The Town Santa Forgot

Based on the poem Jeremy Creek by Charmaine Severson, this Hanna Barbera Christmas special aired in 1993. The only time I really remember this was when it was on Cartoon Network's 24 Hour Christmas Party when I was on holiday for Christmas in Barbados when I was about...seven (yeah, I have a good photographic memory)  So should this Christmas special be more remembered nowadays, or should it be as easily forgotten as the town in the title? Let's take a look!

Story: It's pretty simple to talk about the story when getting down to it: a spoilt brat sends a humongous list of Christmas presents to Santa, the big guy mistakes it for being for multiple children because of an impoverished town which happens to share the same name as the kid, the town is happy & the kid realizes the error of his ways. Sure, it is simple, but I feel like that's what brings the charm of the special. It's simple message of tis' better to give than to receive is shown to be very effective and it doesn't feel obnoxiously shoved in your face or unecessary And I must mention that it all being told in rhyme was a nice way to respect the source material & it makes the special all the more memorable & fun with all the creative rhymes, strangely reminding me of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Also, the fact that this is told as a story to a couple of kids by their grandfather was a nice way to set up the plot along with the moral of Christmas being A LOT more than just materialistic gifts. But the best thing about it is the execution and character development. While it's easy to assume tht it would be a cheap and crappy Christmas special, this heartwarming yet funny story proves that it's actually so much more.

Animation: Yes, this is a Hanna Barbera special, and with that comes limited animation. The character designs are the classic Hanna Barbera style similar to The Flintstones and The Jetsons, going for a more childish and round look and I will say that it does work well with the tone. While the character animation is limited and admittedly not as creative as it could be, it's still good for what it is and adds more to the basic charm of the look. The backgrounds also help with the Christmas holiday mood thanks to the typical imagery of Christmas trees with colourful trinkets and the snowy suburbia which Jeremy lives in. I know it's a tad difficult to call the animation good in this because Hanna Barbera aren, but it still. Similar to the Rankin/Bass specials, it makes this one have a more rustic and charm to it. In terms of technicality, it may not be all that great, but the around them definitely make up for it.

Characters: The characters in this may seem to be cardboard cutouts, but once you get closer, you'll see that there's much more to them. The main character, Jeremy Creek, is at first such a spoilt brat who throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way & has an insane amount of toys. However, his character development is surprisingly touching when he realizes what good his huge Christmas list did to the impoverished children of the town Jeremy Creek & is so overjoyed by it (obviously before throwing a temper tantrum at first). His parents are pretty much pushovers despite their attempts to discipline their son and they don't really bring much to the party other than raising Jeremy to be such a spoilt brat. The kids at the start surprisingly get a tiny bit of development as they initially get impatient of getting their presents until their grandpa who may or may not be an older version of Jeremy Creek. This also pretty notable to have some voice actors, like Ashley Johnson (AKA Ellie from The Last of Us & Gretchen from Recess), Hal Smith & Dick Van Dyke as the Narrator. They all bring their charm to the characters and Van Dyke's fatherly and warm voice really makes the rhyming all the more entertaining. All of these characters are surprisingly well written, and they really help enhance the simple theme.

Songs: Ok, technically there's only one song, but I thought it be fair to take a look at it! It's sung by the elves when making the presents for the children in Jeremy Creek. I will say that despite the cutesy tone up to the point that it could be like having diabetes, I felt it was pretty sweet. It's not really that relevant in the plot other than to speed the pace up of the elves and Santa making the presents and to establish what this special's version of the North Pole is like. It's definitely not bad, but just really OK compared to the rest of the special.

Overall, The Town Santa Forgot is a sweet little special which should be more appreciated. While the animation is a bit on the crude side, the simple and sweet story and surprisingly well written characters all the more make up for it. I would definitely recommend watching this at least once if you're in need for a more classic Christmas cartoon and it is a good one for kids to enjoy while getting a nice message out of it.
Story: 😄
Animation: 😕
Characters: 😊
Song: 😕
Overall: 😊