Christmas Is Here Again
Christmas Is Here Again is a 2007 American animated Christmas musical comedy film. The first feature film to be produced by Renegade Animation, it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia. Narrated by Jay Leno, the film features the voices of Edward Asner, Kathy Bates, Madison Davenport, Colin Ford, Brad Garrett, Andy Griffith, Shirley Jones, Norm Macdonald, and Daniel Roebuck, and marked Asner's fourth role in a Christmas-themed film after the 1977 film The Gathering, the 1999 film Olive, the Other Reindeer and the 2003 film Elf, though unlike the latter two films, he does not play Santa.
Christmas Is Here Again debuted at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis on October 20, 2007.
Synopsis
Sophiana, an orphan girl who carries a cane, due to being crippled from a car accident that killed her parents sets out to find Santa's toy sack, which was stolen thirty years previously by Krad in revenge after Santa stopped handing out Krad's coal to naughty children. She is helped in her quest by Paul Rocco, one of Santa's elves, Dart, a reindeer fawn, Buster the fox, and his friend, Charlee the polar bear.Cast
- Madison Davenport as Sophiana, a disabled girl from an orphanage who's been bullied by Miss Dowdy and occasionally the other children. She was crippled due a car accident that took the lives of her biological parents, leading her to using a cane. She is later adopted by the Clauses.
- Daniel Roebuck as Paul Rocco/Jacque
- Colin Ford as Dart, Prancer's grandson
- Norm Macdonald as Buster
- Brad Garrett as Charlee
- Ed Asner as Krad, the film's main villain. A former coal supplier who used to work for Santa Claus, until Santa decided to stop punishing children who were on his naughty list, leading Krad into stealing Santa's magic toy sack.
- Michael Norris as the Selves
- Kathy Bates as Miss Dowdy, the harsh assertive owner of the orphanage where Sophiana and other children live at, she has a more sympathetic personality near the end of the film.
- Andy Griffith as Santa Claus, the husband of Victoria Claus/Mrs. Claus and later Sophiana's adoptive father
- Shirley Jones as Victoria Claus, Santa's wife and later Sophiana's adoptive mother
- Jay Leno as the Narrator
- Randy Crenshaw/Bob Joyce/Sally Stevens/Susie Stevens Logan/Gary Stockdale/Carmen Twillie/Lauren Wood as Chorus
Production
Renegade Animation, an animation company located in Glendale, California and known for the TV series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Mr. Men Show, teamed up with Easy to Dream Entertainment to create Christmas Is Here Again. A small crew spent nine months on the principal animation, which was completed in mid-2006.One of the songs in the film's soundtrack was "Who Stole Santa's Sack?"
Awards
In 2008, it received an Annie Award nomination for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. Additionally, in 2009, Christmas is Here Again was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production. Colin Ford, the voice of Dart, was also nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2009 for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor.Home video
The film received its DVD debut in the U.S. on November 4, 2008. The disc contains a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast interviews and "Name the Reindeer", as extras.Originally, the reindeer on the DVD cover had a red nose akin to Rudolph's. On the final version of the cover, it is black.