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The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold

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The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold
GenreChristmas special
Written byRomeo Muller
Directed byArthur Rankin Jr.
Jules Bass
Narrated byArt Carney
Country of originUnited States
Japan
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersArthur Rankin Jr.
Jules Bass
Running time25 minutes
Production companyRankin/Bass Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 23, 1981 (1981-12-23)[1]

The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold[2], clearly known by its correct spelling as The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold, is a 1981 American stop motion Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The special first aired on ABC on December 23, 1981.[1]


Plot

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Aboard the ship Belle of Erin bound for Dublin, Ireland, cabin boy Dinty Doyle is assigned by the captain to row to a nearby island to procure a tree for Christmas Eve. Dinty reluctantly rows to the island to dig up a tree on the beach, as a family of leprechauns observes with interest having not seen a human in two centuries. However, too late the Leprechauns realize that Dinty is digging up the tree that imprisons the banshee, Old Mag, and once Dinty finishes uprooting the tree Old Mag emerges from the ground and summons a storm to celebrate her newfound freedom. While Dinty is initially distraught by the storm, it quickly passes and ends with a rainbow leading Dinty to a clover patch that contains the leprechaun's gold. Dinty exclaims joy at having found the gold which leads to a brief misunderstanding with leprechaun Barney Kilakarney who initially takes Dinty for a thief, but Dinty is able to explain himself which leads to a round of introductions. Dinty asks Barney if the leprechauns he saw on the shore were his family to which Barney is unsure as he hasn't spoken with them for over a century. Dinty asks why and Barney invites him in to tell him the story as Old Mag watches intent on stealing the gold. Old Mag unbeknownst to Dinty and Barney pours a potion in the boiling teapot.

As the two wait for their tea to cool Barney tells Dinty of the two clans of leprechauns, the gold mining Kilakarneys and shoe making O'Clogjiggers. Barney and his wife Faye O'Clogjigger lived for centuries happily married. Due to the leprechaun's gold hiding places attracting rainbows, this attracted the attention of the banshee Old Mag the Hag, who must have gold for Christmas every year or else disappear into teardrops and wash away. However, banshees are not allowed to steal the gold and it must be given to them freely. Banshees also have the power to bring about powerful cataclysms and change their appearance, but are unable to hide their streams of tears. Taking the guise of a guardian angel, Old Mag visits Faye and tells her to convince Banrey to give away his gold in order to live happily ever after. Barney refutes the idea calling Faye "daft" and the resulting row sees Barney and Faye separating. Upon returning to his mine he discovers that Old Mag has convinced all his miners to become shoemakers. Old Mag asks for gold only to once again be met with Barney's refusal and Old Mag unleashes an earthquake that breaks off their stretch of land from Ireland into the phantom isle of Thule. Knowing Mag has the power to drown them all, Barney enlists the aid of Saint Patrick who meets with Old Mag, and asks her to demonstrate how she turns to tears in exchange for the promise of gold to which Old Mag agrees only for Barney and Saint Patrick to trap her in a pine tree in her weakened state. Saint Patrick warns the leprechauns to protect the tree as its removal will allow Old Mag to return with all her powers.

Barney finishes his story telling Dinty he's been alone ever since as Old Mag's spell over Faye remains in tact. Dinty reveals that he dug up the tree and unleashed Old Mag much to Barney's shock. After taking a sip of the now cooled tea, Barney experiences feelings of euphoria and realizes something was in the tea. Old Mag reveals herself, and says she's put a potion of generosity in the tea which will make Barney willingly give her the gold. Barney attempts to resist the potions effects, but with no other choice he gives into the generosity and gives away all the gold to Dinty and makes him promise not to give it to Old Mag much to her chagrin. Old Mag disappears but not before threatening Dinty to give her the gold or face doom. Dinty returns to the beach only to find the storm swept his boat away. He investigates the sound of crying and finds a woman named Colleen stranded on the beach who claims to have survived a shipwreck. Dinty builds a fire and lifts Colleen's spirits by telling her of his experiences on the island and his lack of knowledge of what to do with the gold. Colleen suggests giving the gold to her so she can have the leprechauns build a ship for passage back to Ireland and share the remainder among the people of Killarney. Swayed by the fantasy, Dinty gives the gold to Colleen who begins cackling and reveals herself to be Old Mag. Dinty attempts to revoke the deal but Old Mag places a curse of a 100 year sleep upon him. Barney comes across the cursed Dinty and laments him falling prey to Old Mag. Later on the beach, Barney and his estranged family mourn Dinty and Faye apologizes to Barney for being headstrong in her disbelief of Old Mag's tricks while Barney apologizes for putting gold ahead of his love for her and the two reconcile. At that moment Saint Patrick looks down approvingly from the sky and a rainbow appears much to the amazement of the leprechauns and Dinty awakens from his cursed slumber saying the light of their reignited love freed him from the curse. Old Mag follows the rainbow to Barney's stash of gold only to be touched by the morning sunlight and turns into tears and washed away by a deluge. Looking on, Dinty and the leprechauns celebrate the Christmas miracle. They then see the rainbow land at a nearby jetty where the Belle of Erin and Dinty returns to the ship which loads up the gold, the Kilakarney shoes, and the leprechauns themselves who can now return to Ireland.

Voice cast

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  • Art Carney as Barney Kilakarney/Narrator
  • Peggy Cass as Faye Kilakarney
  • Ken Jennings as Dinty Doyle
  • Bob McFadden[3] as Old Mag
  • Gerry Matthews
  • Christine Mitchell
  • Glynis Bieg and Frankie Moronski as The Children.

Production crew

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  • Arthur Rankin Jr. — Director/Producer
  • Jules Bass — Director/Producer/Lyricist (as "Julian P. Gardner")
  • Romeo Muller — Writer
  • Maury Laws — Music/Music Arranger and Conductor
  • Paul Coker Jr. — Designer
  • John Curcio — Sound Recorder
  • Robert Elder — Sound Recorder
  • Akikazu Kono — Animagic Supervisor
  • Ichiro Komuro — Animagic Supervisor
  • Hiroshi Tabata — Animagic Supervisor
  • Seiichi Araki — Animagic Supervisor
  • Ryoji Takamori — Animagic Supervisor
  • Mituharu Hirata — Animagic Supervisor
  • Totetu Hirakawa — Animagic Supervisor
  • John Redmond — Words and Music for "Christmas in Killarney"
  • James Cavanaugh — Words and Music for "Christmas in Killarney"
  • Frank Weldon — Words and Music for "Christmas in Killarney"
  • Masaki Iizuka — Associate Producer
  • Lee Dannacher — Associate Producer

Production

[edit]

When Romeo Muller first wrote the initial script it was meant to be Saint Patrick's Day special, but due to pressure from ABC it was repurposed as a special for the Christmas season.[3] The songs were written by frequent Rankin/Bass composer Maury Laws with lyrics by Jules Bass who was credited under the pseudonym of Julian P. Gardner.[3]

Release

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The special had its initial broadcast on ABC on December 23, 1981.[4] ABC reaired the special on December 20, 1983 with subsequent airings from 1985 onward handled by Lorimar Television (since subsumed into Warner Bros. Discovery) in syndication.[4]

It is among the package of Rankin/Bass specials currently licensed to AMC as part of the Best Christmas Ever, and was formerly part of the 25 Days of Christmas on the Family Channel. AMC dropped The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold from the Best Christmas Ever lineup in 2023[5] but returned it in 2024.[6]

Home video

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The first home video release of The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold was on VHS through Lightning Video which was released on a tape with Frosty's Winter Wonderland.[4]

The special was subsequently released on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection as part of the Rankin/Bass TV Holiday Favorites Collection.[7]

Reception

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During the week of its premiere broadcast, The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold managed to secure a ratings share of 15.3/26 and overall ranking 37th for the week.[8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (June 6, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476612409.
  2. ^ "The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold (1981)". TCM. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Goldschmidt, Rick (March 12, 2024). "Is Rankin/Bass' 'The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold' a St. Patrick's Day TV Special or a Christmas Special?". ReMIND Magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962–1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 24-25. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Best Christmas Ever Is Back on AMC and AMC+. AMC press release. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "Best Christmas Ever Returns on AMC and AMC+ Starting Nov 30th". AMC press release. November 15, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  7. ^ Crump, William D. (December 30, 2022). The Christmas Encyclopedia, 4th ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476687902.
  8. ^ "TV/Radio talk". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 1, 1982. Retrieved September 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "National Nielsen Ratings Dec 21-27". The Plain Dealer. December 31, 1981. Retrieved September 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
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