Thanksgiving Cartoons

[J'onn J'onzz]

There seems to be a real lack of Thanksgiving in animation... all I can think of offhand is that Megas XLR episode with the Thanksgiving parade. Wait, I think there were Charlie Brown and Garfield Thanksgiving specials too. But still, the media seems to ignore Thanksgiving in favor of early Christmas hype. :shrug:

[DarthGonzo]

There seems to be a real lack of Thanksgiving in animation... all I can think of offhand is that Megas XLR episode with the Thanksgiving parade. Wait, I think there were Charlie Brown and Garfield Thanksgiving specials too. But still, the media seems to ignore Thanksgiving in favor of early Christmas hype. :shrug:

Rocko's Modern Life did a Thanksgiving episode as the very last aired show. Simpsons also did at least two Thanksgiving episodes, including the season 2 classic "Bart vs Thanksgiving." There was also the Animaniacs short "Turkey Jerky" and the Tom and Jerry cartoon "The Little Orphan."

[Hiya Animation]

Anybody remember the old Hannah-Barbara Thanksgiving special The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't?

Is CN showing that this year? I don't think they did last year.

[Jeffrey]

Anybody remember the old Hannah-Barbara Thanksgiving special The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't?

Is CN showing that this year? I don't think they did last year.I think having it shown on Boomerang and/or In2TV seems more likely now.

[tb4000]

Thanksgiving isn't one of those holidays that kids can really have massive adventures on, so they don't really focus on it. It's more about being thankful, but that's boring apparantly. Also nowadays people tend to consider the holiday more about the pilgrims metaphorically raping the native americans or something.

[Don_East]

A episode of The Real Ghostbusters take place Thanksgiving.

[J'onn J'onzz]

Rocko's Modern Life did a Thanksgiving episode as the very last aired show. Simpsons also did at least two Thanksgiving episodes, including the season 2 classic "Bart vs Thanksgiving." There was also the Animaniacs short "Turkey Jerky" and the Tom and Jerry cartoon "The Little Orphan."Oh yeah. I forgot about The Simpsons. Figured they'd have some Thanksgiving episodes considering their longevity.

[DrTooth]

Wasn't there an episode of Jackie Chan that took place during the Thanksgiving parade, and they were fighting on top of a giant Moose Balloon?

And then there was the classic Underdog episode, "Simon Says 'No more Thanksgiving'" where Simon Barsinnister travelled back in time to try to get the Pilgrims and Indians to fight each other, because the parade was getting in the way of his brillaint scheme.

[Dr.Pepper]

Wasn't there an episode of Rugrats that had Thanksgiving.

[TnAdct1]

A few more shows that had Thanksgiving-themed episodes/specials:

-Alvin and the Chipmunks
-Care Bears
-Underdog

[shoujoaifan]

The Peanuts even had one, although its not as famous as their Easter, Halloween, and of course, Christmas.

In fact, X-Entertainment did an article on it (......which of course how I first heard of it :sweat: :p )

http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0845/

Suddenly, I have the strange desire to make an exquisite plate consisting of popcorn, pretzels, buttered toast, and jellybeans, and with a glass of ice cream to wash it down.....

[Cartman]

As for some more Thanksgiving-themed cartoons:

South Park episode "Starvin' Marvin"
Pilgrim Popeye
Tex Avery's Jerkey Turkey
Holiday for Drumsticks (Daffy Duck cartoon)
Tom Turk and Daffy

[Joe]

There was also a Garfield Thanksgiving Day special

[tb4000]

Any cartoon character that has a massive thing for food or gluttony automatically gets a Thanksgiving episode by default.

[Toony Loon]

There was Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet and Daffy Duck's Thanks-For-Giving Special, and of course A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

[Ishtar]

There was a Thanksgiving episode of Hey Arnold.

[Undrave]

Maybe there's a decrease in Thanksgiving episodes in kids show because (beside the previous mention lack of exitement going on at Thanksgiving) the internationnal market is becoming more important? I mean sure it's just one episode but I'm sure people in France are getting tired of hearing about your random November Holyday, for exemple :p

They don't bore you with all their Saints day :p

Just sayin'

[Blackstar]

There was also Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest, a half hour special consisting of 2 Thanksgiving themed shorts ("Thanksgiving Nightmare" and "Thanksgiving Dreams") which TG themed blackouts and wraparounds sandwiched between. The speical aired for about 3 years in a row on the network.

[tb4000]

Nowadays they call it Turkey Day when they have marathons for some reason...or they emphasize getting stuffed.

[Undrave]

Nowadays they call it Turkey Day when they have marathons for some reason...or they emphasize getting stuffed.

Damn those Turkey farmers and their desacrilizing yet ANOTHER Holyday!!!

DAMN YOU TO HECK!!! *raises fist in anger*

[Antiyonder]

There was a Thanksgiving episode of Hey Arnold.

Which by the way, didn't follow Nick's Thanksgiving guideline. You know the whole character befriends a Turkey and decides that eating Turkey is pretty much the 11th Commandment

[Anthonynotes]

Since making another thread related to Thanksgiving might be pointless, I'll just ask this one here:

What cliches are seen in cartoons' Thanksgiving episodes/specials?

To start:

- It's usually a fall setting for Thanksgiving (leaves falling off trees, etc.), even if it's always summer-like/spring-like in every other episode. (See the Halloween cliches'-thread about California animators' antipathy toward actual weather patterns...). The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special's backgrounds conveyed nicely a late November setting.

- Someone will try to claim turkeys shouldn't be eaten, and go to great lengths to keep it from being the main course (with another character often being gung-ho about eating said bird, thus creating tension).

- No mention of the day-after-Thanksgiving sales or excessive Christmas hype whatsoever, despite that lately that's overshadowed Thanksgiving Day itself to an excessive (IMO) degree.

- In some specials (mainly primetime ones), football will be mentioned or played. See: The Simpsons' Thanksgiving special.

- Pilgrims will appear or be mentioned somehow---usually in some retelling of the first Thanksgiving with the show's characters *somehow* having had ancestors on the "Mayflower". The 80s Pac-Man cartoon showed Paccy having had such ancestors in its Thanksgiving episode.

Any others?

-B.

[Undrave]

- Pilgrims will appear or be mentioned somehow---usually in some retelling of the first Thanksgiving with the show's characters *somehow* having had ancestors on the "Mayflower". The 80s Pac-Man cartoon showed Paccy having had such ancestors in its Thanksgiving episode.



Or in a school play form.

[Elven Moon]

Besides the regular Peanuts Thanksgiving special, there is also a Mayflower Voyage special where the Peanuts kids are on the Mayflower and experience the first Thanksgiving.

Somebody also mentioned the Hey Arnold Thanksgiving episode. It was basically about the fact that no family is "perfect" or the idealized "normal," so you should just be happy (or at least satisfied) with what you have.

There is also the obsession about food, or the meal being "just so," or it's a gip Thanksgiving and shouldn't count. They then learn that it's all about family and friends, and not necessarily what you are eating or how you are eating it.