The Christmas Toy (1986) (TV)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Eric Till

Writer:

Laura Phillips (writer)

Release Date:

6 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Musical

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...

Plot Keywords:

Toy | Christmas | Christmas Eve | Cat | Doll

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Dave Goelz	...	Rugby / Ditz (voice)
Steve Whitmire	...	Mew (voice)
Kathryn Mullen	...	Apple (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Balthazar (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Belmont (voice)
Camille Bonora	...	Meteora (voice)
Brian Henson	...	Cruiser (voice)
Rob Mills	...	Bleep (voice)
Nikki Tilroe	...	Ding-a-Ling (voice)
Marsha Moreau	...	Jamie Jones
Zachary Bennett	...	Jesse Jones

Also Known As:

Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Henson Associates (HA)

Trivia:

Many of the characters in this film (including Balthazar, Rugby, Mew and Ditz the Clown) were spun off into their own TV series "The Secret Life of Toys" which ran on the Disney Channel.

Quotes:

Mew: It's catnip! Just catnip!

Movie Connections:

Followed by "The Secret Life of Toys" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Greatest Christmas Toy of All

A Christmas classic!

Imagine being the light of someone's life, the favorite plaything of a child, only to feel rejected when a new plaything gets in the way?

"The Christmas Toy" is a 1986 made-for-TV Christmas special that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC-TV) in December 1986, and centers around a playroom full of toys, including Rugby, a self-centered tiger, Apple, a sweet-natured curly-haired doll, Balthazar, an aged teddy-bear, and Mew, a catnip toy mouse, among others. The toys come alive when no one is around. On Christmas Eve, Rugby learns that he will be "replaced" by a new favorite toy, and is determined to get inside the box of the new toy. Rugby and Mew go on an adventure to the living room, where Rugby opens the box of Meteora, a She-Ra-esque doll that causes havock. When Rugby and Mew go back to the playroom, Mew lags behind, and becomes frozen, just like the cute little clown doll, Ding-a-Ling. Can Rugby still compete for his owner's heart?

This was a great program that, according to my mom, never aired again. It took forever to be released on video, but those of us who saw it in 1986, and even have it on tape, remember it fondly. I have mine on a tape my parents made in 1986, and it has the old "Kraft" recipe commercials, and my best friend and I thought the recipes were disgusting looking. I love how Kermit hosts the program, and the characters are the same voices as the great Muppets we all know and love.

My favorite parts are when Rubgy opens the box to find Meteora, the introduction with Kermit (I LOVE KERMIT!), and the ending, which I won't give away!

This was well-done and beautiful to watch, and a great Christmas story that teaches viewers not to be conceited, and that you're never forgotten. Definitely watch this at Christmas time this year, and remember an undying classic for all ages.