"From All of Us to All of You" is an animated television Christmas special, produced by Walt Disney Productions and first presented on December 19, 1958 on ABC as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology series.[1] Hosted by Jiminy Cricket along with Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell, the special combines newly produced animation with clips from vintage animated Disney shorts and feature films, presented to the viewer as "Christmas cards" from the various characters starring in each one.

"From All of Us to All of You"
Walt Disney Presents episode
Directed byJack Hannah
Original air dateDecember 19, 1958 (1958-12-19)

Starting in 1963 and continuing through the 1970s, re-airings of the special would include preview footage of the studio's new or upcoming feature films. Beginning in 1983, it was expanded to 90 minutes and retitled A Disney Channel Christmas for airing on cable television's The Disney Channel.[2] A home video version of the special, retitled Jiminy Cricket's Christmas, appeared on VHS, Betamax, and laserdisc in 1986.[3]

The show has been shown infrequently in the United States in recent years, for example, in Sweden, the program has been shown every Christmas Eve since 1960.[4] Ratings show that around 40% of all Swedes watch it on Christmas Eve, the record (in 1997) being just over half the population.[5][6]

This special has yet to see a DVD release.

Regional variations and local cultural significance

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United States

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In the US, the show originally aired on ABC and occasionally afterwards on NBC. The original version included Walt Disney's introduction where he has been "cricket-sized", because, as Mickey and Jiminy would say, Christmas is bigger than all of them. The American version has not been shown on network television since 1980.

The original American version features the following shorts:

  • Santa's Workshop (1932)
  • Toy Tinkers (1949): included an extended introduction (with a song-and-dance) as well as scenes of Chip and Dale's own Christmas decorating activities.

There were also clips from the following feature films, labeled in the special as "Memorable Moments":

The special ends with Jiminy Cricket sharing his memorable moment, his song "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Pinocchio), which he states "symbolizes faith, hope and all the things that Christmas stands for".

Starting in 1963 and continuing through the 1970s, all of the scenes with Walt and Tinker Bell's intros, as well as Santa's Workshop, were replaced by a teaser for Disney's new or upcoming feature films, including The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973) and Pete's Dragon (1977). The 1979 broadcast aired the 1951 Donald Duck/Chip 'n' Dale short Corn Chips, and the Aristocats returned in 1980 to promote the cartoon's re-release.[1]

Denmark

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In Denmark, the show is called Disneys Juleshow: Fra alle os til alle jer (Disney's Christmas Show: From All of Us to All of You) and is broadcast every Christmas Eve at 4 PM on DR1. It is narrated by Danish actor Ove Sprogøe who does the Danish voice of Jiminy Cricket. Clips from feature films are voiced in Danish while shorts are in English with Danish subtitles.

The Danish version features the following shorts:

As well as clips from the following feature films:

It ends with Bjørn Tidmand singing "When You Wish upon a Star" in Danish ("Når Du Ser et Stjerneskud") and a sneak peek of either an upcoming or a clip from a recently or soon to be released Disney movie.

Finland

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In Finland, this show is called Samu Sirkan joulutervehdys, (Jiminy Cricket's Christmas Greeting) and it is shown every Christmas Eve evening on MTV3.

The Finnish version features clips from the following shorts:

There are also clips from the following feature films:

A special "surprise" clip (from a recent or upcoming Disney feature premiere) is dubbed in Finnish but everything else is in English, with Finnish subtitles.

Norway

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In Norway, the show is called Donald Duck og vennene hans (Donald Duck and his friends) on NRK and Disneys julekavalkade (Disney's Christmas Cavalcade) on TV Norge (the latter began airing in 2003), and it is shown every Christmas Eve afternoon on NRK1. Most of the shorts are shown in their original English-speaking versions, with Norwegian subtitles.

The following shorts are usually shown, in integral or edited format:

These feature films are represented through important scenes:

Sweden

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In Sweden, the show is called Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul (Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas). It is broadcast on SVT1 at 3:05 p.m. as part of the channel's traditional Christmas Eve programming, which features a live host between programmes, a role closely associated with Arne Weise, who is the only host to have featured more than three times (22 appearances between 1964 and 2002). The changed title reflects the fact that Donald Duck is far more popular than Mickey Mouse in Sweden. The montage is narrated by Bengt Feldreich who translates character dialogue through voiceover dubs, and also replacing the original English voice of Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards), including the performance of When You Wish Upon a Star.[6]

The special, which is typically referred to as simply Kalle Anka (Donald Duck), along with its characters and cartoons, is ingrained in Swedish pop culture as a Christmas tradition. The popularity of Kalle Anka in Sweden as a television event was influenced by several factors, including the fact that for the ten years since the special's original premiere in 1960,[7] SVT1 was the only television channel in the country (SVT2 launched in 1969), and even then, the country's public broadcaster Sveriges Television had a monopoly on television broadcasting until the 1987 launch of TV3, the country's first commercial channel. At the time, it was also one of the few occasions that U.S.-produced animation was broadcast on Swedish television.[6] Kalle Anka has remained one of the most-watched television specials in the country; usually drawing more than five million viewers up until the 1990s, and still drawing 3.3 million viewers in 2019 (in a country with 8.5 and 10 million inhabitants in those years, respectively).[8]

Due to its legacy and prominence, the special has remained relatively unchanged. The Swedish public has been protective of Kalle Anka, resisting any significant changes to the special's content: in the 1970s, when SVT's head of children's programming disclosed plans to discontinue the special due to growing anti-commercial sentiment in the country, public and tabloid outcry resulted in the special being maintained. A similar backlash was faced in 1982 when Ferdinand the Bull was replaced with The Ugly Duckling—a change that was reverted the following year.[6] In 2012, Disney decided to edit the Santa's Workshop segment, removing "cultural stereotypes",[9] that had been restored to the episode in 1983, provoking another public debate.[10] From the 2021 broadcast onward, Disney introduced disclaimers to provide additional context for outdated cultural depictions.[11]

The following shorts are usually shown, in integral or edited format:

These feature films are represented through key scenes:

One or two clips from new and upcoming Disney feature films are also shown and change each year. These "surprise gifts" are also shown on all other international broadcasts within their respective year.

1997

2000

2003

2004

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2022

2023

Number of viewers (according to Mediamätning i Skandinavien).[12]
Year Viewers
1994 3,223,000 Fourth most popular show of the year (1: Melodifestivalen, 2: Winter Olympics)
1995 3,880,000 Most popular show of the year
1996 4,124,000 Most popular show of the year
1997 4,319,000 Most popular show of the year
1998 3,599,000 Most popular show of the year
1999 4,165,000 Most popular show of the year
2000 3,565,000 Fourth most popular show of the year
2001 3,825,000 Second most popular show of the year
2002 3,655,000 Second most popular show of the year
2003 3,410,000 Fourth most popular show of the year
2004 3,685,000 Third most popular show of the year
2005 3,515,000 Second most popular show of the year
2006 3,610,000 Second most popular show of the year
2007 3,490,000[13] Second most popular show of the year
2008 3,215,000 Third most popular show of the year
2009 3,294,000 Second most watched show of the year
2010 3,356,000 Second most watched show of the year
2011 3,495,000 Second most watched show of the year
2012 3,883,000 Second most watched show of the year
2013 3,570,000 Fourth most popular show of the year
2014 3,705,000 Most popular show of the year
2015 3,460,000 Second most watched show of the year
2016 3,736,000 Most popular show of the year
2017 3,865,000 Most popular show of the year
2018 3,786,000 Most popular show of the year
2019 3,358,000 Second most watched show of the year
2020 4,519,000 Most popular show of the year
2021 3,760,000[14] Most popular show of the year
2022 3 411 000 Most watched show of the year

Russia

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In Russia, this show is called С Рождеством, от всего сердца! (Merry Christmas With Whole Our Heart). It was first broadcast on Channel One Russia on January 2, 2011 and was rerun on December 31, 2012. From January 7, 2013 to January 7, 2021, it was shown on Disney Channel CIS each year, with nightly reruns showing throughout the first days of the New Year.

The Russian version features the following shorts:

As well as clips from the following feature films:

Two short clips from new and upcoming Disney movies are shown at the very end to promote them; like the other international broadcasts, the clips also change each year.

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

France

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In France, the show is called Un Nouveau Noël Disney (A New Disney Christmas) or Les Contes d'hiver de Jiminy Cricket (Jiminy Cricket's Winter Tales). It was broadcast on TF1 on December 23, 1990 as part of the "Disney Parade" program.

The French version features the following short:

As well as clips from the following feature films:

See also

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  • A Disney Christmas Gift, another Disney Christmas special first broadcast in 1982
  • Dinner for One, a British sketch that has become a New Year's Eve tradition in Germany and other countries
  • Little Lord Fauntleroy, a British family film that has become a Christmas classic in Germany
  • The Irony of Fate, a Soviet romantic comedy television film that is traditionally broadcast in Russia and most former Soviet republics every New Year's Eve
  • The Snowman, an animated television special shown every Christmas in the United Kingdom since 1982
  • Tři oříšky pro Popelku, a Czechoslovak/East German fairy-tale film that is shown on TV around Christmas time every year in many European countries

References

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  1. ^ a b Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Hyperion Books. pp. 113, 528. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
  2. ^ "Disney First Christmas Special". TVparty!.
  3. ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 153. ISBN 9781476672939.
  4. ^ Visste du det här om Kalle Ankas Jul? Visste du det här om Kalle Ankas Jul?
  5. ^ Axelsson, Malin (22 December 2008). "Kalle Ankas jul tappar tittare" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet.
  6. ^ a b c d Stahl, Jeremy (22 December 2011). "Nordic Quack – Sweden's bizarre tradition of watching Donald Duck cartoons on Christmas Eve". Slate.
  7. ^ "Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul - Kalle Anka & C:o".
  8. ^ https://www.svd.se/sa-manga-sag-kalle-anka-pa-julafton (Swedish)
  9. ^ "Därför klippte Disney bort den svarta dockan". 14 December 2012.
  10. ^ "60 år av ändringar: Så har Kalle Ankas jul gjorts om". 23 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Varningstext efter Kalle Ankas julklassiker". 24 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Login page".
  13. ^ Svenska Dagbladet on 28 December 2007
  14. ^ Malmsten, Karina. "Kalle och hans vänner drog stor publik på julafton". Skrift (in Swedish). Mediamätning i Skandinavien. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
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