Thanksgiving Specials
Turkey Day - that forgotten holiday between Halloween and Christmas for its' lack of retail possibility. Well, we remember it as One Big Meal with people you like less the older you get and probably some football on TV.
And while there are many TV specials and movies for Christmas and Halloween respectively, Thanksgiving once again gets the short end of the stick. But there are a few specials I like to watch during November to get me into the spirit of giving before I'm avalanched under holiday cheer.
The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is the one people usually think of purely because of its' juxtaposition between Halloween and Christmas. And being a classic, it's spooky and heart-warming fun to revisit year after year.
Addams Family Values. Another classic that puts a dark spin on the holidays, Addams Family Values doesn't even take place in the autumn. The Addams kids, Wednesday and Pugsly, are sent to summer camp by the new baby sitter, Debbie. The sunny disposition of the campers and counselors doesn't sit well with the Addamses, and eventually they have to fake some cheerfulness before utterly destroying the camp during the theatrical production of The First Thanksgiving. Not much to do with Thanksgiving the holiday, but the gleeful desolation in the third act with the pilgrims and Indians always puts me in a good mood. You get 'em, Wednesday.
The Simpsons: Bart VS Thanksgiving. The only special I watch year to year that takes place during and is centered around Thanksgiving the holiday. During the big meal, Bart ruins Lisa's beloved centerpiece and is banished to his room in front of all of his relatives. Indignant, Bart runs away from home and finds himself on the wrong side of the tracks having Thanksgiving dinner at a soup kitchen. The episode captures a lot of the feelings kids have when they get in trouble for something they think isn't their fault and the sincerity and understanding a genuine reconciliation requires. This is when the show was starting to find its' emotional center and to this day can still pack a heart-warming wallop.
So how about it - what are some of your favorite Thanksgiving specials?