This being the end of 2024, I thought I would finish what has been a wild year with a flourish, or at least a laugh or two. I’ve been thinking about the many cartoons that are run each year and have found 5 that have at least some neurodivergent traits. They range from showing one or two traits to, at least in one case, practically the entire cartoon having neurodivergent traits. With this in mind, I bring you A Neurodivergent Holiday Special – A Look at 5 Holiday Specials with Some Neurodivergent Traits.
Here are the ground rules:
- They have to be cartoons. While my favorite holidays shows are the 1951 version of Scrooge with Alistair Sim and The Blackadder Christmas Special with Rowan Atkinson, they are not cartoons.
- This is geared to a United States audience, however, I’m aware that many people outside of the US watch these shows as well. For those of you in the United Kingdom looking for a neurodivergent cartoon, I suggest any of the Wallace and Gromit films.
- This is meant to be fun, not serious.
- As always with anything I write, this is open to debate and I welcome discussion.
- I’ll give the name of the special, the year it was released, a brief look at the plot and the neurodivergent traits I noticed. I’ll score it on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most neurodivergent.
Anyway, here’s the list in the order of neurodiversity:
- Olive, The Other Reindeer (1999)
Plot: Olive is a dog who mistakenly hears that she is a reindeer who is needed at the North Pole with one of the usual crew is unavailable. Her “friends” convince her to go to the North Pole and stand in. Since this is a holiday special, of course Olive goes to the North Pole and convinces Santa Claus to let her be on the team courtesy of prosthetics that make up for the fact that she’s a dog. She’s rewarded for her efforts with a pair of antlers.
Neurodivergent traits: Trusting her “friends”, going to the North Pole without considering the risks, a neurodiversity hiring initiative where Santa Claus lets Olive stand in, and accommodations for putting her on the team.
Score: 5 out of 10 – This one had me thinking a bit, but Olive is neurodivergent.
- The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
Plot: Santa comes down with a cold, and since he’s convinced that kids don’t believe in him anymore, he’s going to take the year off. He’s convinced to do the annual run, but not without a song and dance number from Heat Meiser and Freeze Meiser
Neurodivergent traits: Burnout, self-care, and sensitivity to climate.
Score: 5.5 out of 10 – A mid-tier Rankin/Bass cartoon, but the traits are there.
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Plot: Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang are putting on a Christmas show. It’s mayhem trying to get everyone to work together, so Lucy has him go out and get a tree. He comes back with what is now called a “Charlie Brown Tree” and everyone laughs at him. He wants to find out what Christmas is all about and Linus gives a Biblical scripture about the birth of Jesus. Charlie Brown takes the tree home and notices that Snoopy won the neighborhood decorating contest. He puts one ball on the tree and it falls over. Somehow, the group gets together and decorates the tree.
Neurodivergent traits: I’ve considered the possibility that Charlie Brown might be autistic, since he’s always philosophical and is seen as uninteresting. I also thought that Linus quoting scripture might be symbolic of “The Little Professor Syndrome”, which was a nickname for Asperger Syndrome. The truth is that the Charlie Brown Tree is neurodivergent, is afraid of being touched, tries to hide when it is touched, but the group insists on giving it a makeover it doesn’t want.
Score: 6 out of 10 – It hides it well, but not well enough. The tree being a symbol of the possible fear of rejection some neurodivergent people face is a nice touch.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Plot: The Whos in Whoville love Christmas and look forward to it every year. The Grinch hates everything about the holiday, and tries to take away the joy by breaking into every house in town and stealing everything in sight. The Whos simply go ahead and start singing in the square like they do every year and the Grinch realizes that the presents are not as important as community. He brings back the presents and is invited to the community dinner where he carves the “roast beast”.
Neurodivergent traits: If my house was broken into and everything was stolen, the absolute last thing I would want to do is go out into the town square and sing. Talk about being hyper-focused, the least one of the adult Whos could have done was call the police. The Grinch can be seen as a symbol of wanting to fit in, and manages to do so after bringing things back to normal.
Score: 7.5 out of 10 – This one has a lot of neurodiversity in it, especially when you consider both the Whos and The Grinch have definite signs of being neurodivergent.
- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Plot: Rudolph is born to Donner, who is the lead reindeer for Santa’s team and his wife. Everyone sees that Rudolph’s nose shines. Donner tries to cover it with dirt and sends up to reindeer school, or reindeer training camp, whatever. Rudolph meets Clarice, and she tells him he’s cute. He’s jumping and taking off for longer periods of time than the rest of the reindeer, however, the dirt comes off and his nose glows. Comet kicks him out and tells the other reindeer to not let him join in any reindeer games.
Rudolph then meets Hermey (yes, that’s the correct name), an elf who doesn’t want to make toys, but would rather be a dentist. They run away from home and find the Island of Misfit Toys, a place where unwanted toys are left to rot. The toys tell their story and they move on to meet Yukon Cornelius, a miner who’s looking for silver and gold and someone who likes putting his pickaxe to his mouth. They encounter the Abominable Snowman, who tries to eat them, but they take him down, where it’s revealed that he has a toothache.
Meanwhile, a blizzard hits the North Pole and Santa is unable to make his run, until he sees that Rudolph has a nose that can guide the team. They take off, and the rest is history.
Neurodivergent traits: Where do I begin?
We have a nasal divergent reindeer (could be seen as a symbol of neurodiversity) whose father covers his nose with dirt (masking or ABA therapy, your choice), acting awkwardly with Clarice (well, that’s normal, but could be seen as a symbol of social struggles), getting kicked out of reindeer camp (bullying), meeting an elf who talks with a flat affect (speech patterns), runs into the Island of Misfit Toys (neurodivergent people or toys are odd), meets Yukon Cornelius, who is hyper-focused on silver and gold and puts a pickaxe to his mouth every few seconds (stimming) and then encounter the Abominable Snowman, who is made part of the crew after being taken down and having his tooth taken out (neurodivergent people are scary), and then finally Santa (another bully) decides he needs Rudolph to guide his team during a snowstorm (neurodiversity hiring initiative where the job is very specific).
Score: 10 out of 10. The entire cartoon is neurodivergent. By the way, if Santa had asked me to guide the sleigh, I would have told him “Go to hell, go directly to hell, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.”, but then, we wouldn’t have much of a song or holiday special.
Personal note: My guidance counselor in high school looked exactly like Burl Ives.
So, there you have it. 5 holiday specials with neurodivergent traits. If you think about it, they all have a spirit of inclusion, which after all is the main thing that we all seek, neurodivergent or neurotypical. Santa hires outside staff when it’s convenient for him, and we all get to see how “different” these characters are in the same way we as neurodivergent people are seen as “different”. Perhaps one day a real holiday special will be made focusing on neuroinclusion, but until then, these will have to do.
In closing, let me say that I will you the best of the holiday season, and that whatever holiday you may or may not celebrate, it brings you joy, peace and happiness. If you don’t see the final Leadership and Neurodiversity video of 2024, I also wish you a Happy New Year for 2025!