Flicker Saves Christmas
On a snowy Christmas Eve, who should walk into Manny’s shop but Santa Claus himself, needing a runner on his sleigh repaired?
Tropes Include:
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Apparently, one of Santa’s elves is named Elvin.
- Audible Gleam: One of these shines on the star Mr. Lopart puts on his mini-Christmas tree.
- Character Action Title: Describes Flicker saving Christmas by lighting Santa’s way through a snowstorm (Sound familiar?)
- Christmas Elves: One, named Elvin, appears during the scene set in Santa’s workshop.
- Christmas Episode: The second one to occur in Handy Manny.
- Comically Missing the Point: When the tools are worrying if Santa can make it through the snow, and Manny points out that it snows all the time at the North Pole.Pat: Yeah! His sleigh has snow tires.
- Continuity Nod:
- Manny has the stocking rack Mr. Lopart gave him back in “A Very Handy Holiday” hanging on his workshop’s wall.
- When talking about how the True Meaning of Christmas is helping others, Squeeze brings up fixing Chief Eduardo’s firebell, and Rusty mentions repairing the pipes under Mrs. Portillo’s sink.
- Department of Redundancy Department: When Pat is listing the gifts he wants to get on Christmas.Pat: I hope I get a train, and a bike, and a boat, and a train…
Turner: You already said “train”.
Pat: I know. I want two. - Double Take: Mr. Lopart does this when he sees Santa in Manny’s shop playing with the tools. At the end of the episode, he does another one when he sees Manny and the tools… riding in Santa’s sleigh. (For context, Santa was planning to make up for time lost to sleigh repair by having them help him deliver gifts.)
- Dreaming of a White Christmas: Just like Handy Manny’s other Christmas Episode, it’s snowing on Christmas. This time, the snow is actually plot-relevant, as Santa is having trouble finding his way through the blizzard.
- Exact Words: When the tools need to come up with a way for Santa to be able to navigate his sleigh through the snowstorm, Stretch says that they need “one bright idea”. Cue Flicker lighting up, with a solution in mind.
- Extra-Long Episode: A full 22-minute story, while most episodes of Handy Manny are Two Shorts.
- Homemade Sweater from Hell: Mr. Lopart has an ugly Christmas sweater (implied to be made by his mother) which he actually enjoys wearing; Fluffy has a matching mini-sweater, which she does not enjoy wearing.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: When Felipe wants to give Santa something besides milk and cookies:Felipe: I am going to give Santa a song! (starts singing) La la LA la la la!”
Turner: You’re going to give me a headache. - Incredibly Long Note: One line in “You Can Always Count On Santa” has one on the last syllable of the word “Santa”; the ending of the song also stretches out “Claus”, although not nearly to the same extent.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When the tools are discussing how Santa will get into the shop despite their lack of chimney:Turner: Santa is not just going to walk in the front door.
(At that moment, Santa walks into the shop)
Turner (shocked): Okay, maybe he will. - Leaving Food for Santa: The tradition of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa Claus is briefly brought up.
- Mondegreen Gag:Felipe: Feliz navidad, Manny!
Pat: Fleas la-de-da, Manny! - Musical Chores: Manny and the tools sing “You Can Always Count On Santa” as they decorate their Christmas tree and hang stockings.
- Musical Episode: Downplayed; the episode contains one song, “You Can Always Count On Santa”, which is not normally present in an episode of Handy Manny.
- Nuclear Candle: In a variant, Flicker the tiny little flashlight, despite having been too dim to even properly read by in “Story Hour”, is somehow able to light Santa’s way, Rudolph-like, through a snowstorm.
- On Three: The tools all exert their effort to shut the workshop door (which the winter wind was blowing open) on the count of tres.
- Pet Dress-Up: Mr. Lopart has put Fluffy in a miniature ugly Christmas sweater. She is less than thrilled by this.
- Pun: This exchange during “You Can Always Count On Santa”:Dusty: Santa can make it any kind of weather.
Rusty: Even rain?
Pat: That's easy. He has reindeer!
Rusty: I get it. - Saving Christmas: Manny and the tools do this by repairing a runner on Santa’s sleigh, and by having Flicker light the way for Santa through a blizzard.
- Santa Claus: He appears. Oddly, the episode’s take on him gives him small eyeglasses, and gives his sleigh weirdly modernistic features like a glove compartment.
- Title Drop: One almost occurs at the end of the episode.Dusty: Flicker saved Christmas!
- True Meaning of Christmas: According to Manny, it’s “always thinking of others”.
