Countdown to TixMas #4: Marvel's Guardians Of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Stay Tuned #46)

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. the TixMaster

With fresh snow piling up outside, it's time I had some fresh content for the Countdown to TixMas! So let's talk about Marvel Studios' Guardians Of the Galaxy Holiday Special (now streaming on Disney+)!

Like with the Werewolf By Night Halloween special, if you've seen the trailer for this, there isn't much to spoil, and it clocks in at under an hour. It delivers on the trailer pretty well, and it's not a huge investment of your time if you want to give it a watch (and like and comment on this post down below) while I load in this image break:

The opening animation of "How the Yondu Ruined Christmas" looks good for a TV budget, like something between a Disney direct-to-video sequel and (because this is a GOtG special) Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights.

Christmas, Adam Sandler, relationships, cold stuff, see? It's all connected! ...IT'S ALL CONNECTED!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umm...sorry. Moving on....

The Marvel Studios logo has a bunch of Christmas-themed comic book panels in it, including Santa. Which means Ms. Marvel, Charles Xavier, a few Easter egg nods to Wolverine in the Hawkeye and She-Hulk series, possibly Wanda, Pietro, and Wanda's kids, and now, Santa Claus, are the only Mutants to be referenced in the MCU. Yes, Santa Claus is an "Omega Level" Mutant in the comics. How else would he be able to get to every human home on Earth in under fourteen hours?

Oh, and it has Christmas lights on it, and the Marvel Studios theme is replaced by The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York."

The opening credits are backed by an alien band (portrayed by the band, The Old 97s) playing "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)." It's perfect for a comedic, hyper-literal, alien understanding of Earth traditions, and has that Barenaked Ladies' "Elf's Lament" feel to it. Definite bop, or banger, or whatever the current slang is for a catchy, feelgood song.

The old Guardians cast is back to reprise their roles. And just like the trailer suggests, Peter Quill is feeling overwhelmed and depressed since the Guardians bought Knowhere from The Collector (I have not seen Thor: Love and Thunder, or wherever this event happened, but I don't suppose I need to have seen it because they just say it happened, and leave it at that, which is fine), and especially since Gamora died and her past Variant kicked him in the groin. Christmastime is here, and Mantis and Drax travel to Earth to kidnap Kevin Bacon (because of that "Kevin Bacon saved an entire town by dancing" line that came up in both of the Guardians Of the Galaxy movies) to give him to Quill as a Christmas present. Great set-up.

The fish-out-of-water comedy with Drax and Mantis in Los Angeles is great, playing off of the "they're aliens, but it's L.A. in a world with superheroes, so no one notices" cliche. We also learn that Go-Bots (knockoff Transformers) are an actual alien species in the MCU, and possibly that the lore behind this joke from She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Episode One

is that Mantis took Steve's virginity.

While you let that sink in, there is a ton of Disney IP flaunting here, too, which could go either way depending on if you're anti-commercialism or an Easter egg hunter, or you just have opinions about Disney stuff. Even the Map to the Stars has some fun James Gunn, Bautista, and Six Degrees nods like Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad), John Cena (a fellow wrestler/actor), Queen Latifah (Beauty Shop), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Chris Pratt's father-in-law and a big WWE fan), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack from Saved By the Bell, who worked with Bautista in Heist), and finally, Kevin Bacon himself.

The actual kidnapping part is where the special takes a noticeable dip in quality. The visual effects that make our alien duo leap around Bacon's property in pursuit of him are full of choppy editing, awkward wirework (including several instances of the "Woody run," and badly integrated CGI. Then there is the bluntly childish, crude, Opposite Day humor that made parts of Guardians Volume 2 so annoying to sit through. The kind that makes you eerily hyper-aware of the absence of your own laughter ("Kevin Bacon isn't a hero!? He's a disgusting, horrible actor!" and other such gems).

That isn't to say the kidnapping of Kevin Bacon is without its charms. There are plenty of obscure and iconic Kevin Bacon references, like his death scene in Friday the 13th, Red McCormack from Footloose, his English accent from Elephant White, and even an old Jim Carrey impression (which only James Gunn would be allowed to get away with because he is both an MCU director and the prospective new Kevin Feige figure of the DCEU).

From there, it's pretty much just a reveal and resolution that has Quill being overwhelmed with joy that his friends would surprise him with Christmas...but also having to inform them that kidnapping and intergalactic species trafficking are bad. Bacon gets a heartfelt interaction with Kraglin (played by James Gunn's brother, and a fellow Sean), and decides to stay on Knowhere to give some Christmas education to the locals, and do a closing song with the Old 97s, which is...okay. Good musical pairing, but the song itself (which is supposed to be the "correct interpretation" educational song that contrasts with the Old 97s' opening number, but has the lower-energy Bacon taking lead on vocals and relies more on generic emotional appeal than being a creatively written, informative piece) is just okay.

That said, I could analyze the joy out of the Guardians Of the Galaxy Holiday Special, but it nailed the series' theme of found family versus genetic family, the music choices were appropriate and uplifting, and I enjoyed the majority of the humor and references too much to let the few annoying jokes ruin my experience. The special made me feel joy throughout, and my joy stuck when it was over, such that I gushed to my fellow MCU viewers at work the next day.

B+

Remember: Christmas, relationships, family, lights, cold stuff, Kevin Bacon, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler,....

It's all connected!

Stay Tuned, wait smart, and save those Ticket Stubs because tomorrow, the Countdown to TixMas continues with a review of a film featuring the stars of Elf (which I haven't seen, will never see, and you can't make me).

TixMaster,

Out.