Benji's Very Own Christmas Story

This movie is featured on Hulu for the Holidays. Made in 1978, this short film was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. I was never a Benji fan and I wasn't sure if I wanted to give this little short a chance to make the list. Two minutes in - I knew I'd be watching the whole movie. This version of Santa ended up being something I never could have imagined. There is a crazy musical number " Multiplicity: I am what people think of me" that is a movie oddity I won't be able to forget any time soon.

Also one of my favorite actor's of all time Deep Roy makes a brief appearance as an elf and it was incredible! This movie is a bizarre little nugget of history nestled away in web 2.0.

Synopsis 
This TV special was directed by long-time Benji entrepreneur Joe Camp. When Benji leads her human pals on a journey to the North Pole, loveable old Santa shows them how different cultures celebrate Christmas. And yes, they discuss the "True Meaning" of the Holiday. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide 


Design 

Harlan Wright was the production designer for the project. Wright worked on several Benji short films, but never worked on any other shows. There is only a limited amount of information available about this movie considering it's limited significance and the fact that it was shot over thirty years ago. I found the design to be refreshing for a short and I thought that the interesting ideas of the film were well supported by the design. This Santa was a Kris Kringle/Santa Claus combination character and throughout the movie he adorned different culture's wardrobes. 

In the scene to the left his two wardrobe elves needles and pins bring out my favorite prop of the film: a huge book with all of Santa's cultural stylings. It's a strange moment in the film, but the book is fantastic. I thought the scene in the CEPAC center was also incredibly original. The design was futuristic for the late seventies, but feels so dated now. I think those designs are fabulous. They make a comment about the time period they were made in without consciously meaning to. That's what I liked most about this entire design. There were so

many dated yet really original ideas. 
Multiplicity 
Santa's wardrobe global wardrobe changes were the most stereotypical parts of the film and most of them took place during the Multiplicity song and dance scene. This scene actually had a few truly terrifying moments but justified why itself in terms of why they were showing these different sides of Santa... 

Kitsch or Tell? 


This film made an educational statement that I respect. The design was well thought out and incredibly telling of the time it was made. I think the scenes were all quirky and fun. Despite a few terrifying moments out of Kris Kringle, I think the charm of the piece could be found in the design. This is my first Tell movie of the Christmas season!!