Dexter becomes determined to prove to Deedee that Santa isn't real, resulting in a technological Christmas brawl.
Deedee is busy typing up her Christmas list on Dexter's computer, but after completing it, she sees only Dexter on every screen.
The boy mocks her for "wasting her time" on such "foolishness" as Santa Claus, and goes into a cringe-inducing rap about how their parents fool them every year. Dexter believes their dad dresses as Santa with his car as the sleigh, and their mom joins him as a reindeer, but Deedee holds her belief in the big man and his elves. Now set on proving Deedee wrong, Dexter stays up that night watching the house with cameras, and an alarm alerts him to flashes of reindeer, a sleigh, and Santa. Santa teleports inside with Christmas magic just before Dexter arrives, demanding that he remove his "fake beard" so he can get a picture. Strangely enough, rather than just telling Dexter what his mistake is, this Santa only seems capable of saying "ho ho ho." One would think he could easily just tell the boy "Hey I really am Santa, I'll prove it with magic," but no, he just gives different inflections of "ho ho ho" over and over. Pushing the boy away, Santa is surprised when Dexter leaps on his back and tugs at his beard, so he hurls him off and teleports out. Undeterred, Dexter follows, and despite encountering one of Santa's reindeer and getting stuck as the jolly old elf makes his getaway, the boy genius is still fighting.
​Unlike other Christmas specials, this is one that, despite me watching plenty of times as a kid, I could never enjoy as much.
It starts off with a problem I had with Jimmy Neutron as his show when on: the arrogant scientist character being more pompous and annoying than funny. Dexter's irritation with other characters, especially Deedee, generally comes from how intelligent he is, and can actually be with good reason. The basis for the show originally and for the most part was Deedee constantly coming into his lab and destroying things due to her stupidity. For this reason, we could see why boy-genius Dexter would get so angry and berate his sister, and prefer his intelligent work to dealing with her. This time around, he's just sucking the joy out of Deedee harmlessly believing in Santa, who in this world willingly appears in front of people pretty easily. At the start of the episode, the only thing Deedee does that could warrant an outburst from Dexter is using his computer, especially without permission. However, she's not doing so to cause destruction in any way, rather she simply types out what she wants for Christmas, yet he gets angry. His sole mission for the episode is to prove to Deedee that Santa isn't real, and that's the opposite of what people generally enjoy in a Christmas movie or special. Generally, specials have a character doubting their belief in Santa, like with Mac in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and by the end, people rediscover the magic of Christmas. It can be good to go against the grain with your storytelling, but for this time of year, it's not very heartwarming to follow a character trying to smash someone's joy. Then there's Dexter's rap, and like I said before...just no. Even as a kid, I found myself cringing as Dexter stumbled his way through the song.
When it comes to his fight with Santa, things again remind me of when I started disliking Jimmy Neutron, as Dexter refuses to believe what's right before him.
He believes his parents dress up as Santa and a reindeer every year to fool them, though I don't see how he could think they'll drop off the roof in the car and be fine. Dexter being a logical kid explains why he wouldn't believe in magic, but that same reasoning makes it hard to believe he'd think his parents would plummet to the ground in their car, which would be unscathed the next morning. When he fights Santa, it should quickly become clear that it's not his dad, especially when the man's beard doesn't budge and he easily escapes up the chimney. ​Something I hadn't even considered before also gets brought up in this video from Alpha Jay: why didn't Dexter just check his parents' room? His first step in proving his parents are up to this would be checking their room, maybe even photographing it if it's empty, but he would find them there. This would then only to leave him to two alternatives, as he's already seen Santa on his cameras: it's either really Santa, or like Johnny Bravo, he could think it's a burglar. The second idea would easily get tossed out, as after going downstairs, he sees Santa putting presents under the tree, and he could wait and see his magic. Really, a flaw with Dexter in this episode comes from the fact that, despite being a scientist, he's breaking a scientific process rule with his experiment. To prove his belief that Santa isn't real, Dexter's "experiment" is to shave Santa and reveal his dad, which makes sense for a test, but he's too biased. Dexter is already certain of what he's proving, so he refuses to accept that he's wrong despite all the evidence in his face, which leads to his destructive fight with Santa.
--------------------SPOILERS FROM HERE ON--------------------
Once on the roof, it should've become abundantly clear to Dexter that he wasn't facing his dad dressed up.
After Santa sticks Dexter in the chimney, he leaves in his sleigh, literally flying away, but Dexter thinks his dad is just "going all out this year." He gives chase using one of his creations: it's revealed that the chimney can transform into a jet, which I did always think was a cool part of the episode. Following in the brick craft, Dexter then tries to SHOOT DOWN SANTA, and as a reminder, he thinks this is HIS FATHER. Good ol' St. Nick is just trying to deliver presents, but now he's got Dexter on his tail with lasers and a missile, forcing him at one point to use presents as a shield. Dexter feels pretty sadistic in this episode, thanks in part to his joy as he chases down what he thinks is his father in an attempt to shoot him out of the sky. This only continues after he finally succeeds, causing Santa to crash into Dexter's house, at which point Dexter energetically shaves his entire head. Despite everything he's seen, Dexter is still certain it's his dad, and is shown with evil sharp teeth as he shaves Santa, until his dad enters the picture.
As Dexter is busy shaving away, his family arrives, and his dad demands to know what he's doing, as their house lies in shambles.
The everything is destroyed, including the roof, with his mom off to the side crying at the loss of their tattered tree. The Grinch really should've taken lessons from Dexter here, because it's clear the true enemy of Christmas is the boy genius. As before when she angrily worried that her presents had been used as shields during the battle, Deedee can only selfishly wonder where her gifts are. As everyone demands answers, Dexter sheepishly brings up that in the end, Christmas is really about family, sharing, and being together. He even starts singing "Oh Christmas Tree," only for Deedee to bark that those things aren't what Christmas is about. Dexter asks what the holiday is truly about, in this case, and Santa, finally saying something other than "ho ho ho" in this special, says it's the presents. Dexter then gives a puzzled look to the viewers, and Santa begins his jolly laugh as the episode comes to an end. ...There's the holiday lesson we've been looking for all these years, folks: it's not the generosity, kindness, or family that matters, but rather the presents. Now I've always found this ending to be funny in a way just because it's so cynical and backward from what you expect to hear. It's much like what I mentioned before, as the episode goes against the grain and subverts your expectations, but I feel like this is more successful. At the same time, it's just such an odd and gloomy way to end the episode, with the house a mess of rubble and Santa Claus himself saying Christmas is about presents.
In the end, this is really a rather cynical Christmas special to have as part of your show, with a mean-spirited main character who ruins Christmas.
With the Grinch, we had a mean-spirited character who was fun to watch and had reason to take issue with the holiday, in the original book, the cartoon, and the live action movie (I haven't seen the latest version and don't exactly want to). By the end, we all know how the Grinch reforms, and learns that Christmas truly lies in the heart and in being together as he brings the presents back to the Whos. Here, on the other hand, we end things with everything destroyed and Santa chuckling that Christmas is actually about presents. I was never really a huge fan of this episode, and while I suppose it's one worth a viewing just because of how strange and cringey it can be, I never feel like watching this one when Christmas rolls around.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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