Grim takes Billy and Mandy to the North Pole to meet the real Santa, unaware that jolly old St. Nick has been bitten by a vampire. Grim kicks things off narrating about how Santa has been checking his list, and that while some kids will get gifts, some have been naughty and will pay the price. Billy, Mandy, are in line at the mall. Billy thinks it's for the bathroom, but is overjoyed to learn from another kid that they're waiting for Santa. Mandy is cynical about Santa, of course, and though Grim claims to have gone to college with him, Mandy pulls a Max Dennison by declaring that Santa is a scam designed by toy companies. At the end of the line, General Skarr is busy dressed as Santa, talking in a less-than-jolly way to a little girl and venting about how little he's being paid. He tells her that disappointment is a present, too, and suddenly Billy pushes himself to the front of the line, then spouts off a long list of presents before asking why Santa only has one eye. Skarr realizes Billy peed on him the whole he talked and becomes enraged, so the elves hold him back. When his beard falls off, the mall-goers become upset that they don't have the real Santa, and begin rioting throughout the mall. Billy blames the economy when Grim points out the mall always burns down when he goes with them, and the latter decides to provide proof of Santa. He rips open a hole in the fabric of the universe, with a gag about Mother Earth actually holding said fabric, and the trio is sucked into the portal. The group finds themselves at the North Pole, apparently also Hoth, since Luke Skywalker is hanging in an ice cave. Grim turns their attention to Santa's workshop, but Mandy is still skeptical, saying the sleigh out front could belong to a rogue Eskimo. Grim is puzzled when he notices the keys are in the running sleigh for some reason, and after Billy gets his tongue stuck to it, Grim heads off with Mandy to investigate. They find that some rooms are dormant and windows are boarded up, and no one seems to be around. Though Mandy points out that most people wouldn't answer their door if death arrived, Grim agrees but says there's still usually a lot of frightened screaming. Grim gets a snowball in the face for revealing his way of getting inside, a skeleton key, and Billy makes his own entrance by crashing the sleigh into a wall. As Grim speaks, the hiding Mrs. Claus (Carol Kane) recognizes him and tells the elves to come out. She gives Grim a hug, saying she's glad he's there because something horrible happened. Mandy looks on shocked, having been proven wrong, and Grim asks Mrs. Claus to tell them what's going on; she decides to show them instead. She leads them to the cellar where they keep all the defective toys, and shows them a candy encrusted gingerbread coffin, where she says they've been keeping Santa (Gilbert Gottfried). Two elves help her remove the lid, and a monstrous Santa rises; she reveals he's been bitten by a vampire, and when he tires himself out trying to attack them, he lies back down. Billy asks what will happen with Christmas, and Mrs. Claus says that they have to do something by tonight, otherwise there won't be a Christmas, and they head back upstairs. Back upstairs, Mrs. Claus says she was finishing doing his clothes and other chores, and when she came inside she found him trying to drink an elf's blood. Grim expresses disgust for the undead, saying they make a mockery of his job, when Mandy suddenly chops down the workshop's Christmas tree to make a wooden stake. Mrs. Claus is horrified that they might hurt Santa, but Mandy says they'll be attacking the head vampire, so Mrs. Claus directs them to Baron Von Ghoulish, who lives past a path of atrocities and a lovable pony meadow in the forbidden castle of no return. Grim tells Billy to take care of Mrs. Claus while he and Mandy are gone, and once they're gone, Billy promises to help Mrs. Claus when she breaks down; she says he's the only one who's ever offered. Meanwhile at the forbidden castle, Grim and Mandy arrive, noting the challenge the ponies proved to be, and inside they see Ghoulish (Malcolm McDowell) brushing his teeth and singing. They shatter a window to get in, much to his annoyance; he also complains about them having their feet on his silk bedspread. The duo is surprised such a flamboyant guy is the head vampire, and after he asks who's going to replace his fancy, expensive window, he begins vacuuming up the glass. When he confirms his identity, Mandy pulls out her stake and flings it into his chest, causing him to explode into a pile of dust. Grim gives another terrible pun that gets him a second snowball, and as they turn to leave, the two are surprised when Ghoulish suddenly rematerializes in a pillar of flame. Complaining that he'll be picking ash out of his carpet for eternity, Ghoulish reveals Mandy staked "too far to the left," and hit his hand-held vacuum cleaner. He sucks up the ash at his feet and further explains that the person they're really after is the "head" head vampire (the vampires had a confusing reorganization a century prior). Ghoulish can't remember who the "head" head vampire is, but says he would if he saw them; he excitedly requests to come along when he learns they're trying to save Christmas, which is something he's always wanted to do. Mandy turns him down, but Grim gives in to his pleading, saying he's always wanted to save Christmas with a vampire, so Mandy relents. Grim and Ghoulish break into song on the way back, talking about how they're so cold they're going to freeze, which they do after Mandy asks Ghoulish for directions since they're lost. As Mandy pushes them back to the workshop, we see that Billy is helping Mrs. Claus with everything from making gingerbread houses to replacing Rudolph's red lightbulb nose. He is still sad that Christmas is likely ruined, but Mrs. Claus says he's what Christmas is about, and while he wonders about keeping the sleigh for himself if Santa remains a vampire, she says he's the only one who's ever been this good to her, and says odd things about his role in the future. When the group gets back, she suggests they ask Santa if he remembers seeing anything when he was bitten, and leads them back to the cellar. Not all is right, however, and the group will soon face both Santa and the "head" head vampire who bit him, as they try to save Christmas. This is another special that I always have fun with, both just for the jokes and also for the sly references that get slipped in.
There's the obvious one I mentioned early on, with the group seeing Luke Skywalker hanging in an ice cave, but my favorite is one that no kid would get, and would entertain some adults. The famous Malcolm McDowell does a great job voicing Baron Von Ghoulish, obviously having some fun with the role and getting into how silly and cleaning-obsessed the vampire is. He's responsible for my favorite reference of the episode, as when Mandy and Grim see him from outside, he is brushing his teeth and humming the song "Singing in the Rain." Malcolm McDowell famously, or perhaps infamously, portrayed the villain Alex in A Clockwork Orange, a character obsessed with committing acts of "ultra violence" with his gang of "droogs." In a historically divisive scene, Alex and his friends break into a house and beat the owner before raping his wife, also killing her in the process. Alex is a fan of music, often listening to Beethoven and other classics, and for this scene, he decides to start singing a twisted version of "Singing in the Rain," where he instead says "singing in the rape," which I've heard before was a spontaneous decision from Malcolm McDowell. The song is important to the movie both for this scene and a later moment, and of course has been a moment that divided those who watch the movie. As someone who enjoys both that movie and Malcolm McDowell in general, I was amazed to notice the reference get slipped in, but at the same time I love it because it's just another example of clever writing making a show watchable for both kids and their parents. Much like Nightmare Before Christmas, this special combines the two pretty opposite holidays of Christmas and Halloween by bringing in macabre aspects. Santa has been remodeled into interesting ideas before, like The Santa Clause, where if Santa is put out of commission and you put on his suit, you take his place, or the ridiculously bad Santa vs. the Martians, where you can guess the story. I don't think I've ever seen another story that had Santa become a vampire though, and it's a creative way to create both the conflict of such a powerful being getting taken over and the classic idea of something almost ruining Christmas. This is made funnier by the fact that Gilbert Gottfried of all people is playing Santa, and his odd voice matches the strange idea of Santa becoming a ridiculous vampire. Another seasoned actor and comedian, Gottfried does a great job reading as this silly version of Saint Nick, and even a small moment like Santa tiring himself out and going back to sleep in his coffin is aided by the way he performs the role. Baron Von Ghoulish is an entertaining vampire, more obsessed with cleanliness than he is typical vampire things, and it makes him entertaining to see. There are plenty of non-reference jokes that work, like Billy's act of relieving himself on Skarr causing the man to become violent, in turn leading to a more angry and fire-filled version of what was shown in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, when Coco was unmasked. For pun-lovers, Grim has a few that will get you rolling your eyes, and the repeated use of the snowball as a result ot this, which later happens in his memory and at a later moment, both moments without puns, doesn't ever feel like a joke that was done too many times. If you were a fan of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy like I was, their journey in this Christmas special is a fun one to watch around Christmas.
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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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