Cricket on the Hearth (1967)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Cricket on the Hearth oddly enough does have some things that are good. The stylised painting style visuals during the songs were quite nice, far more appealing than the animation style of the rest of the movie(though understandably some may find it jarring). Danny Thomas does an excellent job, the voices are done with professionalism and the moments with Bertha and her father are lovingly tender, which I did love. Unfortunately, the rest of Cricket on the Hearth I did find horrible. I found the songs unmemorable and with no sense of life at all and some even don't have anything to do with the story or what's going on in the scene. The writing has no charm and heart and the more humorous parts are very unfunny. The characters are shallow, the only character with some essence of likability is Bertha, the cricket is annoying and mean-spirited and the villain is similarly insipid. The animals also had no relevance to the story. The animation for much of the special has a lot of dull colours which make the already uninteresting backgrounds all the more drab. The character designs are equally unappealing with everybody drawn in a deflated way. But it was the story that fared worst. If I had not known that Cricket on the Hearth was a loose animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol I honestly would never have known it was to do with Christmas. Instead of warming my heart or amusing or moving me, it bored and depressed me with its often mean-spirited(murder, kidnapping), all-over-the-place and weird storytelling. Bertha and her father have some tender moments, but they are not enough to inject any kind of warmth. Those of her and Edward were the kind that we have seen so many times before and explored much more convincingly, it was all too bland and clichéd. All in all, horrible save a few things, one of the worst Rankin/Bass have ever done. 3/10 Bethany Cox

My friend invited me over for an end-of-year Christmas DVD party. We had just finished watching "Frosty, the Snowman" and were about to watch another of the more well-known shows when I noticed the title for this. I talked my friend into at least watching the first few minutes to see what it was like. When we saw the cast, we were suitably impressed and settled in for the duration. After a few minutes, though, our jaws were hitting the floor - we could not BELIEVE how terrible it was! I was rendered speechless for a while. Then, we, like another reviewer, found ourselves laughing ourselves silly at how bad it was. It is truly a train-wreck - so awful you can't look away. You can, however, fast forward through some of the dismal songs. Too bad one can't give it negative stars.

Just watched this gem for the first time and understand why it's not aired every year with the likes of Rudolph, Frosty and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Very depressing and a bit disturbing too. This good luck cricket seems to have brought nothing but ill will to the father/daughter it finds. Sudden blindness. Banruptcy. Kidnapping and cold murder. Dirty old man with warts and no teeth. Not the things I really want to share with my kids. Ever. I suppose its OK because both Jesus and the Pope due make an appearance. However, my husband and I were laughing so hard by the end due to it's utter ridiculousness that I think it will be a holiday tradition in our household for years to come. From now on our motto is: cricket on the hearth, take that horseshoe off the door, with a cricket on the hearth, you can leave that lucky penny sitting on the floor. Deep.

I watched this the other day and found it to be a great animated film. If you have ever seen it you would know that it was based on the not so well known Charles Dickins novel of the same name. Truly a great film, with great animation for the time when it actually came out. This is a must have for any Christmas fanatic and for any film collector, but be warned, this is very hard to find...on DVD or VHS. I HAVE found this film on DVD and if you want it you better search fast because it is at Papa John's as a promotion for a limited time. They really did a good job on the film for 1967 and it will stay a staple in my traditions for films on Christmas for the rest of my life. A true masterpiece that all need to see.