From All of Us to All of You
From All of Us to All of You is an animated television Christmas special, produced by Walt Disney Productions and first presented on December 19, 1958 on ABC as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology series.[1] Hosted by Jiminy Cricket along with Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell, the special combines newly produced animation with clips from vintage animated Disney shorts and feature films, presented to the viewer as "Christmas cards" from the various characters starring in each one.
"From All of Us to All of You" | |
---|---|
Walt Disney Presents episode | |
Directed by | Jack Hannah |
Original air date | December 19, 1958 |
Starting in 1963 and continuing through the 1970s, re-airings of the special would include preview footage of the studio's new or upcoming feature films. Beginning in 1983, it was expanded to 90 minutes and retitled A Disney Channel Christmas for airing on cable television's The Disney Channel.[2] A home video version of the special, retitled Jiminy Cricket's Christmas, appeared on VHS, Betamax, and laserdisc in 1986.[3]
The show has been shown infrequently in the US in recent years, but in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland) the show has been broadcast every year since 1959, and has become a holiday classic. Ratings show that around 40% of all Swedes watch it on Christmas Eve, the record (in 1997) being just over half the population.[4][5]
This special has yet to see a DVD release.
United States
In the US, the show originally aired on ABC and occasionally afterwards on NBC. The original version included Walt Disney's introduction where he has been cricket-sized, because, as Mickey and Jiminy would say, Christmas is bigger than all of them. The American version has not been shown on network television since 1980.
The original American version features the following shorts:
- Santa's Workshop (1932)
- Toy Tinkers (1949)
As well as clips from the following feature films, labeled in the special as "Memorable Moments":
- Peter Pan – "You Can Fly!"
- Bambi – Bambi and Thumper ice skating
- Pinocchio – "I've Got No Strings"
- Lady and the Tramp – "Bella Notte"
- Cinderella – "The Work Song" / "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes"
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – "The Silly Song"
The special ends with Jiminy Cricket sharing his memorable moment, his song "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Pinocchio), which he states "symbolizes faith, hope and all the things that Christmas stands for".
Starting in 1963 and continuing through the 1970s, all of the scenes with Walt and Tinker Bell's intros, as well as Santa's Workshop, were replaced by a teaser for Disney's new or upcoming feature films, including The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973) and Pete's Dragon (1977). The 1979 broadcast aired the 1951 Donald Duck/Chip 'n' Dale short Corn Chips, and the Aristocats returned in 1980 to promote the cartoon's re-release.[1]
Denmark
In Denmark the show is called Disneys Juleshow: Fra alle os til alle jer ("Disney's Christmas Show: From All of Us to All of You") and is broadcast every Christmas Eve at 4 PM on DR1. It is narrated by Danish actor Ove Sprogøe who does the Danish voice of Jiminy Cricket. Clips from feature films are voiced in Danish while shorts are in English with Danish subtitles.
The Danish version features the following shorts:
- Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952)
- Donald's Snow Fight (1942)
As well as clips from the following feature films:
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Lady and the Tramp
- Bambi
- Pinocchio
- The Aristocats
- Peter Pan
- Cinderella
It ends with Bjørn Tidmand singing "When You Wish upon a Star" in Danish ("Når Du Ser et Stjerneskud") and a sneak peek of either an upcoming or a clip from a recently released Disney movie.
Finland
In Finland, this show is called Samu Sirkan joulutervehdys, ("Jiminy Cricket's Christmas Greeting") and it is shown every Christmas Eve evening on MTV3.
The Finnish version features clips from the following shorts:
- Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952)
- The Clock Watcher (1945)
- The Small One (1978)
As well as clips from the following feature films:
A special "surprise" clip (from a recent or upcoming Disney feature premiere) is dubbed in Finnish but everything else is in English, with Finnish subtitles.
Norway
In Norway, the show is called Donald Duck og vennene hans ("Donald Duck and his friends") on NRK and Disneys julekavalkade (Disney's Christmas Cavalcade) on TV Norge in 2003, and it is shown every Christmas Eve afternoon on NRK1. Most of the shorts are shown in their original English-speaking versions, with Norwegian subtitles.
The following shorts are usually shown, in integral or edited format:
These feature films are represented through important scenes:
Sweden
In Sweden, the show is called Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul ("Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas"). It is broadcast on SVT1 at 3:00 p.m. as part of the channel's traditional Christmas Eve programming, including a live host, most prominently Arne Weise from 1972 through 2002. The title reflects the fact that Donald Duck is far more popular than Mickey Mouse in Sweden. The montage is narrated by Bengt Feldreich, dubbing the original English voice of Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards).[5]
The special, which is typically referred to as simply Kalle Anka (Donald Duck), along with its characters and cartoons, are ingrained in Swedish pop culture as a Christmas tradition. The popularity of Kalle Anka in Sweden as a television event was influenced by several factors, including the fact that for the ten years since the special's original premiere in 1960,[6] SVT1 was the only television channel in the country (SVT2 launched in 1969), and even then, the country's public broadcaster Sveriges Television had a monopoly on television broadcasting until the 1987 launch of the country's first commercial channel. At the time, it was also one of the few occasions that U.S.-produced animation was broadcast on Swedish television.[5] Kalle Anka has remained one of the most-watched television specials in the country: usually drawing more than five million viewers up until the 1990s (in a country with then less than nine million inhabitants), and still drawing 3.3 million viewers in 2019 (when Sweden had over ten million inhabitants).[7]
Due to its legacy and prominence, the special has remained relatively unchanged (aside from each year promoting one or two new Disney films). The Swedish public has been protective of Kalle Anka, resisting any significant changes to the special's content: in the 1970s, when SVT's head of children's programming disclosed plans to discontinue the special due to growing anti-commercial sentiment in the country, public outcry resulted in the special being maintained. A similar backlash was faced in 1982 when Ferdinand the Bull was replaced with The Ugly Duckling—a change that was quickly reverted the following year.[5] In 1992, Weise planned to pre-record his hosting segments so he could spend Christmas with his family, but backed down after receiving criticism for breaking the tradition of hosting it live. In a 2007 interview, Weise quipped that hosting the special had affected his personal life, stating that he had three divorces as a result of it.[5] In 2012, Disney decided to edit the Santa's Workshop segment, removing "cultural stereotypes",[8] that had been restored to the episode in 1983, provoking another public debate.[9]
The following shorts are usually shown, in integral or edited format:
These feature films are represented through important scenes:
Year | Viewers | |
---|---|---|
2017 | 3 734 000 | Most popular show of the year |
2016 | 3 734 000 | Most popular show of the year |
2015 | 3 460 000 | Second most watched show of the year |
2014 | 3 705 000 | Most popular show of the year |
2013 | 3 570 000 | Fourth most popular show of the year |
2012 | 3 883 000 | Second most watched show of the year |
2011 | 3 495 000 | Second most watched show of the year |
2010 | 3 356 000 | Second most watched show of the year |
2009 | 3 294 000 | Second most watched show of the year |
2008 | 3 215 000 | Third most popular show of the year |
2007 | 3 490 000[11] | Second most popular show of the year |
2006 | 3 610 000 | Second most popular show of the year |
2005 | 3 515 000 | Second most popular show of the year |
2004 | 3 685 000 | Third most popular show of the year |
2003 | 3 410 000 | Fourth most popular show of the year |
2002 | 3 655 000 | Second most popular show of the year |
2001 | 3 825 000 | Second most popular show of the year |
2000 | 3 565 000 | Fourth most popular show of the year |
1999 | 4 165 000 | Most popular show of the year |
1998 | 3 599 000 | Most popular show of the year |
1997 | 4 319 000 | Most popular show of the year |
1996 | 4 124 000 | Most popular show of the year |
1995 | 3 880 000 | Most popular show of the year |
1994 | 3 223 000 | Third most popular show of the year (1: Melodifestivalen 19940227, 2: Winter Olympics 19940312) |
Russia
In Russia, this show is called С Рождеством, от всего сердца! ("Merry Christmas With Whole Our Heart"). It was first broadcast on Channel One Russia on January 2, 2011 and was rerun on December 31, 2012. Since January 7, 2013, it is shown on Disney Channel CIS each year, with nightly reruns showing throughout the first days of the New Year.
The Russian version features the following shorts:
- Santa's Workshop (1932)
- Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952)
As well as clips from the following feature films:
- Peter Pan
- Bambi
- Pinocchio
- Cinderella
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- The Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast
Two movies in the very end are different, depending on the year of the premiere.
2010
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
France
In France, the show is called Un Nouveau Noël Disney ("A New Disney Christmas") or Les Contes d'hiver de Jiminy Cricket ("Jiminy Cricket's Winter Tales"). It was broadcast on TF1 on December 23, 1990 as part of the "Disney Parade" program.
The French version features the following short:
- Toy Tinkers (1949)
As well as clips from the following feature films:
See also
- A Disney Christmas Gift, another Disney Christmas special first broadcast in 1982
- Dinner for One, a British sketch that has become a New Year's Eve tradition in Germany and other countries
- The Snowman, an animated television special shown every Christmas in the United Kingdom since 1982
References
- Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 113, 528. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- "Disney First Christmas Special". TVparty!.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 153. ISBN 9781476672939.
- Axelsson, Malin (22 December 2008). "Kalle Ankas jul tappar tittare" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet.
- Stahl, Jeremy (22 December 2011). "Nordic Quack – Sweden's bizarre tradition of watching Donald Duck cartoons on Christmas Eve". Slate.
- https://www.kalleanka.se/ankeborgsposten/kalle-anka-och-hans-vanner-onskar-god-jul/
- https://www.svd.se/sa-manga-sag-kalle-anka-pa-julafton (Swedish)
- https://www.svt.se/kultur/film/disney-censurerar-i-kalle-ankas-jul
- https://www.gp.se/kultur/kultur/60-%C3%A5r-av-%C3%A4ndringar-s%C3%A5-har-kalle-ankas-jul-gjorts-om-1.21651167
- http://hottoptv.mms.se/hottop.asp
- Svenska Dagbladet on 28 December 2007