Christmas Is Here Again

Christmas Is Here Again is a 2007 American direct-to-video animated Christmas musical-comedy film distributed by Screen Media Films, also known as Who Stole Santa's Sack?[2] The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studio,[3] it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia. Narrated by Jay Leno, the film features the voices of Edward Asner, Kathy Bates, Madison Davenport, Colin Ford, Brad Garrett, Andy Griffith, Shirley Jones, Norm Macdonald, and Daniel Roebuck, and marked Asner's fourth role in a Christmas-themed film after the 1977 film The Gathering, 1999 film Olive, the Other Reindeer and 2003 film Elf, though unlike the latter two films, he does not play Santa.

Christmas Is Here Again
DVD Cover
Directed byRobert Zappia
Produced byRobert Zappia
Jim Praytor
Written byRobert Zappia
Marco Zappia
StarringEdward Asner
Kathy Bates
Madison Davenport
Brad Garrett
Andy Griffith
Shirley Jones
Norm Macdonald
Narrated byJay Leno
Music byJohn Van Tongeren
Production
company
Easy to Dream Productions
Renegade Animation
Distributed byScreen Media Films
Release date
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Sophiana, an orphan girl who carries a cane, sets out to find Santa's toy sack (which is a magical source of toys since it was made from the baby Jesus' swaddling clothes), which was stolen thirty years previously by Krad ("dark" spelled backwards) in revenge after Santa stopped handing out Krad's coal to naughty children. She is helped in her quest by Paul Rocco, one of Santa's elves, Dart, a reindeer calf, Buster the fox, and his friend, Charlee the polar bear.

Cast

Production

Renegade Animation, an animation company located in Glendale, California and known for the TV series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Mr. Men Show, teamed up with Easy to Dream Entertainment to create Christmas Is Here Again. A small crew spent nine months on the principal animation, which was completed in mid-2006.[3]

One of the songs in the film's soundtrack (as well as the film's working title) was "Who Stole Santa's Sack?"

Co-producer Darrell Van Citters, a Renegade staff member, once directed a Disney short called Fun with Mr. Future (1982).

Awards and release

Christmas Is Here Again premiered on October 20, 2007, as an official selection at the Heartland Film Festival.[1][4] The following year, it received an Annie Award nomination for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production (Madison Davenport as Sophiana).[5] Additionally, in 2009, Christmas is Here Again was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production. Colin Ford, the voice of Dart, was also nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2009 for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor.

The film was originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007, but ultimately received its DVD debut in the U.S. on November 4, 2008. The disc contains a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast interviews and "Name the Reindeer", as extras.[6]

Originally, the reindeer on the DVD cover had a red nose akin to Rudolph's.[7] On the final version of the cover, it is black.

Reception

Richard Propes of The Independent Critic website gave it an A and 3.5 stars, calling it "an ideal choice for families, children and for Scrooges like myself who, somewhere deep inside, still want to believe".[4] However Common Sense Media gave the film a 2 out of 5 saying "Small children might like this holiday musical, but they may also lose patience at the 73-minute length".[8]

Stage version

The Pacific Conservatory Theatre presented the premiere of a stage adaptation of Christmas Is Here Again by Brad Carroll and Jeremy Mann in November and December 2014.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Heartland Film Festival information for Christmas Is Here Again". Truly Moving Pictures. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 59–60. ISBN 9781476672939.
  3. "Renegade Animation Completes "Christmas is Here Again"". Digital Publisher Magazine. Digital Media Online. 2006-09-28. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10.
  4. Propes, Richard (2008). "Review of Christmas Is Here Again". The Independent Critic. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  5. "List of awards and nominations". 35th Annie Awards. The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  6. Yip, Roger (2008-09-09). "Christmas Is Here Again on DVD". DVDTOWN.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-08. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  7. "Christmas Is Here Again". Screen Media Films. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  8. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/christmas-is-here-again#
  9. "Christmas is Here Again". Pacific Conservatory Theatre. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
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