Powerpuff Girls: "'Twas The Fight Before Christmas"

Premiered October 7, 2003.

"The point, Princess, is that you better change your ways, or all you're ever gonna get from Santa is a big, fat lump of coal in your stocking!" - Blossom

Christmas is coming and the people of Townsville, USA are preparing to celebrate the holiday season.

That's especially true for three kids:Blossom (Cathy Cavadini), Bubbles (Tara Strong) and Buttercup (Elizabeth Daily), better known as the Powerpuff Girls.

Buttercup worries that her Christmas list won't reach Santa in time. 

They're discussing the letters they've sent to Santa Claus when they're interrupted by their enemy Princess Morbucks (Jennifer Hale). She only wants one thing from Santa:to become a Powerpuff Girl.

Princess Morbucks is a spoiled brat with a penchant for criminal activity. 

The Powerpuff Girls remind Princess that she's committed many crimes and worked with felons.  Blossom says that Princess is "a spoiled brat who's greedy and jealous." This puts her on Santa's naughty list.

Princess Morbucks decides to get her present through alternate means.  She takes her family's plane to the North Pole, sneaks into Santa Claus' workshop and locates his list of children who are naughty and nice.  Princess changes the list so that every child on Earth is on the naughty list...except for Princess Morbucks herself!

Back in Townsville, Bubbles wakes up and hears Santa's sleigh on their roof.  She runs downstairs to see what presents have been left under their tree.  Bubbles is shocked when she sees no presents and becomes distraught when she finds her stocking filled with coal.  She flies around the city and uses her x-ray vision to see what other children have gotten.  It turns out Santa brought nothing but coal to children everywhere.

Bubbles wakes up the other girls and tells them what happened.  Suddenly, they encounter Princess Morbucks, who has become a Powerpuff Girl!  Her altering of Santa's list has paid off, big time.  The Powerpuff Girls decide to fly off to the North Pole to tell Santa Claus the truth about the list.  But in order to do so, they'll have to race against Princess and beat her to Santa's workshop.  But in order to get there, the Powerpuffs will have to battle Princess Morbucks and her new superpowers.  

The super-powered girls race to the North Pole. 

Can the Powerpuff Girls win the race to the North Pole?  Can Christmas be saved?

J.A. Morris says:

I was never a regular viewer of The Powerpuff Girls series, but I enjoyed it when I tuned in.  It was always full of action, humor and pop culture references.  "'Twas The Fight Before Christmas" is generally lots of fun, but it has two problems.

Prof. Utonium (Tom Kane) helps light the tree.

First off, it's much longer than regular Powerpuff Girls episodes.  Most ran for 22 minutes and contained two stories.  This Christmas special is 44 minutes and portions of it feel like padding.

Worse than that is the handling of the naughty and nice list.  As our summary states, Princess doctors the list so she can get what she wants for Christmas.  Everything we've ever learned about Santa Claus, from books, songs and other specials indicates that this would never happen.  You can't go behind Santa's back, change the list and get away with it...because Santa KNOWS who's been bad or good.  Santa wouldn't deliver coal to all but one child on Earth because a list said so.

"'Twas The Fight Before Christmas" has been released twice on DVD.  It's available as a standalone disc and can also be found on The Powerpuff Girls 10th Anniversary Collection - The Complete Series.

In spite of what I said above, It's still tons of fun and the positives outweigh the problems.  "'Twas The Fight Before Christmas" is recommended but the issues I mentioned prevent it from being a classic Christmas special.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 candy canes.

RigbyMel says:

Although I was aware of and enjoyed watching The Powerpuff Girls from time to time in the early 2000s,  this particular episode was new to me.

Blossom gets to put the star on top of the tree. 

I quite liked the rhyming narration throughout and also the way the Powerpuff Girls race to put up the Christmas decorations at their house.  The way that they disagree with and eventually fight Princess Morbucks (who comes off like a warped version of Little Orphan Annie)  is also consistent with what I remember of elementary school fights. (Although the addition of superpowers adds an interesting twist!)  I definitely wanted to see the spoiled Princess receive her comeuppance!

Some of Santa's elves enjoy some refreshing (?) "Nog Cola." 

There are also a couple of amusing sight gags involving people getting tangled in Christmas lights and a "Nog Cola" machine in the break room at Santa's workshop.   The girls' horror at receiving coal in their stockings is both amusing and heart wrenching as well.

This episode is certainly entertaining, but as J.A. Morris mentions, Santa would know who was naughty and nice regardless of whether his list printouts had been tampered with.   So, that bugged me.   I also wasn't crazy about the tank top attired Santa -- although I like the look of the series in general.

This episode is not a classic, but it is nice to see a little girl powered (pun intended!) superhero holiday action, in any case.

RigbyMel's rating:

.5


2 and a half candy canes.

The New Batman Adventures: "Holiday Knights"

Premiered September 13, 1997.

"I'll bet you've been a good little Bat Boy this year.  Unfortunately, Harley and I are still on the naughty list!"
-Poison Ivy.

This Batman episode features three holiday vignettes.

December 22:

Christmas is approaching and the criminal duo of Poison Ivy (Diane Pershing) and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) are looking for some holiday fun.  They crash a party where they encounter Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy), Gotham City's most prominent billionaire.  Poison Ivy gives Bruce a kiss while wearing her hypnotic lipstick and Wayne becomes their servant.  

Poison Ivy kisses Bruce Wayne. 

Harley and Ivy take Bruce to a department store and go on a shopping spree, using Bruce's credit cards.

But the effects of the lipstick begin to wear off.  When Harley tries to kiss Wayne to restore the hypnosis, she accidentally knocks him down an open elevator shaft.  But thankfully, Wayne changes into Batman and pursues the larcenous duo.

Bruce Wayne is forced to carry Harley & Ivy's haul.

December 24:

Police detectives Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo) and Renee Montoya (Liane Schirmer) are working undercover as a mall Santa and elf, respectively.  They're investigating a shoplifting ring that's been hitting Gotham department stores.

Detective Bullock is not very good at playing Santa. 

When several kids are witnessed stealing merchandise, the detectives spring into action.  They're shocked to discover that the shoplifters are actually Batman's old foe, the shapeshifter known as Clayface (Ron Perlman).

Thankfully, Barbara Gordon (Tara Strong) is shopping for Christmas presents and changes into her Batgirl identity to fight Clayface.

December 31:

New Year's Eve arrives, but Batman and Robin (Mathew Valencia) don't get to ring the New Year in peace.

Thousands are gathered in Gotham Square to celebrate the New Year.  However, the Joker (Mark Hamill) plans to set off a sonic bomb rigged to the Gotham New Year's Bell which will go off at midnight and kill all the revelers.

Joker has a henchman check the rigging of the sonic bomb. 

It's up to the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder to prevent the Joker from carrying out his evil plan!

Will Gotham City have a Happy New Year?

RigbyMel says:

I quite enjoyed this episode of vingettes from different points in the holiday season.

It's always fun to see Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy wrecking havoc and their shopping montage - making use of Bruce Wayne's credit cards - is pretty amusing.   Of course, they don't know that Bruce is actually Batman and wind up getting more than they bargained for!

I also like that Harley really wants a Christmas tree, but Ivy forbids it on plant abuse grounds   (although, Harley sort of gets her wish in the end ...).

The second sequence is not quite as strong.   Detective Bullock's terrible Santa-ing is fun to watch.   I really wish that Batgirl had been given more of a chance to shine here, but it's still nice to see her in action.

Joker's madly malevolent mayhem definitely makes for a fun adventure.

Joker unmasks ... some Joker masks!

He makes some good use of joker masks to put Batman and Robin off of this trail, and plays a mean stride piano version of "Auld Lang Syne."   One has to give him points for creativity!

Gotham City Christmas decorations. 

There's also a touching little tag sequence near the end of the episode that takes place in the wee hours of New Year's Day that involves Commissioner Gordon (Bob Hastings).

Batman and Commissioner Gordon share a New Year's toast.

The voice work in this episode is top-notch.   I can't say enough good things about Arleen Sorkin and Mark Hamill's villain voicing.   I also like that Robin the Boy Wonder is obviously being voiced by a teenager in this episode,  that is not often the case and Mathew Valencia did a good job here.

This holiday superhero episode is definitely worth a look if you've the time or inclination (and since it covers both Christmas and New Years here's a special variant rating for you!).

RigbyMel's rating:

3 candy canes

AND

3 champagne flutes

J.A. Morris says:

I mostly agree with my co-blogger, but I think I enjoyed "Holiday Knights" a little more than she did.

Ivy and Harley's Christmas shopping was loads of fun.  In fact, their holiday story would have made a great full-length episode.  Harley is a great character and was always lots of fun in this series.  I laughed out loud several times at her and Ivy's antics.  

The Clayface portion wasn't as strong, but Clayface is an interesting character and one of the most bizarre villains in Batman's rougues gallery.  I also appreciated the presence of Det. Renee Montoya in the Christmas Eve segment.  Like Harley Quinn, Montoya was created for the animated series.  She was a good character and has gone on to have a long career in comic books as well, fighting crime as Batwoman and the Question.

In addition to Montoya, Batgirl's appearance in this segment gave it two protagonists who are women, something you don't often see in superhero programming.

The Joker is one of the greatest villains of all time and his scheme here is as humorous as it is evil.  I was also glad to see that New Year's Eve was featured in this vignette.

The Joker prepares to pop open his New Year champagne.

Compared to Christmas, there are very few New Year's-themed episodes, specials or films.  It's nice to have one more show to watch on New Year's Eve.

A huge crowd gathers to ring in the New Year in Gotham Square.

This episode can be found on the Batman:The Animated Series, Vol. 4 dvd set.  It's also available for streaming on Amazon and iTunes.

"Holiday Knights" is something that should be added to your Christmas and/or New Year's viewing and is highly recommended.  If there's anything to criticize, it's that these stories could have been expanded and this series could have gotten more holiday episodes.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5


3 and a half candy canes.

AND

.5


3 and a half champagne flutes.

Spectacular Spider-Man: "Shear Strength"

Premiered October 27, 2009.
Note:We recently reviewed "Reinforcement," the Christmas episode of this series.  The episode reviewed here is the follow-up to "Reinforcement."  This review contains more SPOILERS than usual.  I strongly recommend you watch "Reinforcement" before checking out this New Year's Eve episode.


It's New Year's Eve in the Big Apple.

The super-villains known as Electro (Crispin Freeman) and Vulture (Robert Englund) escaped police custody after Spider-Man (Josh Keaton) defeated them on Christmas Eve.  They are brought by the Tinkerer (Thom Adcox-Hernandez) to a lab where they will meet their mysterious new boss who calls himself the Master Planner.  The criminals are surprised to learn that the Planner is none other than Doctor Octopus (Peter MacNicol)!

With the help of the Tinkerer, Doc Ock has wired his brain to every computer in New York.
He uses this new power to create chaos in the city.  This makes traffic lights malfunction and creates  accidents.  Doctor Octopus also taps into the NYPD's communications and sends the police on wild goose chases all over town.

At the same time, Peter Parker is hanging out with his friends Gwen Stacy (Lacey Chabert) and Mary Jane Watson (Vanessa Marshall) at a Manhattan coffee shop.  Mary Jane, wanting to play match-maker for her friends, tries to get Gwen and Peter to join her in attending the New Year celebration in Times Square.  But Gwen is still not sure Peter is truly interested in her.  MJ informs Gwen that she's all he ever talks about.

Plans change when Gwen is zapped by Electro...

...and taken away by the Vulture to the Doc Ock's hideout.

 
Ock, using his "Master Planner" identity, contacts Gwen's father, New York police Captain George Stacy (Clancy Brown).  The villain tells Stacy that if he wants to see Gwen alive, he has to give Doctor Octopus Homeland Security codes that will give access to every computer in the country. Stacy reluctantly says he will comply with Doc Ock's demands.

Captain Stacy is forced to give in to Doc Ock's demands.

Peter is furious over this and puts on his Spider-Man suit to rescue Gwen.  Spidey catches Tinkerer, who tells him Gwen is being held in Doc Ock's underwater headquarters.

Spidey shakes down the Tinkerer for information.

Spidey finds Gwen, but if he wants to rescue her, he'll have to go through Doctor Octopus.

 
Their battle destroys Doc Ock's headquarters and Spidey ends up buried under tons of machinery.

Will Capt. Stacy give Master Planner the codes?  Will Doc Ock honor their agreement and release Gwen?  If not, can Spider-Man rescue Gwen?  Will Peter and Gwen share a New Year's kiss at midnight?

J.A. Morris says:

The holiday spirit isn't as strong in "Shear Strength" as it was in the previous episode, but it's adorned with some holiday trappings. Mary Jane says she'll be attending the Times Square's New Year celebration at the beginning, and it ends with characters watching the ball drop on TV.

Peter's Aunt May (Deborah Strang) counts down the last ten seconds before the New Year and two characters share a kiss (I won't say which characters) at midnight.  "Auld Lang Syne" is played over the closing credits instead of the usual theme music.  And Aunt May's house still has some Christmas decorations on the wall, so it still feels like the Holiday season.

  
The plot of "Shear Strength" is a loose adaptation of one of Spider-Man's greatest stories that was originally published in 1965.  So old school fans of the webhead will appreciate this episode.  We get lots of great fight scenes, plus some dramatic developments in Peter Parker's personal life.   I hated to reveal the true identity of the Master Planner, but Doctor Octopus reveals himself about two seconds into "Shear Strength." 

While Gwen's life and the fate of the world are at stake, there's also plenty of humor in "Shear Strength."  For example, check out Doc Ock's "Evil Genius" coffee mug!:

The voice cast of Spectacular Spider-Man was always good and this episode is no exception.  Josh Keaton was always great delivering Spidey's trademark sarcasm.  This episode he switches back and forth between smart alec and deadly serious, since Gwen's is endangered by his enemies.  Peter MacNicol (an actor best known for roles in Ally McBeal and Ghostbusters II) is also outstanding as Doctor Octopus.  MacNicol's Doc Ock is no cackling madman, he's a cold, calculating, brilliant criminal tactician.  

Doctor Octopus pins Spidey to the wall!

This is a good episode, but it works better if you think of it as a follow-up to "Reinforcement." Maybe watching both episodes back-to-back is the best way to enjoy them.

"Shear Strength" has been released several times on home video.  It's available on The Spectacular Spider-Man:The Complete Series blu ray set.  You can also find it on a standalone dvd called The Spectacular Spider-Man:Volume Five.

This is how the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration is depicted in this episode, Peter & Aunt May watch it on TV.

This is a good episode, but it works better if you think of it as a follow-up to "Reinforcement." Maybe watching both episodes back-to-back is the best way to enjoy them.

Peter gets a surprise midnight visitor on New Year's Eve.

Just like New Year's Eve is the less festive sister holiday to Christmas, "Shear Strength" is solid, but slightly less enjoyable than Spidey's Yultide outing.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 champagne flutes.