History WesternAnimation / TheChristmasTree

** There's also the map of the world in the bespectacled girl's book, which WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic described as looking like a "decapitated gingerbread cookie." Despite its bizarre layout, it is apparently accurate for the setting of the show.

** Zigzagged with Judy. At times she's aware of how horrible Mrs. Mavilda is, like calling her out on not buying the orphans new clothes like she was supposed to do, but otherwise does little to actually stop Mavilda from mistreating the kids.

* BigNo: Mrs. Mavilda shouts no when she loses all of the orphanage's money on ''one hand''.

* CunningPeoplePlayPoker: Mrs. Mavilda is an evil orphanage owner who always blows the mayor's donation money on poker games. Despite never winning, the fact that she's even using it to gamble at all reflects on how crafty and manipulative she is, tricking the mayor into thinking the kids are taken care of and going to great lengths to try and get rid of the kind hearted Judy.

* EvilOrphanageLady: Mrs. Mavilda is a corrupt orphanage owner who wastes all her income gambling rather than helping the orphans. She even manages to go beyond ''that'' by being just as cruel and nasty to children who aren't her charges.

* HardworkMontage: Judy builds a swing set and a slide during a montage. She places them around Mrs. Hopewell, a pine tree in which the orphans love.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Subverted. As cruel as she was about it … Mrs. Mavilda was right that Judy encouraging her children’s obsession with a tree was what caused them to go missing. She's overlooking the fact that Pappy and Lily left specifically because Mavilda was planning to have the tree cut down ''and'' is trying to frame Judy for theft.

* NoodleIncident: Mrs. Mavilda says she had a previous assistant that she fired via what she planned to do with Judy. Given what she is...

* ThousandYardStare: Judy and especially Ray unintentionally appear to be permanently shell shocked for the whole movie. It doesn't help that Judy, for some reason, NEVER opens her eyes completely (except to demonstrate shock at Lily's apparent death). The animators must've run out of white.
* ATwinkleInTheSky: This was an inverse when Santa Claus shows up.

* WritersCannotDoMath: A particularly egregious example that can be better described as "Writers Cannot Count Higher Than Five." Towards the end of the film, Ray says he and Judy will be adopting the orphans, so they'll have nine children to take care of. However, there are seven children in total (as can be seen on the page image): their two biological children, and the five orphans. (Was he counting Mavilda and the dog?)

* OffModel:
** The kids on the VHS cover. However, ironically, they look ''cuter'' than in the actual special.
** When she announces her intention to cut down Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Mavilda suddenly changes to being drawn in a slightly more realistic style, which looks and feels ''very'' jarring.

* VillainousGlutton: Mrs. Mavilda spends all of the money given to the orphanage on self-indulgence, treating herself to fine meals while the orphans eat slop and then gambling the rest of the money away in card games while getting plastered.

* SayMyName: Lily slides down a cliff while being attacked by a bear. She calls her brother's name Peppy as she falls.

* LittleStowaway: Lily stows away in Peppy's sled while going to the North Pole to see Santa Claus.

** The mayor doesn't seem to have the slightest inkling that anything is amiss, and is perfectly willing to fork over large sums of cash (measured in number of bags, no less) to Mrs. Mavilda without much question.

* BigNo: Mrs. Mavilda shouts no she loses all of the orphanage's money on ''one hand''.

* BigNo: Mrs. Marvella shouts no when one of her poker buddies had won the money for the orphanage.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: One apparently delivered upon Ms. Mavilda by Santa Claus. Which she miraculously survives.

* ChildHater: Mrs. Mavilda has been treating the orphans so horribly over the years that they were more willing to believe a ''tree'' loved them.

* SkewedPriorities: When the mayor finds out what Mrs. Mavilda has really been doing with the kids, he's more concerned that the inspector might see it and call him out on it.

* OhCrap: Mavilda's reaction after she tells Judy the kids aren't allowed outside anymore, which Judy answers by deducing Mavilda doesn't want the mayor to see the orphans are still wearing rags despite the money he gave her.

* EvilOrphanageLady: Mrs. Mavilda is a corrupt orphanage owner who wastes all her income gambling rather than helping the orphans.

* JerkassHasAPoint: As cruel as she was about it … Mrs. Mavilda was right that Judy encouraging her children’s obsession with a tree was what caused them to go missing.

''The Christmas Tree'' is a 1991 animated {{Christmas special}} that takes place in an orphanage run by the evil Mrs. Mavilda. She steals the orphanage's funds and tricks the mayor into thinking she's a good manager. The kids are so miserable they latch onto a pine tree as a mother figure. Things begin to change when a new family moves to town, and the mayor assigns the mother, Judy, to a position as Mrs. Mavilda's assistant. She and her two children live at the orphanage while their husband/father must live elsewhere for his new job. Judy takes the orphans under her wing and tries to make life better for them. When Mrs. Mavilda decides to frame Judy for a crime in order to have her removed, the children make a desperate appeal to SantaClaus for help.

* WritersCannotDoMath: A particularly egregious example that can be better described as "Writers Cannot Count Higher Than Five." Towards the end of the film, Ray says he and Judy will be adopting the orphans, so they'll have nine children to take care of. However, there are seven children in total (as can be seen on the page image): their two biological children, and the five orphans. (Was he counting Mavilda and the dog?)

* JerkassHasAPoint: As Cruel as she was about it … Mrs. Mavilda was right that Judy encouraging her children’s obsession with a tree was what caused them to go missing.

* {{Expy}}: Mrs. Mavilda is this for Miss Hannigan, the antagonist of ''Theatre/{{Annie}}''.

* AdultsAreUseless: Played straight and averted. Judy's a decent person, if a bit dim, and genuinely cares for the children. The mayor, however, doesn't seem to have the slightest inkling that anything is amiss, and is perfectly willing to fork over large sums of cash (measured in number of bags, no less) to Mrs. Mavilda without much question.
** Also, Mrs. Mavilda's poker buddies. They have to know (or at least suspect) that Mavilda neglects the kids ''at best'', yet none of them can be bothered to do anything about it.
** Not to mention ''Santa Claus himself'', who doesn't do jack for these poor kids until the very end of the movie.

* BigBad: Mrs. Mavilda, who doesn't use any of the mayor's money to buy the orphans new clothes, gambles the money in her poker games, tries to send away the stray the orphans take in, tries to have Judy arrested just because the kids like her, and attempts to cut down Mrs. Hopewell out of spite towards the kids.

* GoshDangItToHeck: Averted. Near the end, Judy says "Oh God, what do you mean?" right before Ray reappears.

* AnachronismStew: The time period is quite vague. They seem to be aiming for about the 1920s, but blatant anachronisms keep turning up, such as Mrs. Mavilda's henchman Mel watching a television set. Perhaps they were trying for a RetroUniverse, but that's probably giving the creators too much credit.

* NoodleIncident: Mrs. Mavilda says she had a previous assistant that she fired via what she planned to do with Judy. Given what [[Jerkass she is...]]

* NoodleIncident: Mrs. Mavilda says she had a previous assistant that she fired via what she planned to do with Judy. Given what [[Jerkass What she is...]]

* UnfortunateNames: Judy's son is named Pappy, which is traditionally a nickname for a grandfather. This is rather silly considering he's a young boy; ''hopefully'' it's supposed to be a nickname, or short for something, but we never learn what. Nobody points this out in the film, though.