Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the Talking Cricket, a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book The Adventures of Pinocchio, which Walt Disney adapted into the animated film Pinocchio in 1940. Originally an unnamed, minor character in Collodi's novel who is killed by Pinocchio before returning as a ghost, he was transformed for the Disney adaptation into a comical and wisecracking partner who accompanies Pinocchio on his adventures, having been appointed by the Blue Fairy to serve as Pinocchio's official conscience. In the film, he sings "When You Wish Upon a Star", the Walt Disney Company's signature song, and "Give a Little Whistle".
The Nutcracker, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination. The plot is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 short story The Nutcracker, itself a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov. Although the complete and staged The Nutcracker ballet was not initially as successful as the 20-minute Nutcracker Suite that Tchaikovsky had premiered nine months earlier, it became popular in later years.
"The Little Match Girl" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dreams and hope, was first published in 1845. It has been adapted to various media, including animated, live-action, and VR films as well as television musicals and opera.
Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams was a fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom theme park of Walt Disney World. The show debuted at the park on October 9, 2003, and was developed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, under the direction of VP Parades & Spectaculars, Steve Davison, who was assigned to create a replacement for the 32-year-old Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. Several variations of the show at Walt Disney World include Happy HalloWishes during "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party", Holiday Wishes during "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party", and Magic, Music and Mayhem during the 2007 event Disney's Pirate and Princess Party. The multimedia version at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris premiered on July 16, 2005, and had its final show on August 25, 2007. The show at the Magic Kingdom was sponsored by Pandora Jewelry. The show was presented for the last time on May 11, 2017, at the Magic Kingdom Park and was replaced by Happily Ever After in the following day.
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a Walt Disney World event hosted at Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida on select evenings from 7:00 pm to midnight in November and December leading up to Christmas. It features several activities such as a parade, dance parties, character meet-and-greets, and complimentary treat stations.
Barbie of Swan Lake is a 2003 animated fantasy film co-produced by Mainframe Entertainment and Mattel Entertainment, and distributed by Artisan Home Entertainment.
Gregg Allan Wallace is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur and writer. He is known for co-presenting MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC One and BBC Two. He has written for Good Food, Now and Olive magazines.
Peter Charles Combe OAM is an Australian children's entertainer and musician. At the ARIA Music Awards he has won three ARIA Awards for Best Children's Album, for Toffee Apple (1988), Newspaper Mama (1989) and The Absolutely Very Best of Peter Combe Recorded in Concert (1992) and four additional nominations. His best-known tracks are "Toffee Apple", "Spaghetti Bolognaise", "Mr Clicketty Cane", "Juicy Juicy Green Grass" and "Newspaper Mama". His Christmas Album reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 50.
Wee Sing is a songbook series published by Price Stern Sloan. It would also inspire a series of children's CDs, cassettes, coloring books, toys, videos, and apps. The videos were shot in Portland, Oregon.
Believe... In Holiday Magic is a holiday fireworks show at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, launched in 2000. The show runs for much of the Disneyland Resort's holiday season, which typically runs from the second weekend of November to the first weekend of the following January.
In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. They are most often depicted as humanoids, but sometimes as furry mammals with tails. Santa's elves are often said to make the toys in Santa's workshop and take care of his reindeer, among other tasks.
Gwyneth Rees is a British author of children's books. Her novel The Mum Hunt won the Red House Children's Book Award for Younger Readers in 2019, and another, My Mum's from Planet Pluto, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal in the same year. Her other popular books for younger children include the Fairy Dust series, the first of which was an Ottakar's Book of the Month choice, and the Mermaid Magic trilogy.
Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is a British preschool animated television series. The show was created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and produced by Astley Baker Davies and by Entertainment One. Many of the voice actors who worked on Peppa Pig have lent their voices to the show; these include John Sparkes, Sarah Ann Kennedy, David Rintoul and David Graham. The music is composed, conducted, and produced by Julian Nott, who is noted for his Wallace and Gromit, Bing and Peppa Pig scores. Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom is the third show to be produced by Astley Baker Davies.
The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is a 2005 American picture book for children, written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell and illustrated by Coë Steinwart. The book tells a Christmas-themed story, written in rhyme, that explains how Santa Claus knows who is naughty and nice. It describes elves visiting children from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, after which they return to the North Pole until the next holiday season. The Elf on the Shelf comes in a keepsake box that features a hardbound picture book and a small scout elf. The story was inspired by a family tradition that started with Carol Aebersold when she was a child, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and which she later carried on with her twin daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, in Georgia.
A Fairly Odd Christmas is a 2012 American live-action/animated Christmas comedy television film. It is the sequel to the 2011 live-action TV film A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! and the second live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated television series The Fairly OddParents.
The Bureau of Magical Things is an Australian drama television series created by Jonathan M. Shiff and developed by Jonathan M. Shiff and Mark Shirrefs that premiered in Australia on Eleven on 8 July 2018, and aired through 2 November 2018. In the United States, the series debuted on Nickelodeon on 8 October 2018; it later moved to TeenNick where it was broadcast from 15 October to 8 November 2018. The series stars Kimie Tsukakoshi, Elizabeth Cullen, Mia Milnes, Julian Cullen, Rainbow Wedell, Jamie Carter, and Christopher Sommers. The Bureau of Magical Things was renewed for a second season in November 2019, which premiered on 10 July 2021 on 10 Shake, and aired through 8 August 2021.
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special is a Christmas special starring Mariah Carey that premiered on December 4, 2020, on Apple TV+. It was directed by Hamish Hamilton and Roman Coppola and executive-produced by Hamilton, Coppola, Carey, Ian Stewart, Raj Kapoor and Ashley Edens. The special centers around a holiday crisis in which the North Pole has to call Santa Claus's friend, Mariah Carey, to help.
