The Toy That Saved Christmas was a VeggieTales Christmas episode that was released on 1996. In 1997, the episode's animation was redone, especially when the VeggieTales Christmas Spectacular! was about to air on Ion (formerly, Pax TV) a year later.
Animation
- The camera pans straight to George's house without any music or snowflake montage. In the 1997 version, music was added and the camera now pans down a little longer with snowflakes appearing first.
- "Can't Believe It's Christmas" was redone in the 1997 version.
- George's pickup truck is light blue and appears to slide down into Dinkletown, which is way down the hill. In the 1997 version, George's truck was redesigned with a brown color and given a moving animation when heading into Dinkletown, which is also more detailed and less of a way down.
- The window Laura looks out has no reflection. It is given a reflection in the 1997 version.
- The scene where the head falls off of the snowman was reanimated.
- The package lands straight on the roof of the house without a bounce. In the 1997 version, it bounces before it settles.
- The scene where Laura and Lenny are seen begging for Buzz-Saw Louies takes place in a bare room with almost nothing in it. In the 1997 version, the room was given a carpet, some toys, and a coat hanger as accessories as well as the window on the door being redesigned. Also, the camera pans down to show their full bodies.
- The glass in the windows also does not show the outside of the house until the 1997 version.
- The scene in which Louie attempts to make out to the penguin guard that he's not alive was reanimated.
- As Louie rolls down the hill in a snowball after tripping on the stairs, no particles form as the snowball gets bigger. In the 1997 version, the snowball forms particles. Phil states this was due to them not having enough money to make particles at the time of the episode's initial release.
- In "Oh Santa!", when Scallion #1 faints after Larry slams the door on the IRS agent, he yells "Oof!". This is not heard in the 1997 version.
- As Bob, Larry, and Junior are sledding, still shots of the trees are shown before the scene shifts to them sledding. In the 1997 version, the camera slowly pans as they brush trees and sled past the camera before this scene is shown. Also, the position of them on the sled as they jump in front of the camera is different.
- When Bob crashes into the gate, the 1997 version adds an animation of him flipping in the air and landing upside down, which corrected a continuity/animation error involving him disappearing and then magically appearing in the snow.
- The scene where Larry asks Louie "Well, then what is it about?" was reanimated.
- The scene in which George invites the group into his house and reads them the story of Jesus was reanimated, with the interior of his house being entirely different and characters having more animation.
- Like the scene with Laura and Lenny, the group stands in a bare room with almost nothing except a table and a bookshelf as George is reading the Nativity of Jesus to them. In the 1997 version, the room was given a fireplace as well as other accessories, and the group even gets hot chocolate (though there's no steam as it's stated in the commentary it was too expensive). Also, Bob and Larry have taken off their winter garb, except Junior.
- Several different scenes with Larry are reanimated, as his scarf clips into his body several times throughout the original episode.
- The shot where Junior tells the group the factory is the only way to solve the problem was reanimated in that the group was featured in the shot as well and looking at Junior.
- In the original, Junior says "It's gotta be around here somewhere" much sooner. In the 1997 version, Junior stopping is added.
- The shot where the group reacts to the penguin guard is reanimated.
- The scene where the group run past the TV studio and then Junior turns around and says "That's it!" was reanimated. In the original, they all run one at a time, and Junior says "That's it!" just as he hops to the door. In the 1997 version, they all run closer together, and Junior reacts before saying "That's it!".
- The scene where the group enters the TV studio is simply still shots as everything turns on. In the 1997 version, the camera moves around (supposedly from the group's point of view) to look at the studio.
- When Mr. Nezzer and Mr. Lunt are storming towards the TV studio, Mr. Nezzer's tie is missing, and Mr. Lunt's mouth is broken. In the 1997 version, Mr. Nezzer's tie is regained, the lighting is different, and Mr. Lunt's mouth is fixed.
- The group is only heard yelling as they are captured upon being discovered in Mr. Nezzer's TV studio due to the shot only focusing on Laura's family. In the 1997 version, a camera pan was added which shows the television during the group's capturing.
- The shot where Mr. Lunt is working the controls when Mr. Nezzer tells him, "4 tickets to Puggslyvile please!", and he responds, "Right away boss!", was reanimated. This is because in the original, his bottom row of teeth weren't moving.
- The shot featuring the group tied up on the sled during the moment Mr. Nezzer says, "...if those people really cared what you had to say..." was reanimated, likely in part due to the animation errors surrounding the rope in the original version.
- When Laura says, "Merry Christmas!", to Mr. Nezzer, she's standing next to the present. In the 1997 version, she gives the present to Mr. Nezzer in a close-up shot. The shot of Laura smiling at Mr. Nezzer's reaction to his present was also reanimated.
- The shot where the group, Mr. Nezzer, and the penguins are going through the tunnel was reanimated, in that Mr. Nezzer is given more movement.
- The shot in which Louie responds "That'd be me!" when no one else has hands was given the sled motion of the other shots compared to the original static in the 1997 version.
- In between the shot where Louie says "Thanks for the lift" and the shot of Junior and Larry reacting, there was a millisecond-long black screen. This was removed in the 1997 version.
- In the original, when Louie says "Let's see what this baby can really do," his arm clips through the penguin's arm. This was fixed in the 1997 version.
- The shot in which Louie yells "Whoaaaaaaaa!" while riding on the penguin's sled features his eyes open in the original version, whereas they're closed in the 1997 version.
- The shot where Mr. Nezzer is initially about to fall after flying off the bridge was reanimated in that his sled is now included in the shot as well, and the way he falls is different.
- The scene where Grandpa George pulls up with Bob, Larry, and Junior to see Mr. Nezzer hanging from the bridge was reanimated, mainly due to the redesign of George's pickup truck.
- Nothing happens during the camera panorama of Dinkletown at night when the group and everyone else are partying with Mr. Nezzer except that the houses are lit up. Multiple animations were added in the 1997 version to accommodate this scene:
- Silhouettes of everyone else inside their houses
- Lisa inviting other guests (the parent Peas, who had just left their house next door) inside as Mr. Nezzer and Bob are chatting with Dad Carrot also inside.
- Furniture outside Louie's house
- Sawdust flying when he is cutting pieces for making other furniture.
Music
- The music for "Grumpy Kids" starts just as George finishes saying "...he was doing some thinking." In the 1997 version, the music starts just as Louie begins to sing.
- On a similar note, the song was also reorchestrated as well as the scene reanimated.
- As Mr. Nezzer threatens to send the group away in the sled and is interrupted by the families of Dinkletown, the score for the scene is different between versions.
- The episode ends with the Peas singing "He Is Born, The Holy Child" from the A Very Veggie Christmas CD. The 1997 version, however, instead ends with "Away in a Manger," sung by Junior, from the same CD.