Having inquired about the funniest moments of the holidays last year, I figured I'd go the opposite end of the emotional spectrum this time and see what the saddest moments are. For me it's the obvious one: Frosty melting. It's a credit to the writing and Jackie Vernon's great take on the character that we really fall in love with him over 20 odd minutes, and don't want to see anything bad happen to him, so when it does happen it's a huge blow--doubled by the fact Professor Hinkle was largely inept in his villainy up till that point, thus making it doubly shocking that at that particular moment he horrifyingly succeeds. Honorable mention:
-Mickey's Christmas Carol: the death of Tiny Tim (still one of the most gut wrenching portrayals of the passing, with extra points given that it's effectively conveyed without Mickey or anyone saying a word)
-The Bells of Fraggle Rock: Gobo returns from his presumed unsuccessful sojourn to find the Great Bell to discover that asking his friends not to ring their bells until he got back caused them to freeze into Fraggle-cicles
-Twas the Night Before Christmas: the town rather irrationally turns on the Trundles after Joshua's Santa clock initially fails (a plot point that in no small measure made me personally terrified of failing at anything for years out of fear the same would happen to me)
-Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey: Nestor's mother's sacrifice to keep him alive
-Rudolph: "From now on, we won't let Rudolph join in ANY reindeer games, right, right!"
