The special starts with an old man named Ron McFarlane, who is Seth McFarlane’s (The creator of “Family Guy”) father. He narrates how the residents of Quahog are getting ready for Christmas, starting with the Griffin family, of course. They are preparing their Christmas lists and singing, “All I Really Want for Christmas This Year.” Other characters sing the song, as well, but simultaneously.
After that number, concludes, the scene switches to Stewie and Brian at the mall to go see Santa (a fake one, of course). However, there is a long line. By the time it’s Stewie’s turn, the mall closes, and Santa leaves. Disappointed, Stewie makes Brian drive to The North Pole.
They stop at a Christmas festival, where Stewie notices some differences between that at the actual North Pole, such as small rides and a teenage boy selling North Pole gear. He blows up at Brian for taking him there and not the real north pole. He reveals the real reason he wants to go: that is to kill Santa.
Brian almost tells Stewie that Santa does not exist, but stops himself, and says that The North Pole will be disappointing. Stewie escapes in a truck, where a guy drives a bunch of birds to lazy to migrate. Brian drives and chases the truck.
The journey worsens when Stewie checks out a gun inside the truck and accidentally pulls the trigger. The truck swerves, and hits many vehicles…until it explodes. Brian struggles to avoid hitting Stewie, which he succeeds at. But his car skids and breaks.
He yells at Stewie and tells him that he won’t find Santa, because he’s not real. After being annoyed at first, Stewie makes a compromise with Brian that is Santa really doesn’t exist, he can get the midnight milk-feeding from Lois. Brian accepts the deal.
Yet, his car won’t start. Luckily, a man who works for AA to fix vehicles comes. He states that a car wouldn’t take him to The North Pole. But he will give up his snowmobile for the two to resume their journey.
After a long and tedious ride, Brian and Stewie finally make it—only to discover something that The North Pole is a factory releasing toxic waste. They also learn the tragic truth about Santa: the types of gifts, as well as the number of them, have overwhelmed him to the point that he is no longer jolly. He is sick and stressed out.
The elves are inbred due to the worlds’ growing population and the increased desires for fancier toys and gadgets. Some were born blind.
The reindeer are vicious, feral creatures, and eat the elves that have died. Santa’s health ends up in jeopardy. If he goes out to deliver presents, he will die. How will everybody receive his or her gifts?
This is one of my favorite “Family Guy” episodes—not just their Christmas specials, but in general. I would even watch it off-season.
There are many things I admire about this holiday special. First, there are the songs, “All I Really Want for Christmas.” Then, there’s the song, “Christmastime is Killing Us.” sung by Santa and his elves right after Stewie and Brian arrive at The North Pole.
Speaking of which, I found this approach to Santa and his elves, as well as his workshop, to be the most realistic, compared to other TV shows and movies. Being destroyed by all the requests for Christmas, fancier gifts (like an iPod), and other factors made Santa’s stressed character more believable. I think this would, unfortunately, be the case if Santa Claus were real. But, as Stewie said, delivering gifts to the whole world in one night is inhuman.
There were some funny moments, as well, such as the Gary Busey scene, and the brief “Winnie to Pooh” scene, explaining why Eeyore is always in a bad mood, after Brian almost reveals to Stewie that Santa doesn’t exist (at that point, to Brian).
Overall, I rate this special 5 out of 5 stars.