Holiday Magic, Animated Misfits, and the “True Meaning” of Christmas

ABSTRACT This paper explores what the creative teams behind Rudolph the Red‐Nosed Reindeer , A Charlie Brown Christmas , How the Grinch Stole Christmas , and Frosty the Snowman did right, aesthetically and thematically, to capture the attention and win the hearts of American audiences through the years. It argues that each film's winning formula includes visually appealing artwork; skillfully rendered music; kid‐friendly humor; sensitive treatments of the “misfit” theme; and allusions to the sacred and/or magical aspects of Christmas, through which the holiday's “true meaning” can be grasped.