Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls
| Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animated TV special |
| Written by | Mark Evanier |
| Directed by | Candy Kougel Al Kouzel Vincent Cafarelli |
| Voices of | Daws Butler Peter Cullen Tress MacNeille Marvin Kaplan Howard Morris Frank Welker Scott Menville |
| Composers | Elliot Lawrence Amy Lawrence |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Buzz Potamkin |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | NBC Productions in association with Buzzco Associates |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 11, 1983 |
Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls is an American television Christmas special that aired on NBC on December 17, 1983.[1] The special is inspired by the Wacky WallWalker toys that were brought to America from Japan by Ken Hakuta in 1982.[1] The toys are small plastic octopus-like figures molded out of a sticky elastomer; when thrown against a wall, the figures slowly "walk" down as the appendages briefly adhere to the surface. More than 200 million of the toys were sold in the early 1980s.[1]
In the special, the WallWalkers are extraterrestrial octopoids from the planet Kling-Kling, sent to Earth to discover the true meaning of Christmas. The team of aliens — Wacky, Big Blue, Springette, Stickum, Crazylegs and Bouncing Baby Boo — disguise themselves as Santa Claus, but they're discovered by a spoiled human boy, Darryl, who needs a lesson in the Yuletide spirit. Darryl threatens to inform the U.S. Air Force about the aliens, unless they help him earn money to buy an expensive toy car. At an orphanage, Crazy Legs discovers the kindness of strangers, and Darryl and the WallWalkers listen to the story of the Three Wise Men and the Star of Bethlehem. Learning his lesson, Darryl donates his presents to the orphanage.[2]
Cast
- Daws Butler: Wacky
- Peter Cullen: Big Blue
- Tress MacNeille: Springette
- Marvin Kaplan: Stickum
- Howard Morris: Crazylegs
- Frank Welker: Bouncing Baby Boo
- Scott Menville: Darryl
- Other voices by Sharman Di Vono, Cheri Eichen, Bill Scott
Reception
Suzanne Barnes of The Cedar Rapids Gazette observed, "I personally don't believe that the whole purpose of Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls was to illustrate the true meaning of Christmas. I believe it was simply a 30-minute commercial for Wacky Wallwalkers."[3]
References
- ^ a b c Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ 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. 84. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ^ Barnes, Suzanne (December 17, 1983). "Specials have different approach to Christmas". Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 2D. Retrieved 7 June 2020.