The year is 1996, and the Maccabees are babies in diapers.
Well, in the Chanukah episode of Rugrats, at least. A fantastic episode of television as a whole, it’s been more than twenty years that Rugrats has carried the torch—or, dare I say, the menorah—of representing Chanukah on the big screen. At the time the episode aired, the show was one of the first major animated television series to produce a holiday special for a Jewish holiday. Today, that’s still true. There have been a few attempts at Chanukah specials again since then—Elena of Avalor aired one recently on Disney Junior—but today’s marquis children’s shows, and toons in general, mostly leave the Jewish celebration in the dust.
Of course, the Rugrats Chanukah episode is epic, and I will never get over or stop saying that inimitable line from Tommy, inhabiting the role of Judah, leader of the Maccabees: “A Macca-baby’s gotta do what a Macca-baby’s gotta do!” And yet, it feels ridiculous to me that we haven’t been given more Jewish holiday specials.
You’d be hard-pressed to find any show, let alone any cartoon, that hasn’t done a Christmas episode. For all the Bill O’Reillys of the world screeching about a War on Christmas, that’s a fake war Christmas has definitely won. Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and the rest of the season’s holidays are buried beneath its tinsel and holly. Just go outside, anywhere, the day after Thanksgiving. It’s impossible to miss.
So what’s the deal? Forget separation of church and state! Where is the separation of church and show? Every goddamn show in the world has a Christmas or Thanksgiving episode. Is everyone in all shows that have ever existed Christian? Is this just the norm? Do we need more Christmas episodes? Who is making the decisions around here!?!?
GIVE ME MENORAHS! GIVE ME LATKES! GIVE ME DREIDELS AND GELT AND THE WORKS! GIVE ME CLEVER SPINS ON CHANUKAH STORYLINES OR GIVE ME DEATH! There is nothing interesting about one more holiday special with one more Christmas-centric storyline with nothing changing but the cast of characters. Show creators: be creative! TV writers: write something new!
It’s nearly 2020. Give us a Chanukah special more current than the Rugrats one. Jews deserve justice. And we deserve funny pop culture representations too.
Thanks for reading The Dot and Line, where we talk about animation of all kinds. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.
