The Christmas Toy

Feeling nostalgic yet?

The Christmas Toy is a 1986 made-for-TV movie by The Jim Henson Company. Made in Toronto with many of the Fraggle Rock cast and crew, it originally aired on ABC on December 6, 1986, and was sponsored by Kraft Foods. Originally introduced by Kermit The Frog, it was released on VHS format in 1993. In 2008 it was released on DVD. However, Kermit's appearance was edited out due to legal issues. It is currently being shown occasionally on The Hub. The complete special, including Kermit's introduction, can also be seen on YouTube.

The story follows the idea that even when no people are around, the toys still play in the playroom. But since a toy will be frozen forever if a person catches it out of position, they have to be very careful. It's Christmas Eve, and Rugby the Tiger remembers how he was the Christmas Toy last year, and thinks he's going to be unwrapped again. It's up to Apple the Doll, whom Rugby supplanted as favorite toy, to tell him the truth. But Rugby won't believe her, and tries to get into the Christmas package and lets Meteora, Queen of the Asteroids loose. She doesn't know she's a toy, and thinks she's landed among aliens. It's up to the other toys to get Rugby out of the box and Meteora back in it before they're all found and frozen forever.

Does this sound familiar?

Rugby and a few of the other characters returned eight years later for Secret Life of Toys, a 13-episode series on Disney Channel.

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Tropes associated with this work:

• And I Must Scream: Being frozen is like this, apparently.
• Christmas Special
• Converse with the Unconscious: Rugby's long talk with Mew after he gets frozen. Mew doesn't hear him, but the message of love gets through and he wakes up.
• The Ditz: Ditz
• The Faceless: The parents are only ever seen from the waist down. Apparently a common trope for Henson productions.
• Fantastic Racism: All of the other toys look down on Mew - often reminding him that he's "just a cat toy." It doesn't help that toys hate the scent of catnip.
• Green-Eyed Monster: All the toys are afraid that the shiny new Christmas toys will replace them in the hearts of their human owners.
• "Happy Holidays" Dress: The Barbie wears a grand dress until she decides to get changed for the rescue mission. Alas, by the time she's dressed for action, it's Christmas morning and the lost toys are safely home.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Dave Goelz (Gonzo, Boober) as Rugby, Steve Whitmire (Rizzo, Wembley) as Mew and Kathryn Mullen (Mokey) as Apple are a few of the voices that will be instantly familiar to Muppet fans.
• It's All About Me: Rugby
• Jive Turkey: The taxi toy Cruiser.
• Living Toys
• Masquerade
• Never Say "Die": Toys caught out of place are "frozen forever" and consigned to a 'graveyard' in the corner of the playroom. Even though it's never called death, it's clearly the functional equivalent.
• The Power of Love: It will bring frozen toys back to life!
• Recycled Soundtrack: The song "Together at Christmas (Old Friends, New Friends)" would be reused in A Muppet Family Christmas a year later.
• Shout-Out: Jerry Nelson based his voice for Balthazar, the teddy bear, on Kentucky Fried Chicken mascot Colonel Sanders. His wife Jan remembers him repeating a tagline from a KFC commercial to himself over and over while he awaited his cue.
• Sliding Scale of Living Toys: Level 1.
• Talking The Toy Back Into The Box
• Tears From a Stone: In a flashback, we see Apple shed a Single Tear when Jaime unwraps her new Christmas toy (Rugby).
• Recycled: the Series: The Secret Life Of Toys, a 13-episode Disney Channel series from 1994. Although only Rugby (Dave Goelz) and Balthazar (Jerry Nelson) kept their original performers; Mew transitioned to the series as well, but with a new performer.