Christmas Canonization, What's in Store for 2022, and More News!
By: Andrew Bermudez
(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; December 25, 2021)
Another year is just about over, with new one on the horizon, and we have some important updates that we have to share! Let's get started!
Celebrate Christmas with a New Canon Update!
- From The Holiday Spotlight Night Spectacular! (Performed 2005; Re-released 2018):
- The Christmas Story in a Shepherd’s Words (8 B.C.E.) - A shepherd named Benjamin working in the Middle Eastern town of Bethlehem recounts how his partnership with his brother Philip may end, since he became religious after seeing Jesus, something that the conniving Ben wants nothing to do with.
- It’s Over So Quick (2005) - On Christmas Eve in Wicker’s Brook, Michigan, three friends talk about their Christmas experiences. One of them, Catherine, is so stressed out over everything that she has to do every Christmas season that she lets out a massive outburst over how meaningless she feels her hard work is. The other two discuss their Christmas experiences with her in order to calm her down and help her to adjust her perspective.
- A Change in Plans (2003) - A family is discussing their plans for their Christmas when their father comes home. He informs them that Danny is shipping out to Iraq in a few days, which disrupts their plans. They are disappointed, but find comfort in each other and their faith.
- A Day to Remember (2001) - At the office of Big Apple Electronics, inc. in New York City’s World Trade Center, Jeff is replacing Mike as the head of Sales & Marketing. During their conversation, Jeff scolds Mike for saying that his faith will see him through the tough days ahead, instead blaming Mike’s faith for his firing. After Mike leaves with his belongings, Jeff makes a phone call about big plans for the following day, which happens to be September 11, 2001.
- Secret Santa (2005) - A daughter and mother in Paradisa Beach discuss mom’s failed attempt to skateboard down Dead Man’s Cove, which resulted in a sprained ankle sustained in front of the mayor’s house. The conversation then changes to the new bike that the daughter wants, but in spite of the ease of ordering the bike, the daughter decides to give the bike to another family in the neighborhood (home of the Undeniable Neighbor) as a secret Christmas present. They agree to go through with the gift giving plan, giving the Undeniable Neighbor’s son a special Christmas.
- Where are They? (7 B.C.E.) - King Herod monologues to himself about the whereabouts of three wise kings that stopped by a month earlier to seek out Jesus. He asked the three kings to return to him, but Herod learns from a messenger that the three kings have instead returned home. King Herod, who was more interested in killing Jesus than worshiping him, orders the captain of the guard to kill every male child 2 and under in the region.
- Thoughts of Home (2003) - Two weeks later, Danny is in Iraq with a friend of his, a fellow soldier named Rachel, where the two are on guard duty. During their patrol, they discuss Christmas at home and share some laughs over their favorite memories.
- Growing Up (2008) - On Christmas Night, three young adults gather around the fire and talk about how the meaning of Christmas has changed for them. They also share stories from Christmases past.
- Putting Christ Back into Christmas (2005) - A mother and daughter in LEGO City are scrambling on Christmas Eve to prepare for Christmas Day, or at least the mother is. The daughter is watching an accident on TV to see if her father is there, but the mother wants the daughter to shop while she prepares the food. The stores are mostly closed, and the daughter would much rather attend Christmas Eve service at the Cherry Tree First Baptist Church. After some push and pull, they decide that Church is more important than running around to buy gifts at the last minute.
- In Crimson (7 B.C.E.) - Mary shows affection towards Jesus and describes his birth in vivid color. She predicts that Jesus will have a long, prosperous life as King of the Jews, but God tells her what is to come. Mary becomes angry and distraught over what will happen to Jesus, but God tells her to trust in his plan.
- From Spotlight Night 2006 (Performed 2006; Re-released 2016):
- We Can’t Have Christmas (2006) - The children of a small family think that Christmas cannot happen if you don’t have Reindeer, snow, or the ability to speak English. Their parents tell them otherwise, saying that Christmas looks a little different for everyone.
- A Big Fish Story (2006) - As part of a Christian volunteer program, two friends retell the story of Jonah for Sunday School. However, one of the friends, named Blondie, proves that she doesn’t know nearly as much about the story as she thinks she does, which has humorous results. This results in the straining of the relationship that she has with her friend, Kendra Newmore.
- Blind Man Who Now Sees (2006) - A formerly-blind man named Harolld Nelman (who would beg outside of the gates to LEGO City’s Crescent Park) has been cured of his blindness through a miracle. He preaches the word of the gospel on the street corner, but two LCPD police officers arrest him on suspicion of murder. He tells his story during the interrogation, but the two officers don’t believe him. He is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Harolld Nelman.
- On Gifts and Wrapping Paper (2007) - A divorced man by the name of Steven West is visited one night by two of Santa’s elves, sent in order to change Steven’s failing life. They show him how he’s been acting towards others and tell him that in the morning, a co-worker is going to invite him to attend a service at the recently-opened Cherry Tree Second Baptist Church. Steven agrees to go.
2022: What We Have Planned
We didn't expect 2021 to be as difficult as it was, but while 2/1/21 paved a way forward (with some of those projects canceled for reasons other than time management), we wanted to state that our picture for 2022 is much more clear. We have one back-logged project moving into the new year, with a few additional projects coming up. Speeder will finally be resurrected next summer, along with the spring release of the spin-off of a spin-off Camel: The Movie, as well as our BRAWL 2022 entry, Tale of Ulysses. In addition, Alms Pouch: Finished At Last! is moving to the fall of 2022, allowing for a more even spread of new content throughout the new year. On February 1, we'll give you all of the details that you'll need to know what to expect from these projects. But there's one more project that'll be released before then.
THAC is Back in January; Officer Spot will Hit the Streets on January 9!
Recently, Bricks in Motion announced that THAC 2022 (the numbering convention from years' past is being dropped for the first time) is going to occur on January 8, 2022! While the core theme is obviously not going to be announced until the contest start on that date, we do know that this THAC will continue our initiative to reimagine canceled projects with these competitions! This time, it's Officer Spot that is going to be reimagined. In case you didn't know, Officer Spot was an all-CGI animated project from 2012 that was loosely based on a news article when the Vaughn, New Mexico police chief resigned, leaving the police dog as the only police officer left in town.
While the project was canceled due to having little support, this new film is going to take this old idea and turn it into a more atmospheric film. "We only have one day to get this film made," said LEGO Studios CEO Mark Matthew. "I have asked the film's director to only use one set, which will begin construction well before the competition starts, but we otherwise have to get this right on our first try. While it was fun to do multi-set THAC films like When Barrels Fly, we want a level of polish that we haven't seen elsewhere before. It's going to be funny and dramatic, it's going to be deep, and it's going to be deconstructive of its narrative, since the idea of a police dog becoming the sole police officer in town is a funny premise, but one that begs a lot of questions as well. How do you enforce the law when you can't communicate with humans or understand their body language? How do you file paperwork without opposable thumbs? How do you compensate your law enforcement when dogs can't earn an income? We want our writers to think this one through, so we're compensating by having the set ready prior to the day of the contest." Further details will be revealed in the new year, with Officer Spot making its debut on January 9, 2022.
New Shirt Design Celebrates Lens Pioneers!
Just in time for the new year or for any time of the year that you support the study of the multiverse as a serious scientific discipline, we have a brand-new shirt that shows off the canonical logo for Lens Pioneers, LTD. (or at least how the logo appears in Dimension 418. PeabodySam will need to approve of the logo for Dimension 525 separately.) as featured in Venomosa: The Bounty of Billy the Kid! This firm studies and catalogs the furthest extents of the multiverse, while also keeping this research behind closed doors. Because of this, this logo was intentionally designed to be as ambiguous as possible, since their customer (and tax)-friendly front is camera sales. Buy it today in our online store!
New Studio Update: Project Stalled Until 2022!
In one last piece of news, we're reporting that our new studio has been stalled indefinitely, mainly due to the labor shortage. However, we're looking at resuming construction in the new year, with an expected completion time by the end of next year. Because of this, the timeline for Johnny Thunder and the Secret of Marco Polo is being re-evaluated. We'll have a full update on that project on February 1 of next year.
Lead Out
And with that said, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We'll have our entire Year in Review ready sometime next week by New Year's Eve, which will cover everything that we've done in the past year, as well as what is to come!
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