Stocking Stuffer #36: Donkey Kong Country - "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights"

It's been a long, hot summer, but we're back just in time for Christmas in July! We've been playing the heck out of Nintendo's new Donkey Kong Bananza game, so we thought we'd take a look at the Christmas episode of the Donkey Kong Country TV series! "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" has everything you could want out of a holiday-themed cartoon episode: A holiday-themed light display, a wacky O. Henry-esque gift-giving mishap, two warring factions coming together in the name of peace, and even a festive song or two! So yes, we're talking all about Donkey Kong this episode. The first half of this episode covers the Donkey Kong TV show (and also Avatar: The Way of Water, for some reason). The second half is when we pull the ripcord and just gush about Donkey Kong Bananza. Strap yourselves in, kiddos! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

We crash into June with the grand finale of this year's Ani-May block! This episode we're talking about Spy x Family Code: White. And to help us break it all down, we've enlisted two experts in all things animation: Returning guests Niall Flanagan and Dwayne Moloney! The Forger family—career spy Loid, his secret assassin wife Yor, and their psychic adoptive daughter Anya—takes a holiday vacation to the cozy mountain town of Frigis. Anya needs her father's help to bake the perfect dessert for a school contest, but along the way the family find themselves embroiled in a plot to kickstart a war. As one of our guests puts it: "What if John le Carré wrote one of his spy novels and accidentally wrote a sitcom instead?" That's about the size of it. And, hey! It's also a Christmas thing! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Ani-May 2025 continues! On this episode we're discussing Mobile Suit Gundam's "War in the Pocket" OVA from 1989. It's Christmastime on the Riah space colony, and eleven-year-old Al has made friends with Special Forces pilot Bernie, who's on a secret mission to destroy the Gundam being built in the colony. The two improbably become fast friends, and along the way Al learns some hard truths about all this war business he's dreamed so much about. It's a harrowing tale, and our resident Gundam expert Dr. Nick is here to explain all of it. And I do mean alllllll of it! So crack open a cold one and get yourself some burgers. It's gonna be a wild ride! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Ani-May is back once again! We're dedicating the month of May to all things anime. First up is "The Sleight Before Christmas", from the second series, released in 1977. Lupin and the gang are out to steal the last bottle of Napoleon's wine, on it's way to be delivered to the President of the United States for Christmas. In this episode, Joe and Bradford discuss expensive wines, cheap wines, the phenomenon of subs vs. dubs, and compete to see who can do the best Bill Clinton impression. Also, stay tuned for what's coming up on this year's edition of Ani-May! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Christmas Eve is the worst travel day of the year, which means an airport is also the best, most dramatic setting you can get for a Christmas movie. At least, that's what this week's film will have you believe. Carry-On is the latest holiday offering from the good people at Netflix: A tense, smartly-written thriller about TSA agent Taron Egerton trying to stop mercenary terrorist Jason Bateman from detonating a chemical weapon in a crowded airport on Christmas Eve. Along the way, we get a few classic holiday needledrops, some excellent action sequences, and a chilling villain turn from Jason Bateman. Also in this episode, we discuss the possibility that Carry-On may be the true ending to Arrested Development, the phenomenon of "Whamageddon," and the state of Netflix's original film slate. Check it out! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Outro: Carry On (fun.)

Our 2025 podcasting year begins in earnest with Golden Winter, an Asylum knockoff of an Air Bud spinoff about a family of golden retriever puppies who lose their mother, bring a family together, and help foil a bank robbery just in time for Christmas! Proving that there is always more and it is always worse, our descent into madness finds us discussing the films of The Asylum, pitching our own ideas for a Die Hard sequel, and questioning our own existence. You know, the usual topics for this podcast about Christmas movies! Anyway, we hope you enjoy it, and we promise a more coherent episode next time. Maybe. If you've been good. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Happy New Year, Creepazoids! It's January, so you know what that means... It's time for our second annual Video Game extravaganza! The holiday season is behind us, so we're taking some time out of our winter break to discuss a few of our favorite things: video games!  Joe, Johnny-5 and Bradford countdown their five favorite video games of 2024. Also in this episode, we get into some honorable mentions, favorites from listeners in our Discord channel, and so much more! So crack open a cold one and get ready for 80+ minutes of quality video game shenanigans. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

We have a tradition around here of spending our holiday break covering films other than Christmas films. So what better way to celebrate July at Christmas than with the best action movie of 1995? That's right, tonight we're discussing Die Hard with a Vengeance! You know the drill: In the next few hours, Simon is going to tell Lt. John McClane what to do. And Lt. McClane is going to do it. That's what the trailers say, at least. In truth, Hans Gruber's little brother is out for revenge against our old buddy John, who's just trying to kick a nasty hangover in the Big Apple. Along the way he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson, who wants absolutely nothing to do with him. It's great. So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair and join your holiday broskis as we chat about Die Hard, pinball machines, New York landmarks, and all the other random crap this podcast is known for! And, of course, we wish all of you a Very Happy New Year! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Summer in the City (The Lovin' Spoonful) Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Merry Christmas, Creepazoids! This is our tenth year celebrating Christmas on this podcast. Can you believe that? This Christmas, Joe and Nikki take some time to discuss a few of the holiday movies they've watched this season. Primarily: Red One! Yes, friends. This is officially our Red One episode. But fret not! We also spend a little time discussing and rating two other new Christmas movies: The "Jack Black as Satan" comedy Dear Santa, and the surprise Netflix hit Hot Frosty. This episode is three reviews in one! It's a Christmas miracle! So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair by the fire, and enjoy some prime time holiday shenanigans. From all of us here at Christmas Creeps: We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a most excellent New Year! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (The Crystals) Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Season's greetings, Creepazoids! This December we're indulging in a few of this podcasts favorite things (there's a Christmas song in there somewhere...). On this week's stocking stuffer, Joe and Johnny-5 take a look at King of the Hill's season nine Christmas episode "Ms. Wakefield". Days before Hank Hill's Christmas party, an old woman (voiced by Happy Days' Marion Ross) shows up to reminisce about her old childhood home. Things then take a turn when Hank discovers Ms. Wakefield intends to die in his house on Christmas, forcing him to become the bad guy whose only crime was not wanting death to cast a pall on his family's Christmas. Also in this episode, Joe briefly touches on a few recent Christmas movies he's watched this season, and we discuss the odd ambiance of mid-December holiday malaise. Fun! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0