11. Santa Vs The Snowman
This is the most recent special in the list, premiering in 1998 on ABC. A CGI special by Steve Odekerk, the creator of Jimmy Neutron, it bears many plot similarities to The Nightmare Before Christmas. A mute snowman discovers Santa's workshop, and is rebuffed when he tries to take a pretty flute, so in a fit of pique, he decides he would make a better Santa, and creates an army of ice soldiers and weaponry to lay siege to the North Pole. Jonathan Winters plays Santa, who runs the most benevolent and friendly fascist monarchy you've ever seen. Video transmissions between departments use "Merry Christmas" as a sign off, the way they used "England Prevails" in V for Vendetta. Ben Stein and Victoria Jackson plays elves, and the narration is by legendary "In a world..." movie trailer voice Don LaFontaine. The CGI is quite rudimentary, but it's a perfect argument for how the strength of the story trumps the quality of the animation. It ran on the network once or twice, made its way to ABC Family, but is now a perennial on IMAX screens, where it's run in 3-D