Most of the specials I've written up in this column over the years have been American, or at least made for the American market. There's been a few Canadian specials, and a handful of British ones, but I've never really reviewed a special specifically made for a non-English-speaking country. A major reason I've avoided those specials is because I don't speak any language other than English (and there's some debate about how well I speak that). But I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on a wide world of holiday treats.
So this year, I set out to find one that was made for a non-English-speaking country. And I found one, in France's L'agenda du Père Noël. However, as mentioned above, I don't speak French, so I also watched the British dub, which renamed the special Santa's Special Delivery. And I learned that the French are just as capable of making run-of-the-mill Christmas specials as Americans are.
As the animation didn't change from the French to the British version, I'm going to assume that the dialogue and plot are also largely the same. Père Noël (voiced in the French version by Gérard Boucaron)/Santa (voiced in English by British comedian Rik Mayall) begins to realize, to his horror, that kids are no longer believing in him. He doesn't know the half of it, as his two elves have been secretly writing a good chunk of the letters he gets every year. It gets even worse when, while debating whether to update his look, he accidently shaves off a good chunk of his beard, requiring him to shave off the rest and resort to a fake beard.
Meanwhile, two rich kids, elementary school-aged Jasmine and her middle school-aged brother Leon, are told by their parents that they will be too busy with work to be home for Christmas, something that upsets Jasmine (who briefly met Santa in the special's opening scene), but doesn't seem to bother her more cynical brother (or does it...?). Back at the North Pole, the elves' gift to Santa, a personal electronic organizer (it was 1999) goes on the fritz after he presses two buttons on it, so he decides to take it to Leon, who despite being all of 12 or so, is already a well-known computer expert. Will Santa and Jasmine's faith in him melt Leon's heart? Will he get his secret Christmas wish? Will Christmas be saved? Even if you don't understand French, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out those answers.
Animation-wise, the production looks all right, if a step below what the American prime-time animated series of the era usually looked like. I'm quite thankful that the producers did use traditional animation rather than try to go the CGI route, as cheap CGI of that era looks horrendous today (and didn't look that great in 1999). In terms of voices, I liked Boucaron's interpretation of Père Noël/Santa better than Mayall's, whose voice can be grating after a while. However, I preferred the rest of the English-language cast better. Jasmine sounded more like a young girl in the English version, and Leon sounded more like a tween boy (though his voice was probably deeper than necessary). In the French version, Leon actually sounded younger than Jasmine.
The world of Christmas TV specials is, unfortunately, filled with mediocrity. After seeing both L'agenda du Père Noël and Santa's Special Delivery, I can say for certain that mediocrity doesn't stop at the border. I'm sure there are wonderful foreign specials out there waiting for me to discover them in a future year. But for 2022, this one has sated my curiosity.
Next time: Celebrating Christmas with Canada's preeminent crooner.
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