New friends can be found in the most unlikely of places, sometimes even right next door. I found this charming Christmas cartoon the other day, and gave it a watch, so now I'll tell you all what I thought about it. Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even the mouse, which you can tell by him just kicking back in his easy chair, not stirring at all. This is Barnaby the Mouse, who will serve as our narrator, as he tells us about a very special Christmas in which some new neighbors moved in next door and from there, unlikely friendships blossomed. See, old Barnaby lives in the walls of an old duplex, and while one side was still vacant, the other was occupied by a kitten named Noel, and her family, workaholic single dad Howard, and his daughter, Sarah. It's a good thing Noel isn't into chasing mice, or Barnaby would be in big trouble. This cat was more occupied being a companion to Sarah, who had lost her mother due to death or divorce or something, and since her dad was always clacking away at that typewriter, she spent most days by herself. However, things may soon change, for the once vacant side of the duplex had just become rented by a young woman, Leslie, and her cocky pup, Nick. Something Howard learned about Lesie right away was that she was a concert pianist, and she practiced her playing and vocalizing morning, noon, and night. How typical, you finally get new neighbors, and they play music at the most inconvenient times. Their walls must be paper-thin to distract them that much, or Leslie can hit some very high notes, and Nick's howling along made for an unsavory duet. At one point, Howard was so distracted that she accidentally typed a bunch of "la la la"s onto his paper, though upon reading the above paragraph, he would've had to retype it anyway as it was full of grammatical errors. Yeah, I actually paused the video to read them, what of it? So, like the good neighbor he was, Howard went next door and rudely told her to knock it off. You know, buddy, you didn't need to be a jerk about it, just ask her nicely to postpone her playing to a reasonable hour, and also, get some new glasses. It looks like you're wearing a misshapen pair of goggles. Not to mention, Nick and Noel do not start off as friends, and sing an impromptu song about how one species is better than the other. Unfortunately, Sarah was caught in between this neighboring feud, but she served as an excellent peacekeeper, between the animals, that is. They're easier to tame than adults. After that, the poor kid goes to write her letter to Santa, requesting, as you might have guessed, a mother. Don't worry, kid, I'm very sure that lady next door might become your mother. I've seen this type of scenario before. That is, if she and Goggle-face can ever stop acting like petty children. Anyway, as Noel was walking around the house, she discovered Sarah's letter to Santa. Seems Howie was so busy trying to meet his deadline that he had forgotten to mail it. Since cats don't know what a post office is, Noel asks Barnaby for help on how to get to... the North Pole to deliver the letter personally. The mouse has no idea, but he suggests she ask Nick. I doubt he'll be forthcoming. However, the dog agrees to help on condition that Noel call him "Maestro." I have a feeling she wanted to call him something else, but she reluctantly grants his request. Nick tells her the North Pole is at the very end of North Street, and so the unlikely pair set off on their quest. This is starting to remind me of a 1972 Hanna-Barbera cartoon entitled A Christmas Story, in which a dog and a mouse set out to personally deliver their little boy's letter to Santa, and have some wacky adventures in the process. I'm sure Nick and Noel will face a few twists and turns of their own. Unfortunately, North Street is the longest street in town, and they see no sign of any poles. They do come across a park dubbed Winter Wonderland, and best of all, they find Santa Claus. Unfortunately, they arrived right at closing time, and the man playing St. Nick disappeared like a ninja, leaving only his suit behind. Worse yet, Nick and Noel run afoul of Roscoe (or DeSoto) from Oliver & Company. They literally give him the slip on the ice skating rink and high-tail it out of there.
There was more misfortune to come, as the letter to Santa blew out of Noel's collar and down the sewer, and Nick narrowly saved his new friend's life when a snowplow almost ran them over. Things looked bad, as now Sarah was even more lonely with her kitty gone, but at least Howard and Leslie were starting to get along, even though she was equally as worried about her dog. So, um, have they been out looking? Have they put up posters? Don't tell me they gave up after an hour. Don't make use the Billy Madison quote! As for the two pets, they had taken shelter in a petting zoo for the night, and the next morning, Christmas Eve morning no less, Noel takes it upon herself to find Sarah a mother. Her reasoning was that because they lost the letter to Santa, they would do his job for him. She first selects a pig, who suggests trying humans, but all the human mothers they find are taken. Well, it's the thought that counts. They eventually admit defeat and head home, walking along railroad tracks-always a good idea. Unfortunately, Nick slips and gets his tag caught in between the ties. Noel works to try and free him, but hey, it's not like there's a train coming... uh oh, spoke too soon, here comes the train! Nick is freed just in time, but Noel... um, I'm going to assume she jumped clear in time. I really hope so. But then, cats do have 9 lives, right? As Howard, Leslie, and Sarah sit at home, moping and worrying, they suddenly hear a familiar dog barking. It was Nick! And look who else was there, Noel. Thank heavens. One down, eight to go. It was a Christmas miracle! It also looks like Sarah would get exactly what she wanted for Christmas, as Howard proposed to Leslie, they kissed, and were married immediately. So, was he waiting on the pets to come home before he did that? They all moved in together, and Nick and Noel became best friends and roomies. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! Little Barnaby was happy, because a big Christmas feast means plenty of crumbs. So, it was a Merry Christmas for everybody, and they all lived happily ever after.
Nick and Noel, the story of how unlikely friendships can form in the most unlikeliest of places and situations. Going in, I knew everything was going to work out, and that Howard and Leslie would get together by the end. Also, is it just me or does Leslie look a lot like Miss Frizzle? I mean the one from the original Magic School Bus, not that horrible reboot they put out a few years back. Maybe some of the animators from that show worked on this too. Here's the breakdown: this special has a good story, good plot, and likeable characters with some good voice acting. That's Paul Williams as Barnaby, our narrator, and I can never get enough of that guy. I just love hearing his voice in anything he does. We've also got Kath Soucie as Noel, Jerry Houser as Nick, Mark L. Taylor as Howard, Lorna Patterson as Leslie, and Anndi McFee as Sarah, all doing a very good job in their roles. Despite all their trials and misfortunes, Nick and Noel just kept on going. It shows how devoted these animals were to their humans, and that Noel was willing to go to the ends of the earth in order to help a beautiful little girl get what she wanted most. It's a simple special, no villain, save for the Doberman at the park, and there are a few conflicts, but they get resolved quickly. The songs are nice, the animation is decent, it may not be very special or stand out in any way, but if you're looking for something charming to watch this holiday season, I recommend Nick & Noel. Again, how could those people not do more to find their lost cat and dog? At one point, Leslie is afraid they might have been kidnapped, but then they do nothing. We saw them all going out to look once, but then they just sat at home and waited. You can't do that.
There was more misfortune to come, as the letter to Santa blew out of Noel's collar and down the sewer, and Nick narrowly saved his new friend's life when a snowplow almost ran them over. Things looked bad, as now Sarah was even more lonely with her kitty gone, but at least Howard and Leslie were starting to get along, even though she was equally as worried about her dog. So, um, have they been out looking? Have they put up posters? Don't tell me they gave up after an hour. Don't make use the Billy Madison quote! As for the two pets, they had taken shelter in a petting zoo for the night, and the next morning, Christmas Eve morning no less, Noel takes it upon herself to find Sarah a mother. Her reasoning was that because they lost the letter to Santa, they would do his job for him. She first selects a pig, who suggests trying humans, but all the human mothers they find are taken. Well, it's the thought that counts. They eventually admit defeat and head home, walking along railroad tracks-always a good idea. Unfortunately, Nick slips and gets his tag caught in between the ties. Noel works to try and free him, but hey, it's not like there's a train coming... uh oh, spoke too soon, here comes the train! Nick is freed just in time, but Noel... um, I'm going to assume she jumped clear in time. I really hope so. But then, cats do have 9 lives, right? As Howard, Leslie, and Sarah sit at home, moping and worrying, they suddenly hear a familiar dog barking. It was Nick! And look who else was there, Noel. Thank heavens. One down, eight to go. It was a Christmas miracle! It also looks like Sarah would get exactly what she wanted for Christmas, as Howard proposed to Leslie, they kissed, and were married immediately. So, was he waiting on the pets to come home before he did that? They all moved in together, and Nick and Noel became best friends and roomies. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! Little Barnaby was happy, because a big Christmas feast means plenty of crumbs. So, it was a Merry Christmas for everybody, and they all lived happily ever after.
Nick and Noel, the story of how unlikely friendships can form in the most unlikeliest of places and situations. Going in, I knew everything was going to work out, and that Howard and Leslie would get together by the end. Also, is it just me or does Leslie look a lot like Miss Frizzle? I mean the one from the original Magic School Bus, not that horrible reboot they put out a few years back. Maybe some of the animators from that show worked on this too. Here's the breakdown: this special has a good story, good plot, and likeable characters with some good voice acting. That's Paul Williams as Barnaby, our narrator, and I can never get enough of that guy. I just love hearing his voice in anything he does. We've also got Kath Soucie as Noel, Jerry Houser as Nick, Mark L. Taylor as Howard, Lorna Patterson as Leslie, and Anndi McFee as Sarah, all doing a very good job in their roles. Despite all their trials and misfortunes, Nick and Noel just kept on going. It shows how devoted these animals were to their humans, and that Noel was willing to go to the ends of the earth in order to help a beautiful little girl get what she wanted most. It's a simple special, no villain, save for the Doberman at the park, and there are a few conflicts, but they get resolved quickly. The songs are nice, the animation is decent, it may not be very special or stand out in any way, but if you're looking for something charming to watch this holiday season, I recommend Nick & Noel. Again, how could those people not do more to find their lost cat and dog? At one point, Leslie is afraid they might have been kidnapped, but then they do nothing. We saw them all going out to look once, but then they just sat at home and waited. You can't do that.
