Christmas on Disc: Shortstravaganza

I know going to see a live telecast doesn't technically involve a disc, but it counts as Christmas viewing so here it is.

So this was the second live show I've seen the RiffTrax guys put on and it really feels like they improved their show. It was all riffing, all the way. This time we expected singing from Weird Al and didn't get it, they were busy riffing. No host looking overwhelmed. They show the contest winner and jump right into it. I'll try to share what I remember.

Started off with Christmas Toyshop. Santa comes to a house and tells the kids a Christmas story about a be-top-hatted spider dog that's killed by toy soldiers. There's a reason it sounds creepy.

Up next is A Visit to Santa (I think that's what it's called). Mubling kids go to sleep and are whisked away by an elf with no pants to Santa's kingdom, which looks an awful lot like someone's living room. The kids stare at dolls for a long time. Then they stare at a train set even longer. The end.

After that, Christmas Rhapsody. A tree talks about how small and lonely it is, then gets cut down, dragged through the woods and decorated up. For some reason, it's happier to be slowly dying indoors than to grow outside.

Then Weird Al comes out to help riff on Three Magic Words, a musical short about pork. Not too Christmassy, but still fits in nicely. Al contributes but isn't made to stand out either, nice balance.

My memory's a bit fuzzy here, but I think it was Christmas Dreams after that. A child throws away a doll for her new dolls, Santa comes and messes with her dreams. Rejected doll comes to life and starts a ruckus with her new toys. The child learns her lesson and loves her old doll. I'm thinking it's because she's scared of what it'll do to her if she doesn't show affection, but take it how you can get it.

Another non-Christmas short is slipped in. I can't remember the name, but it's about swimming. Starts off with a whole bunch of two second clips of people who were supposedly famous, then people swim. The momentum really slowed here for whatever reason. Most laughs were from the film itself since people in the 50's could only bellyflop or swim in what appears to be a panic. For being Olympic champions, they all looked like it was the first time they'd seen water.

And finally, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Not the good one, but a cartoon. Probably the highlight of the night, especially when Santa goes to Rudolph's bed, grabs him by the shoulders and says "I need you." SO creepy that the laughs went on over the next few riffs.

If you've got Thursday night free, catch the encore. It's a shade under two hours long and it's some of their best work yet! A sure thing when it comes on DVD.