Merry Christmas! We asked some of the movers and shakers at Nickelodeon to share their favorite Christmas specials with us. Here are their picks:
Russell Hicks, President of Content Development and Production, Nickelodeon
“I have three favorite holiday classics that I must watch every year. As a kid, I could not wait for Christmas to come around, not just for the toys, but for all the holiday specials. I loved Bob Hope, Bing Cosby and Andy Williams but the ones I really loved were the animated specials like Rankin Bass’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Bill Melendez’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Chuck Jones’ How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! Back then, you only got to see these masterpieces once a year, and even now I still need to watch these every year. But now, thanks to all the technology I also get to watch them whenever I want. There is nothing better than, in the middle of summer, to turn up the air conditioner, put on the fire and click on one of these holiday classics. Try it with some hot chocolate and relive the most wonderful time of the year even when its 100 degrees outside.”
Ciro Nieli, Executive Producer, Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
“The biggest standout holiday movie for me is actually a segment of the 1972 anthology film, Tales from the Crypt, a little story titled, “…And All Through The House.” I saw this one Saturday afternoon as a kid on Creature Double Feature in Philadelphia. I had always found Santa Claus to be terrifying and to find a film that supported my suspicions elated me. Tales from the Crypt was directed by the late, great Freddie Francis for Amicus Productions. Francis had a great eye and later became an Oscar-winning cinematographer for amazing filmmakers like David Lynch and Martin Scorsese, to name a few. The story was directly adapted from the comic pages of “the Vault of Horror.”
Jim Dirschberger and Jay Howell, Creators and Co-Executive Producers, Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig
“Our favorite holiday special would be The Simpsons Christmas Special. It was actually the first episode of The Simpsons to air and it left a huge impression on us when we were kids. It had all the ingredients of a perfect holiday show. It was sad, had tons of jokes, lots of slapstick humor and most importantly, got you into the holiday spirit. Every time we see a doggy chew toy shaped like a steak, we think of this episode…and Christmas.”
