A Holiday Greeting

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Revision as of 20:33, 22 June 2023

"Happy Holidays from all of us to all of you!"

Strong Bad does his own rendition of "O Holy Night".

Cast (in order of appearance): Pom Pom, Homestar Runner, Strong Bad, Marzipan, Strong Mad, Strong Sad, Bubs, The Poopsmith, The Cheat, Coach Z, The King of Town

Places: The Stage

Date: December 2000

Running Time: 1:38

Page Title: Sponsored by Dolly Madison!

DVD: Everything Else, Volume 2

Transcript

{A "SPECIAL" logo appears on the screen and spins a few times as it zooms in. As this happens, it turns from blue to pink.}

{Cut to an auditorium that looks suspiciously like the one in the 1965 Peanuts Christmas special with Pom Pom and Homestar Runner on the sides of the stage. Strong Bad enters from stage right, strides to the middle of the stage, stops and faces front.}

STRONG BAD: Lights, please.

{The lights dim and a spotlight shines on Strong Bad. The scene zooms in on him as the opening bars of "O Holy Night" begin to play. Zooming stops when he is the only one in-frame.}

STRONG BAD: {singing}
O holy crap
And something, something, something

{Cut to a closer shot of Strong Bad.}

Ah, there was this guy
And he was probably born^[1]

{Cut to a side view, with Strong Bad in the foreground, and Homestar in the back.}

They didn't know
If he was really stupid

{Homestar shows shock.}

But then they asked somebody
And they said he {chuckles} was stupid

{Homestar shows budding anger. Cut back to the wide shot of the stage.}

He said, uh, that he was great
And ev'body believed him

{Cut to the shot of Strong Bad alone.}

That guy was {voice cracks} GREEAAAAA—

{Homestar Runner steps in front of Strong Bad.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Okay!

{Cut to a close-up of Homestar Runner. As he speaks, the gang starts to congregate: Marzipan, Strong Mad, Pom Pom, and Strong Sad. In the background, a soft and slower Christmas version of the Homestar Runner theme song plays.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That's enough, Strong Bad. Um, I think what Strong Bad is really trying to say is, "O Holy Crap." {gilt words in blackletter style appear on the screen with the sound of a harp and gold sparkles} Oh, no, wait, wait, wait.

{Cut to wide shot; all of the main characters except Homsar have gathered.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I mean, "Happy Holidays" {words appear again} from all of us to all of you.

{Cut to a close-up of Strong Sad.}

STRONG SAD: And God bless us every— {Homestar Runner steps in front of him.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {rushed} Sorry, Strong Sad, we're out of time here. Happy holidays everybody!! {Homestar Runner closes his eyes. A few moments pass before Homestar Runner opens his left eye, then blinks and opens both eyes.}

{Cut to a black screen reading "The End" in blackletter typeface, with similarly-styled red "back" and "again" links in the upper corners having yellow stars behind them, and "Copyright 1965 Free Country USA" in plain text below. Snow falls. "Everybody, everybody" can be faintly heard sung by children, accompanied by bells}

Footnote

1. This word could also be "bored".

Fun Facts

Remarks

• It should be noted that, despite being the first Decemberween (Christmas) toon, the holiday is never referred to by name. This would change come the post-Flash site update, however, where the toon’s URL became "xmas.html".
• The "Back" link at the end of this toon always goes to Main Page 6.
• When it cuts back to the entire stage after Homestar gives Strong Bad the look, Homestar's expression is normal.
• After a while, the Decemberween Everybody song stops.

Goofs

• In all shots where the viewer sees the stage head-on, the left (viewer's right) side of Strong Bad's head has a thick, pure red outline.
• When Strong Bad sings about "the guy who was born", there is a black dot to the right of his head.
• When Homestar gets angry, the skin above his "eyebrows" is a darker shade of gray than the rest of his head.
  • In the same scene, Homestar's head appears slightly shrunken into his neck.
• Pom Pom is unusually smaller than normal until all the characters gather.
• Strong Sad looks much shorter in this toon than he usually is.
• In the full stage shot with the words "Happy Holidays", a bit of Coach Z's foot is under the King of Town.

Inside References

• Strong Bad's song is "O Holy Crap".

Real-World References

• This toon is a play on a famous scene in the 1965 Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Christmas, where Linus explains to Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas. However, as opposed to singing "O Holy Night", Linus quoted Bible passages concerning the Nativity of Jesus.
  • The spinning "Special" logo and music mimic one used by CBS from 1973 to the late 1980s, viewable here.
  • In addition, the auditorium with the single spotlight, the "Copyright 1965 Free Country USA" at the ending screen, and Strong Bad saying "Lights, please," much the way Linus does, reveal the connection. Also, the lights in the auditorium are very similar to the one shown in the auditorium Linus was in.
  • The title of the page refers to Dolly Madison, the snack cake manufacturer that sponsored every Charlie Brown CBS special in the 1970s.
• "O Holy Crap" is a play on the carol "O Holy Night".
• "And God bless us every one!" is a quote from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Fast Forward

• The music from the "Special" logo is reused in The Luau.
• The page title and the spinning SPECIAL logo at the beginning of this toon appear again in The Best Decemberween Ever.
• The pose at the end of the toon appears in a wallpaper available in Downloads.
• The music at the end of this toon appears again in the Decemberween Email Menu.

DVD Version

• The Special fanfare has been changed into a scat remix done by The Brothers Chaps.
• When Strong Bad says, "Lights, please," his voice echoes.
• The "The End" card with the snow is gone.

External Links

• watch "A Holiday Greeting"
• watch "A Holiday Greeting" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "A Holiday Greeting"

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