Does Franklin's Magic Christmas Still Hold Up?

[@NorbertSD]

Thanks for reviewing this, DJ! I decided to commission you to review Franklin's Magic Christmas after I saw it was on Pluto TV. And given that you're already familiar with the Canadian cartoon turtle from Nelvana, and considering it was December and considering I figured you might have some interesting stuff to say on the special, I decided to commission that for you to review. Maybe next Christmas, I'll commission you to review "The Star of Christmas" from VeggieTales. I actually decided to rewatch several episodes of Franklin after watching this special. And yeah, Franklin, his parents, Harriet, and Bear and his family are the only recurring characters from the show that appear in the special. AFAIK, we never see Franklin's maternal grandparents on Faraway Farm in the actual show. Although we do see Franklin's paternal grandmother (Granny) in a few episodes of the show. I guess in some sense, it makes the movie feel less special since it doesn't contain as much of the show's cast, but I think that's alright here. It's also a bit strange that this Christmas TV movie doesn't take place on Christmas. The movie ends on the night of Christmas Eve. Also, yeah, you're right that it's weird that Franklin didn't see Bear holding Sam when they were driving away. It probably would've worked better if Bear hadn't noticed Sam until Franklin and his family had already driven out of sight. Also, something else I want to point out about Franklin's Magic Christmas is that Franklin and Harriet sleep in beds in the attic. In the show, Franklin and his parents don't have beds. They sleep on the floor of their bedrooms. Not sure why they decided to actually give them beds to sleep in this time. Also, a little correction: Franklin's grandmother was 6 years old in that flashback, not seven. She said that took place before her seventh Christmas. During your first Christmas, you're less than 1 year old. During your second, you're 1 year old, during your third, you're 2 and so on. So since this was just before her seventh Christmas, she would've been six years old. That's also why The Fault in Our Stars begins with "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year" despite the main character Hazel being sixteen in the book. Because during your first year, you're 0, during your second year, you're 1 and so on. I agree with your assessment that the movie, and the show, is very cozy. That's one thing I really like about Franklin. It's very cozy. The town of Woodland is a small town where most people know each other and have a sense of community. That's really where the show's charm comes from. And that same sense of warmth and community is also present on Faraway Farm too. Even though Franklin is a show meant for very young kids, I can still appreciate it as an adult for that reason. Thanks once again for another great review, DJ! And merry Christmas! 🐢

[@NoParkingBerry]

Thanks for your response, Norbert! And wow, I didn't realize how distanced I've been from watching "Franklin" regularly that I somehow missed the detail of the grandmother seen in "Franklin's Magic Christmas" not being the same we see on the show. Although it would make sense, because the granny on the show does live in Woodland rather than on the farm, right? Also, I'm wishing you a merry Christmas ahead of time, too!

[@NorbertSD]

@@NoParkingBerry Yes, Franklin's paternal grandmother (Granny) lives in Woodland with Franklin and his family, although she doesn't live in the same house as them. Meanwhile, Franklin's maternal grandparents, whom we see in Franklin's Magic Christmas, live on Faraway Farm. Franklin's paternal grandfather is never seen in the show, and is probably deceased. AFAIK, I don't think Franklin's paternal grandfather is ever even mentioned in the show. Also, Bear's little sister, Beatrice, whom we see in Franklin's Magic Christmas, is similar to Harriet in that she wasn't there at the start of the series but was born later on (in the episode "Franklin and the Baby"). Merry Christmas to you too!

[@DanielLave25280]

🐢 I think I remember seeing only Franklin and Friends on Nick Jr. On Demand at one point here in America (Not sure I remembered the original on there as well since its been years) (I think around 2012 or 13-ish) the famous turtle who "can count by twos, and tie his shoes" Oh yeah not to mention You referenced the turtle who "can count by twos, and tie his shoes" in The Grover Guys when Dick Avery is still that slow turtle to go faster And What a shocking surprise of all: The actor who played the turtle who "can count by twos, and tie his shoes" went from voicing a turtle beloved by Children back then to being a full blown singer Impressive for someone who play the turtle who (third time I'm saying this) "can count by twos, and tie his shoes" (Okay who the heck came up with tie his shoes, guess they want it to rhyme with count by twos, I don't know man, Its sounds a little weird cause He doesn't have shoes, like at all, but whatever) Oh yeah You brought Caillou at one point and mention that scene where Caillou pinches Rosie for no apparent reason that he dislikes her because of his life being a living heck when she arrived and that was the Caillou everyone knows about which led to the Caillou gets grounded videos, A couple of people looking back and realized that their parents made a mistake for making them watching son of a Canadian Raccoon. and not to mention later on...... They fixed up Caillou so his temper will be less insane (despite alot of people did not get the memo because it was years before the caillou internet insanity thing went into full swing) Oh and about the Gen Alpha people. Yeah that will pretty nice to let parents know about these shows since they are better than a show featuring Dogs that could drive vehicles that also was created to sell officially licensed Paw Patrol merchandise because those thing were selling like .... well, Paw Patrol merchandise

[@GoodOldInky]

Did you know that Britt Allcroft has died last Friday?

[@NoParkingBerry]

Oh my God, that sucks. You know, I was gonna ask why didn't anybody bring it up during my "In Memoriam" portion of my New Year's stream, but upon looking it up, her death (which happened on Christmas Day) wasn't publicly reported until today. One part of 2024 I remember was getting slightly more into "Thomas & Friends" than I ever was as a kid, by watching video essays on KZbin, and bingeing the classic series on Prime. But one thing I've always found memorable since childhood was the Britt Allcroft Company logo with its gentle woodwind music. R.I.P. Britt.

[@vincenzogiordano9850]

Honastly i was more into the franklin tv movie franklin goes to school i kinda liked the fact franklin learns to try new things and where we meet miss koala

[@NoParkingBerry]

Oh yeah, I remember borrowing that TV movie on VHS from the library.

[@vincenzogiordano9850]

How was it for you

[@NoParkingBerry]

@@vincenzogiordano9850 It's been way over a decade since I last watched it, but I definitely remember enjoying it.

[@peepandthenostalgiaofthebrazil]

​@@NoParkingBerrydj berry i'm just about that 1:18 little bear it's used for old nelvana logo from 80's and early 90's specially 1995! And others like nickjr productions logo from (1993-1999)