#Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special

[mediaomnivore]

This is what I wrote on Letterboxd about Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special (1988):

I can’t believe how many famous people were in this. I can’t believe I didn’t remember that Magic Johnson is canonically the Magic Screen’s cousin. I can’t believe I met him once in conjunction with his HIV activism.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988)

[blondebrainpowered]

Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, 1988

[texasthrillbilly]

[genericdecay]

[dollartreemonkey]

Peewee’s Christmas gif-board!

[cinnamontherabbit]

Things I love about the Peewee Christmas special.

“Magic screen and I are cousins”

A lady goes to make out with a sentient part of the floor.

Cowboy Curtis

“You want an extra wish, what do you think this is? Christmas?” “Yes” “oh ok”

The running joke about how fruitcake is hard, heavy, and gross. People keep giving him fruitcake, to the point where he can build a new wing to the playhouse using fruitcake as bricks.

A lady gets mailed to him when she was going to the White House.

“Potato-y”

Cher is in this and I love her so much, her outfit is great.

Cowboy Curtis

The king of cartoons seems like a nice old man.

I hate the old cartoon though.

Billy takes over the special for like 5 seconds.

Peewee gets so excited for snow and fucks with people with the snow.

Cowboy Curtis and his outfit

Curtis and peewee get pranked by a snowman

Little Richard and him failing to skate.

Peewee have an ice skating double named Hans.

KD lang made me gay and she kisses a dinosaur.

There’s a talking cow who is friends with a princess

Peewee makes a maniquin of himself so he doesn’t have to listen to 12 days of Christmas.

Peewee is a menace the whole god damn time

Charo outfit is so shiny.

Someone gives him 8 fruitcakes

“This is the Hanukkah part of the episode. We’re going to sing the dural song, just follow the dancing genie head”

Peewee present bankrupts Santa and has a moral crisis

He apologizes to Santa and uses he’s second wish for peace on earth.

[bitter69uk]

On this day 35 years ago (21 December 1988) gloriously campy festive TV special Christmas at Pee-wee’s Playhouse (praised by Vulture as “one of the strangest, most glorious, most improbable, most confident pieces of entertainment to appear on television”) debuted on CBS. And in an eerie coincidence, it is the seasonal selection at tonight’s Lobotomy Room film club at Fontaine’s bar in Dalston! Believe it or not, I didn’t even deliberately plan this to coincide with the 35th anniversary (I wish I’d the foresight to think of that!). Join us for frosty cocktails, abrasive kitschy Christmas music and to pay tribute to the late, great comedic genius Paul Reubens tonight! Unsure if there are seats left so check with the venue: (phone 07718000546 or email bookings@fontaines.bar).

[adamwatchesmovies]

Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988)

I’d never seen any of Paul Reubens’ Pee-wee or the show that introduced him to the world. If you’re like me, you happen to be at a friend’s Christmas movie get-together, someone suggests watching Pee-wee’s Christmas Special (also known as Christmas at Pee-wee’s Playhouse) and you’re worried you won’t understand what’s going on, don’t. This special (which is available on its own on home video so I’m reviewing it as if it were a movie) serves as a great introduction. It’s filled with laughs, fun wackiness and memorable characters - along with more than a few exciting guest stars.

Childlike Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) has a large wish list for Santa and needs to get his things ready for the big day. Amid the Secret Word of the day, a special thematic cartoon and guests appearances by Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Charo, Grace Jones, k.d. lang, Dinah Shore, Little Richard, Cher, the Del Rubio Triplets, Magic Johnson, Princess Zsa Zsa, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Joan Rivers & the UCLA Men's Choir, there’s a lesson to be learned about what’s really important during the holidays.

It took only a fraction of the 49-minute running time for me to “get” the appeal of Pee-wee Herman and his Playhouse. Filled with imagination, lots of laughs and a performance by Paul Reubens that could never be equaled, it’s weird, charming and hilarious. It’s sweet, but not so sweet that you’d roll your eyes at it because Pee-wee leans a little towards the bratty side. Just a little. You like him and his weirdo friends - the kind of people that could only exist in a children’s television series where people live side-by-side with puppets.

It’s hard for me to say what could make this a “special” but I have to assume it's the sleighful of guests, all of whom are having a great time. Many are poking fun at themselves and while you might think “Aww, was that all the screentime given to Whoopi Goldberg?” someone else is right around the corner so there's always something to look forward to. Sometimes, it’s more big names. Or it could be someone that makes you go “Were these people really famous? Why?” Like the Del Rubio Triplets, who perform a song that I'll admit, endeared me to them.

Any episode or special that makes the non-indoctrinated instantly call themselves fans is a rousing success in my book. Filled to the brim with creativity, it's unpredictable and thoroughly charming. Even if you’ve never seen the series, I’ll wager you’ll enjoy Pee-wee’s Christmas Special. (On Blu-ray, December 19, 2021)

[millionmovieproject]

[monkeymanweb]

Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special: FULL Episode in 1080 HD!

[jmunneytumbler]

That’s Auntertaiment Mini-Episode: What’s Jeff Watching? #13

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff’s Parents Holiday recap, mostly. https://d3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net/staging/2024-0-12/363233399-44100-2-df7117d0f0f1f.m4a

[inevitablesurrender]

Juuuuuust gonna drop the HD version of Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special here.

[franciya]

Merry Fruitcake- ahem I mean

[miscpav]

Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

'Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special' as you've never seen it before — Beautifully restored, remastered and in high definition! Join the whole Playhouse gang for one of the wackiest specials ever! With laughs for the whole family, this unique, triple Emmy®-nominated special offers all the imagination and charm of Saturday morning's most outrageous TV series, which became a cultural milestone when it aired from 1986- 1991. Pee-wee gets into the spirit of the season with lots of singing, dancing and other holiday fun with his Playhouse pals and more than a dozen celebrity guest stars as you've never seen them before. Everything is going great for Pee-wee… until his Christmas wish list becomes so long that there won't be enough presents for all the other kids in the world! When Santa Claus pleads for help, Pee-wee reluctantly learns a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas. Special Guests Include: Frankie Avalon, Charo, The Del Rubio Triplets, Annette Funicello, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Grace Jones, k.d. lang, Little Richard, Joan Rivers, Dinah Shore and Oprah Winfrey!

[moonstoneunivs]

This is just a soul crushing day. This man gave me and my family something to enjoy for decades and decades. I still can’t comprehend that he’s gone. I hope he’s resting well and he will be sincerely missed.