In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 1974 Rankin/Bass Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus based on the book of the same name by Phyliss McGinley as requested by listener home9dog2blue. Santa is sick and feeling unappreciated, so he decides to take a holiday. Mrs. Claus sends elves Jingle and Jangle to find Christmas spirit all over the world. They end up in a small town called South Town and meet with a young boy named Iggy. The mission of giving Santa a holiday involves meeting with the Snow and Heat Miser to get a snowy day at South Town and a spring day at the North Pole. What did Patricia and Carlene think of the special? Listen and find out.

After almost two years, the Roald Dahl Retrospective is back! In honor of Matilda the Musical being in the theaters, Arun and Patricia catch up with the remaining Roald Dahl adaptations before jumping into this new film. In this episode, they cover the 1976 BBC special James and the Giant Peach based on the 1961 book of the same name starring Simon Bell, Anna Quayle, Ann Beach, Arthur Hewlett, Andrew Sachs, Thorley Walters, Pat Coombs, Kate Lock, and Bernard Cribbins. James Trotter lives with his mean aunts Spiker and Sponge after losing his parents from a rhino attack. An old man gifts James crocodile tongues to make his dreams come true, but drops them accidentally. It ends up growing a peach to a large size. James and a group of insects escape inside the peach and use it to venture off away from Aunts Spiker and Sponge.

The 1976 version of James and the Giant Peach is one of the obscure Roald Dahl adaptions ever made and has since been overshadowed by the 1996 Disney adaptation. Is this version better or worse? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 1990 comedy film Home Alone. Kevin McCallister is neglected by his family as they're getting ready for a Christmas trip to Paris. He wishes to be home alone and gets his wish when his family rush towards the airport without knowing they left him behind. While Kevin is happy being home alone, two thieves named Marv and Harry plan on breaking into his house to steal their possessions. It's up to Kevin to protect his home by setting up booby traps. What did Patricia and Carlene think of this film? Listen and find out.

In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia and special guest Arun Mehta from The Arun Mehta Show discuss about the 2022 biographical parody film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, based on the life of musician and performer Weird Al Yankovic. It chronicles his childhood where his parents don't approve his strange hobbies and accordion playing, his college years where he finds his talent in writing parody songs, his successful career, meeting up with radio personality Dr. Demento, his relationship with pop singer Madonna, and his downfall. 

The movie was released exclusively on Roku and received positive reviews from critics and fans calling it a great parody of biopic films. What did Patricia and Arun think of the film? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 1982 British Christmas special The Snowman based on a book of the same name by Raymond Briggs as a request by listener PhantomKitten. A young boy named James builds a snowman and is surprised when it comes to life. He brings the snowman into his house, shows him around the living room, the kitchen, his parents' room, his bedroom, and riding his father's motorcycle. The snowman takes James to the North Pole where Santa and the other snowmen throw a party. James and the snowman have a strong friendship at that magical night, but the next day is a strong showcase that it doesn't last forever.  

This is Carlene's very first time watching this classic Christmas special. What are her first impressions on it? What did they think of it overall? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 2003 comedy film Elf. A young man named Buddy was raised by elves at the North Pole and taught how to fix toys and fix Santa's sleigh. He always thought that he was different until he was told that he was adopted when he crawled into Santa's toy sack when he was a baby at the orphanage. It turns out his father is at New York City working as a children's book publisher and has a new wife and son named Michael. Buddy ventures to New York to meet his father, work at a department store, meet a young woman named Jovie, and learn about who he really is and how he fits in human society. What did Patricia and Carlene think of this film? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 2019 animated film Klaus. A postman named Jesper is send to a small town called Smeerensburg when his father feels that he's too entitled and spoiled. His assignment is to receive 6,000 letters in one year or else he loses his inheritance. Things get more difficult when Smeerensburg is homed to two feuding families who want nothing to do but fight with each other. Jesper finds a loophole when he meets an old woodcutter named Klaus who has a shelf full of toys and starts giving it to the children when they give him letters. As time goes on, the kindness of Klaus and Jesper begin to affect the entire town towards peace and goodwill. What did Patricia and Carlene think of this film? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discusses about the latest adaptation based on the classic 1843 book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the 2022 animated film Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge is a grouchy old man who hates Christmas. He is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley and was told that he would be visited by three spirits that would show him his past, present, and future to hopefully change his ways and see Christmas in a positive light. Out of the over 135 adaptations of A Christmas Carol, how does this one stack up compared to the rest? Listen and find out.

In this episode of 25 Days of Christmas, Patricia and Carlene discuss about the 2021 film A Boy Called Christmas based on the 2015 book of the same name written by Matt Haig. An old woman named Ruth is telling the story of a young boy named Nikolas to her niece and nephews who are going through grief after losing their mother. Nikolas and his father are woodcutters who live in the forest of Finland. The king hires the father and several other men to find the mystical land of Elfhelm to bring back hope to their town. Nikolas is forced to live with his mean aunt while awaiting for his father's return. When he doesn't, he, his pet mouse Miika, and a reindeer named Blitzen journey to find Elfhelm. What did Patricia and Carlene think of this film? Listen and find out.

Day 3 of 25 Days of Christmas has Patricia and Carlene discussing about the 1964 Rankin/Bass stop motion Christmas special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer based on the 1939 booklet of the same name by Robert L. May. A young reindeer named Rudolph is treated as an outcast due to his glowing red nose. After mistreatment from his father, Santa Claus, and the other reindeer, he ran away. He meets up with an elf named Hermie who is also an outcast from the other elves since he wants to be a dentist as opposed to a toymaker. They meet up with a man named Yukon Cornelius and venture into the Island of Misfit Toys. Eventually, Rudolph returns to the North Pole to help Santa save Christmas from the foggy snowstorm. What did Patricia and Carlene think of this special? Listen and find out.