rdoyle29 A young Irish sailor sees a fir tree growing on an island and goes ashore to retrieve it and use it as a Christmas tree. When he digs it up, he frees a banshee that was trapped under it. He meets some leprechauns who explain to him that banshees need to get gold before Christmas or they die. The leprechauns give him the gold to hide, but like a complete moron, he's tricked by the banshee into giving her the gold. The later, less well-known Rankin/Bass specials tend to be obscure for good reason. This one features a bunch of leprechauns hording piles of gold for themselves for no good reason. They need to keep it from a banshee who needs it to survive because ... because banshee? Factor in the fact that the hero is a complete moron, and it's hard to get on board with this uncomfortably weird blend of Irish folklore and Christmas.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) In this 25-minute short film from the holidays almost 35 years ago, you don't get any snow, but you get lots of green fields, funny little gnomes, not so funny evil creatures and lots of gold. "The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold" is another Rankin/Bass movie and writer Romeo muller should also be known to animation lovers for his contributions to Christmas-themed films. I thought the movements in here were sometimes a bit abrupt and this film did not flow as smoothly as I hoped, but it's still a decent watch. The story is okay and the animation is as well once you got used to the style. And it's also maybe worth a watch for being pretty different compared to other Christmas cartoons from around that era. Actually, you can watch this one very nicely in the other months of the year too. I recommend it. No greatness, but solid from start to finish, liked the Irish accents too.

Angel Meiru Why do you make a HORRIBLE christmas special like this? After good works like "Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" and "The Last Unicorn", you finally stoop low to swill like this?SLIGHT STORY SPOILERS (like you care)The plot begins with a clumsy sailor crashing on an island full of Leprechauns with fake Irish/British accents and tells him not to cut that tree down, ya know, the one the sailor crashes into. But does the saliro listen? No, of course not, he "knows" better. After cutting down the tree, he releases a Banshee and the Banshee wreaks havoc to the world with her annoying voice. So it is up to the Leprechauns to protect their gold and kill the Banshee.END OF SPOILERSMan, if this cartoon did not give you a headache already with plot holes and the Banshee's annoying voice (the moment I saw her, I wanted to beat her up for myself!), you are one brave soul (or sado-masochist).If you want good claymation specials or animated movies, look elsewhere!

Templeton Moss One of the more unsung Rankin/Bass stop-motion features, the story revolves around an Irish sailor who meets a leprechaun named Blarney Kilakilarney one Christmas Eve. After unwittingly setting a banshee free, the sailor learns that the monster's object is Blarney's Christmas gold. Together they thwart the wicked banshee and save the gold for the leprechauns, not to mention Blarney's marriage.Those who love Irish folklore and charm will enjoy this enchanting film. Though not as bright and cheery as its cousins, (it gets a litle dark, as most Irish tales do) it has the typical happy ending. And the highlight of the special is the performance of my personal favorite Christmas song, "Christmas in Kilarney."