My middle kid is obsessed with “Carol of the Bells,” but even he’s a little stunned by this one.
When I was his age in the 80s, there was a wave of Claymation; this one came after the heyday of Art Clokey’s Gumby and before Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit. As I remember it, the most popular clay characters of the era were the California Raisins, who transcended their official roles as industry spokesfruit to join broader pop culture.
Will Vinton was the artist behind the raisins, and in 1987, CBS tapped him to produce his own holiday special. “A Claymation Christmas” featured the California Raisins, of course, but there was a lot more: singing magi, a dancing walrus, bickering dinosaurs and a bell ensemble that performs “Carol of the Bells” by hitting themselves in the head!
