moment with Homer adopting Santa's Little Helper, I consider it more of a way of establishing the characters & the setting of the Simpsons universe rather than to present a story, but it is really good in that area & the lack of humour in a way makes you think about what they really can do as you see in future episodes! I

Animation: Considering this was during the very start of the show, the animation isn't exactly the best compared to future episodes. Of course, it looks much better than the Tracey Ullman shorts thanks to the more polished character designs & animation, but it still has that rougher quality from the past seasons. The backgrounds of the Simpsons house, the department store & Moe's aren't really that special, but it is interesting to see the original design of Moe's & the power plant. The Christmas atmosphere is also well done thanks to all the decorations & the winter weather considering what Homer's main attempt is in the special! I can't much else to say other than what I've already said. It's much better than the Tracey Ullman shorts, but it still has that rough quality from the past episodes. Oh yeah, and this does not have the well known opening title sequence!

Characters: Considering this is the pilot for the show, I must say that it does a good job at establishing the characters & their personalities! Of course, Homer is the selfish, lazy yet caring dad as he legitimately wants to give his family a great Christmas & cares about Santa's Little Helper despite his ways, Marge is the, Bart is the mischievous ten year old who causes trouble, Lisa is the know-it-all that wants a pony & Maggie is the baby of the family. We also get to see the extended members of the family like Abraham Simpson, the crazy yet loving grandpa & Patty & Selma, Marge's cynical older twin sisters that constantly badmouth Homer & wonder why Marge married him. Barney (who has blonde hair in the special instead of brown compared to other appearances) is surp. Moe also briefly appears as the bartender we know & love, along with Mr Burns as Homer's sinister boss & Seymour Skinner as Bart & Lisa's school principal & this episode easily establishes Flanders as Homer's annoying neighbour (at least from his perspective)! Despite the inevitable that more characters would join as the show progressed, I must say it does a good job at establishing the Simpsons family & some of the Springfield locals!

 

Sure, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire isn't the funniest episode from The Simpsons, but it's still pretty good thanks to the heartwarming moments & it does a great job at explaining the premise of the show & the characters we all know & love! I'd definitely recommend this to Simpsons fans who are getting fatigue over the more recent seasons because this is a pretty good reminder of how the show is capable of good writing without resorting so much to celebrity guest stars, pop culture references or whatever's popular right now!
Story: 8/10
Animation: 4/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 7/10