United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio and later distribution company founded in 1941 as Industrial Film and Poster Service by former Walt Disney Productions employees. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures such as the Mr. Magoo series. In 1956, UPA produced a television series for CBS, The Boing-Boing Show, hosted by Gerald McBoing Boing. In the 1960s, UPA produced syndicated Mr. Magoo and Dick Tracy television series and other series and specials, including Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. UPA also produced two animated features, 1001 Arabian Nights and Gay Purr-ee, and distributed Japanese films from Toho Studios in the 1970s and 1980s.
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on Sunday, December 3, 1978.
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usually done in stop motion animation. Rankin/Bass' stop-motion productions are recognizable by their visual style of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts and ubiquitous powdery snow using an animation technique called Animagic.
A Muppet Family Christmas is a Christmas musical television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Its teleplay was conceived by longtime Muppet writer Jerry Juhl, and directed by Peter Harris and Eric Till. This television special was filmed at 9 Channel Nine Court in Toronto, Ontario. The special features various Muppets from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies. It also stars Gerard Parkes as Doc from the North American wraparound segments of Fraggle Rock, and Henson as himself in a cameo appearance at the end. In the plot, the Muppets surprise Fozzie Bear's mother with a Christmas visit to her farmhouse, unaware of her planned getaway to Malibu.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. and currently distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS; the network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements.
The Grinch is a fictional character created by children's author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss. He is best known as the main character of the 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He has been portrayed and voiced by many actors, including Boris Karloff, Hans Conried, Bob Holt, Walter Matthau, Anthony Asbury, Jim Carrey, Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Morrison, David Howard Thornton, and James Austin Johnson.
Food Network was a New Zealand pay television channel focused entirely on programming relating to food. It was based in Auckland and was New Zealand's only channel dedicated to the food, wine and restaurant society. The network never originated its own domestic content.
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the same name for both the BBC and HBO, for which he received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
Halloween Is Grinch Night is a 1977 children's animated Halloween television special and is a prequel to the 1966 television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It premiered on ABC on October 28, 1977. The original voice actor for the Grinch, Boris Karloff, by then deceased, was replaced by Hans Conried, though Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang on the original special, again provided singing vocals. The songs and score were written by Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo.
Monster in the Closet is a 1986 horror comedy with a veteran cast, including Howard Duff and John Carradine, as well as Stacy Ferguson and Paul Walker in early roles. The film was distributed by Troma Entertainment. In the GotchaMovies article "Final Destinations and Killer Condoms", Monster in the Closet was selected as the 8th greatest moment in teen slasher history. The film was directed and written by Bob Dahlin.
The Halloween That Almost Wasn't is a 1979 American television special that revolves around Dracula trying to save Halloween from the Witch who threatens it. It won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement – Children's Program" and was nominated for three others. On its VHS release, it was retitled The Night Dracula Saved the World.
Elmo's Christmas Countdown is a 2007 television Christmas film, featuring the characters from Sesame Street. It was first aired on December 23, 2007, on ABC and starred Ben Stiller.
New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awards continue to be sporadically awarded as the Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards (Moas).
Stealing Christmas is an American made for television comedy-drama film directed by Gregg Champion and starring Tony Danza, Lea Thompson and Angela Goethals. It premiered on USA Network in 2003. It was later broadcast in the 25 Days of Christmas programming block on ABC Family and in 2020 it was part of Freeform's Kickoff to Christmas.
Kingston are a pop/rock band from Auckland, New Zealand who formed in 2006. The band are best known for their song "Good Good Feeling" which was used in a New Zealand ad campaign for KFC.
Christmas Comes to Pac-Land is a 1982 American animated Christmas television special of the Saturday morning animated series Pac-Man based on the video game, produced by Hanna-Barbera. It premiered in prime time on ABC on December 16, 1982. The film was ranked #38 in the Nielsen Ratings published the next week.
Flying Monsters 3D is a natural history documentary about the pterosaurs. It was written and presented by David Attenborough and was produced by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions for Sky 3D. Originally broadcast on Christmas Day 2010, it was the first 3D documentary to be screened on British television and was released in theatres and IMAX cinemas the following year. Flying Monsters 3D went on to become the first 3D programme to win a BAFTA award, winning in the category for Best Specialist Factual in 2011.
A Monster Christmas or Abominable Christmas is a 2012 American made-for-television animated children's film. Directed by Chad Van De Keere for Kickstart Productions, it features the voices of Isabella Acres, Drake Bell, Emilio Estevez and Ray Liotta. The film is about two young abominable snow children who escape the capture of an evil scientist and take up residence with a family. The film was screened at the 2013 Foyle Film Festival.
David Timothy Gibson is the founder of New Zealand film production company The Gibson Group. After its sale in 2013 to his business partners, he was appointed CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission.
Kylie's Secret Night is a British Christmas television special featuring Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was produced by BBC Studios and was hosted by comedian Alan Carr. The show was created as a way of thanks from Minogue to her fans, filmed in front of an audience who believed they had been invited to a "Kylie-themed fan extravaganza" but were surprised with an evening with her.
