**DEFINITE SPOILERS AHEAD**
A few people have mistakenly claimed that this ugly little Christmas special reminds them of Irish folktales. Having taught such folklore as a university professor, I can reassure people that this story with its shallow references to good and evil is nothing like the authentic tales, and any genuine fan of Irish and/or Celtic stories and myth will be disappointed by it -- and more than likely offended by the cod Irish "begora" stereotypes (despite affection for the voice actors themselves).
The tale centers on a stereotypically-Irish leprechaun whose life is centered around his hoard of gold. The most important of his gold is his Christmas gold, gold made on or for Christmas. A banshee needs to obtain his Christmas gold in order to keep from dissolving into salty tears or seafoam, i.e. dying.
In almost every other Rankin/Bass specials, so-called monsters are dealt with in a fashion befitting the Christmas season: redemption. The Abominable Snow Monster, Eon the Terrible, The Winter Warlock, et al. are brought to redemption despite their original status as 'monster', but not in this tale. The Banshee does nothing halfway as horrific as the Snow Monster's efforts to eat Rudolph's mother or Eon's kidnapping of an infant; outside of her trickery in her effort to save her life by obtaining his gold, no reason is given for labeling The Banshee as 'monster'. Yet the leprechaun in this tale has no interest in redemption, only in destruction.
Rather than charitably sacrificing his gold as a life-giving measure of Christian generosity, the leprechaun keeps it to himself for no other reason given than *because* *it* *is* *his* -- even knowing this selfishness will cost the banshee her life.
It takes a spell to get him to overcome his greed enough to give away anything he owns, and even then he manages to arrange things such that the banshee dies.
A Christmas tale which valorizes greed, selfishness, and a self-righteous enjoyment in seeing one's opponent die? This is a far cry from the moral underpinnings of "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" and other Rankin/Bass Christmas specials!
Rankin/Bass has produced a plethora of delightful children's specials with genuine heart, but this is one of the two worst Rankin/Bass specials made (the other being "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus").
A few people have mistakenly claimed that this ugly little Christmas special reminds them of Irish folktales. Having taught such folklore as a university professor, I can reassure people that this story with its shallow references to good and evil is nothing like the authentic tales, and any genuine fan of Irish and/or Celtic stories and myth will be disappointed by it -- and more than likely offended by the cod Irish "begora" stereotypes (despite affection for the voice actors themselves).
The tale centers on a stereotypically-Irish leprechaun whose life is centered around his hoard of gold. The most important of his gold is his Christmas gold, gold made on or for Christmas. A banshee needs to obtain his Christmas gold in order to keep from dissolving into salty tears or seafoam, i.e. dying.
In almost every other Rankin/Bass specials, so-called monsters are dealt with in a fashion befitting the Christmas season: redemption. The Abominable Snow Monster, Eon the Terrible, The Winter Warlock, et al. are brought to redemption despite their original status as 'monster', but not in this tale. The Banshee does nothing halfway as horrific as the Snow Monster's efforts to eat Rudolph's mother or Eon's kidnapping of an infant; outside of her trickery in her effort to save her life by obtaining his gold, no reason is given for labeling The Banshee as 'monster'. Yet the leprechaun in this tale has no interest in redemption, only in destruction.
Rather than charitably sacrificing his gold as a life-giving measure of Christian generosity, the leprechaun keeps it to himself for no other reason given than *because* *it* *is* *his* -- even knowing this selfishness will cost the banshee her life.
It takes a spell to get him to overcome his greed enough to give away anything he owns, and even then he manages to arrange things such that the banshee dies.
A Christmas tale which valorizes greed, selfishness, and a self-righteous enjoyment in seeing one's opponent die? This is a far cry from the moral underpinnings of "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" and other Rankin/Bass Christmas specials!
Rankin/Bass has produced a plethora of delightful children's specials with genuine heart, but this is one of the two worst Rankin/Bass specials made (the other being "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus").