"A Huey Freeman Christmas" | |
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The Boondocks episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 7 |
Directed by | Seung Eun Kim |
Written by | Aaron McGruder |
Original air date | December 18, 2005 |
Guest appearances | |
Quincy Jones as himself Judge Reinhold as Mr. Uberwitz | |
"A Huey Freeman Christmas" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Boondocks . It originally aired on Adult Swim in the United States on December 18, 2005. In the episode, protagonist Huey Freeman seizes complete creative control of his elementary school's annual Christmas play, but runs into trouble with administration when he wishes to portray Jesus as black. Meanwhile, Riley Freeman rekindles an old grudge he has against Santa Claus.
"A Huey Freeman Christmas" was directed by Seung Eun Kim and the script was written by series creator Aaron McGruder.
Huey's culturally sensitive teacher, Mr. Uberwitz, offers him a chance to direct the school's Christmas play in the hope of seeing an African-American perspective on the holiday. Huey is skeptical at first, thinking that Uberwitz will get fired for making this offer, but accepts on the condition that Uberwitz sign an agreement giving him full creative control. He begins writing a new play that adheres to his unique vision, sets up an office to manage the organizational work, and hires Quincy Jones as music director.
Finding that the students cast in the play are goofing off instead of rehearsing, Huey angrily fires all of them and consults with Jones about bringing in high-profile movie stars to fill the roles. He ignores protests from the Woodcrest PTA over the children's dismissal. When Huey refuses the school principal's demand that Jesus not be portrayed as black, the principal tears up Huey's agreement with Uberwitz. Demoralized and exhausted, Huey turns control over to Uberwitz, asking only to have his name removed from the production.
Uberwitz stages the play exactly as Huey wrote it, but only ten people show up for the performance. It is well-received by the local theater critics who attend, but almost no one else in Woodcrest is there to see it due to the PTA protests. Huey considers the play a success, but he regrets his decision to exclude his classmates and is disappointed that the public did not want to see his artistic vision. Also, Uberwitz loses his job as Huey had predicted, but eventually becomes a college professor specializing in African-American studies.
Meanwhile, Riley feuds with a shopping mall Santa, attacking him first with a folding chair and golf club and later with his airsoft guns. Riley is angry over not getting a set of car rims for Christmas in the past. Uncle Ruckus is hired by the mall to provide security for Santa, but proves inept at the job when Riley attacks again. Ruckus eventually becomes the new Santa, causing Jazmine to lose faith in the idea of Santa Claus until Ruckus claims that the real Santa had secretly chosen him to fill in after seeing how dangerous the mall could be. Jazmine accepts this story and attends Huey's play with Riley and Granddad, applauding enthusiastically as they sleep through it. Riley then confronts Ruckus after learning of what he said to Jazmine, and tells him to pass along the warning that he will be waiting for Santa next year.
Reception for the episode has been generally positive. Curt Fields of The Washington Post deemed the episode "excellent," writing, "With a knowing spin on A Charlie Brown Christmas , the story is a laugh-out-loud take on the holiday, consumerism and earnestly liberal white folks." [1]
The Boondocks was a daily syndicated comic strip written and originally drawn by Aaron McGruder that ran from 1996 to 2006. Created by McGruder in 1996 for Hitlist.com, an early online music website, it was printed in the monthly hip hop magazine The Source in 1997. As it gained popularity, the comic strip was picked up by the Universal Press Syndicate and made its national debut on April 19, 1999. A popular and controversial strip, The Boondocks satirizes African American culture and American politics as seen through the eyes of young, African American radical Huey Freeman. McGruder's syndicate said it was among the biggest launches the company ever had.
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas is a 2004 American Direct-to-video animated Christmas anthology fantasy film produced by Disneytoon Studios and directed by Matthew O'Callaghan. The film includes stories directed by Peggy Holmes, O'Callaghan, Theresa Cullen, and Carole Holliday. It is the sequel to Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999). It features Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Max, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and Scrooge McDuck, in five different segments rather than three like its predecessor. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
The Boondocks is an American adult animated sitcom created by Aaron McGruder for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. It is based upon his comic strip of the same name. The series premiered on November 6, 2005. The show focuses on a Black American family, the Freemans, settling into the fictional, friendly and predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest. The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, social classes, stereotypes, viewpoints and racialized identities provides for much of the series' satire, comedy, and conflict.
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Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.
Santa Claus is a 1959 Mexican fantasy film directed by René Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. In the film, Santa Claus works in outer space and battles with a demon named Pitch, sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil".
Riley Freeman is a character from syndicated comic strip The Boondocks written by Aaron McGruder and its TV series adaptation. He often refers to himself as "Riley Escobar", and in season two of the TV series, he also refers to himself as "Young Reezy". He is Huey's younger brother who aspires to be like the rap artists and the gangsters that he admires.
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Huey R. Freeman is the main protagonist and narrator of The Boondocks syndicated comic strip written by Aaron McGruder, as well as the animated TV sitcom of the same name. Politically sapient and borderline militant, Huey, being a self-described revolutionary left-wing radical, regularly reflects upon current events as well as the plight of African-Americans as it relates to a greater American society. As presented by his logical and rational personality, Huey's character has often been described as "misanthropic" and "cynical". He's named after Huey P. Newton, one of the co-founders and leaders of the Black Panther Party. He is voiced by Regina King. In the original pilot, he was voiced by singer Alicia Keys.
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Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.
The members of the DuBois family — Tom (husband), Sarah (wife), and Jazmine (daughter) — are fictional characters and featured players in Aaron McGruder's Boondocks comic strip and animated TV series. They live across the street from the main characters, the Freeman family — Robert and his grandsons, Huey and Riley.
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