Christmas Comes to Pacland is an animated television special based on the Pac-Man animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera.
Synopsis[]
The popular star of video arcades and Saturday morning TV invades prime-time with a story about the inhabitants of Pacland helping Santa Claus, who crash-landed his sleigh in Pacland, retrieve his toys from the fiendish Ghost Monsters![2]
Plot[]
Act 1[]
The special opens on the night of Christmas Eve, as Santa Claus and his reindeer are out delivering gifts. Meanwhile, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and their pets Chomp-Chomp and Sour Puss are making Snow-Ghost Monsters for Pac-Baby to practice chomping on. They are met with a giant Snow-Pac-Man chomping the five ghost sculptures, and running into a tree, which is revealed to be Pac-Baby on a tricycle.
The ghosts chasing the Pac-Family in their toboggan.
Afterwards, Pac-Man and his family go on a toboggan ride, unaware that the Ghost Monsters (Clyde, Pinky, Inky, Blinky, and Sue) are nearby singing a parody of "Jingle Bells." As the ghosts chase the Pac-Family, Pac-Man shifts the toboggan to Warp Speed, until him and the rest of his family are launched off of a cliff. Pac-Man discovers an emergency box, only to realize Inky had stolen the Power Pellets stored inside. Having no other choice, the Pac-Family starts throwing snowballs at the ghosts until Inky starts throwing the Power Pellets back at them. Afterwards, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Pac-Baby eat the Power Pellets, and chomp the Ghost Monsters.
In the sky, Santa and his reindeer encounter the floating eyes of the chomped ghosts, startling the reindeer. The reindeer's chain to the sleigh breaks, and Santa's bag of toys falls from the sky, along with Santa and his sleigh afterwards.
Act 2[]
Santa and his reindeer crash into Pacland, where the locals believe he is an alien. Pac-Baby would then pet a reindeer, feeling bad for it. As Santa gains consciousness, Ms. Pac-Man tells him that he is in Pacland. Santa is confused, as he states he has been around the entire world, yet he does not remember hearing of Pacland. Ms. Pac-Man then invites him and the reindeer inside for a warm fire and Power Pellet Cocoa.
Santa explaining Christmas to the locals of Pacland.
As Santa recovers, Pac-Man questions what he is behind schedule for. Santa introduces himself, and informs that he is late for his Christmas deliveries. The people of Pacland are unaware of what Christmas is, in which Santa informs them that it is the season of giving, receiving, a time of peace on earth, and good will towards man. Pac-Man believes Christmas to be a wonderful time, even if the people of Pacland never had anything like it.
Santa then remembers that his bag of toys was lost in the crash upon mentioning that he has a long list of good children to give presents to. He worries as he has never missed a Christmas before, but Pac-Man assures him that they will save Christmas for him. Officer O'Pac and Morris volunteer to fix Santa's sleigh, and Ms. Pac-Man offers to help the reindeer recover. Pac-Man volunteers to find Santa's bag of presents with Chomp-Chomp, promising that he will be back in the air before midnight.
The ghosts playing with Santa's toys.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Monsters return to their home and put on new suits. They then devise a plan to chomp Pac-Man once and for all. As they come up with a plan, Pac-Man and Chomp-Chomp set out to search for the bag of toys, unaware that the Ghost Monsters are after them. The ghosts notice a bag in their way, in which they find a bunch of toys, and start playing with them afterwards. Pac-Man then discovers the Ghost Monsters have found the toys in Santa's bag. Him and Chomp-Chomp then burrow to the toys to get them back. While Chomp-Chomp successfully surfaces near the sack, Pac-Man surfaces beneath the Ghost Monsters, who are fighting over a board game, and threaten to chomp him.
Act 3[]
The Ghost Monsters have Pac-Man surrounded, who explains to them that he is only looking for the toys. The ghosts are not convinced and start to chase Pac-Man. As they do so, Pac-Man tells Chomp-Chomp to save Santa's toys. Pinky and Blinky notice this, and attempt to chase Chomp-Chomp, only to lose him. Unfortunately for Pac-Man, he trips on a rock as he running, allowing the Ghost Monsters to catch up to him. They proceed to chomp him, then leave him in the snow to freeze. The now-severely weakened Pac-Man discovers that Chomp-Chomp had successfully retrieved all of Santa's toys, and only hopes he has enough strength to return home before Santa's deadline.
Back at Pac-Man's house, Morris and Officer O'Pac continue working on Santa's sleigh, as Santa recites the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" to Pac-Baby. While Ms. Pac-Man takes care of the reindeer, she starts to worry for her husband. Outside, Pac-Man is losing strength, only for Chomp-Chomp to point that they are almost home. However, they end off falling off a cliff, causing the toys to scatter again. With only 20 minutes left until midnight, Pac-Man and Chomp-Chomp would return the toys into the sack.
While Santa's sleigh and reindeer are fully recovered, Ms. Pac-Man still worries about her husband, who finally returns home in a frozen state. Chomp-Chomp returns with the bag of toys, while Pac-Man is given a mug of Power Pellet Cocoa by his wife. Unfortunately, it is too late and Santa laments that he has missed his first Christmas, eventually stating that even if his reindeer were jet-propelled, he still could not make it in time. Which gives Pac-Man an idea.
Pac-Man convincing the ghosts that they are Santa's only chance of saving Christmas.
Pac-Man and company drive Santa to a secret location, only to realize the Ghost Monsters are blocking their way. Pac-Man has no other choice than to convince the ghosts that they are the only chance Santa Claus has of saving Christmas. He explains to them that Christmas is a time about spreading joy across the world, and a time for warmth and brotherly love, even including ghost brothers. He encourages the ghosts to open their hearts instead of their mouths, which causes them to cry with guilt. Clyde is not easily convinced until the other ghosts plead him to think about the children who would not get their Christmas presents because of them. Clyde begrudgingly allows Pac-Man and company to pass unharmed.
Pac-Man encouraging the reindeer to eat the Power Pellets.
The secret location is revealed to be the Power Pellet Forest, where Pac-Man encourages Santa's reindeer to eat some of the Power Pellets. This gives them a boost in energy, and Santa becomes hopeful that there might be a chance to save Christmas after all. As Santa and his reindeer travel away, Pac-Man and company find that Santa left them all presents. Afterwards, the Ghost Monsters once again plot to chomp Pac-Man, only to find that Santa had left them all gifts too. As Santa and his reindeer fly into the night sky, he says "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good chomp!"
Cast[]
- Marty Ingels — Pac-Man
- Barbara Minkus — Ms. Pac-Man
- Russi Taylor — Pac-Baby
- Neil Ross — Clyde
- Chuck McCann — Pinky, Blinky, Officer O'Pac
- Barry Gordon — Inky
- Susan Silo — Sue
- Frank Welker — Chomp-Chomp, Morris, Reindeer
- Peter Cullen — Sour Puss, Santa Claus
Broadcast History[]
The special first premiered on ABC in December 16, 1982, with it later rerunning on Boomerang every December during their "Boomerang Christmas Party" events up until 2020. Currently, the special airs annually as part of the "'Tis the Season for Toons" event on the MeTV Toons channel.[3]
Trivia[]
- This special is considered a distinct program from the Pac-Man animated series, as evidenced by the special having a "2027" production code rather than the normal "0136" seen in the rest of the show, and is often separated from the show in TV guides and digital releases.
- Despite this, the special was included in the Pac-Man: The Complete Second Season DVD release by Warner Archive.
Errors[]
- When it is revealed Inky has the Power Pellets, Pac-Baby's snow clothes are red instead of blue.
- When Blinky pours chocolate sauce on Clyde, the lower half of his body is cut off.
- Blinky and Pinky's lyrics are not in the correct order during the second instance of the Ghost Monsters singing "Jingle Bells."
- When Pac-Man steps out of the car to reason with the ghosts, Morris is seen with his older design.
- When Inky says "Give the guy a break, Clyde!", Pinky appears out of thin air.
Gallery[]
