How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) animation divisions of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, where Jones was under contract at the time. CBS, coming off the surprise success of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" a year before, allotted Jones and MGM a $315,000 budget, more than four times what Bill Melendez was offered to produce "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The original broadcast was sponsored by the Foundation for Full Service Banks whose sponsor plugs within the original airing were later edited out for subsequent broadcasts. The entirety of the book's text, with some slight embellishment, was adapted into the special; to pad the special to a full 30-minute time slot,
The Spirit of Christmas (TV program) collectors auctions and on eBay. It is very unusual for its time in that it was made in color at a time when there were no color TV sets in existence, so viewers of the time saw it in black-and-white. The "St. Nicholas" segment includes music from "The Nutcracker" ballet. Mabel and Les Beaton, through their company, Stringtime Productions, produced this film. The Spirit of Christmas (TV program) The Spirit of Christmas is a Christmas television special performed by marionettes. It first aired in 1953 in the United States. Its half-hour showing time is divided into two marrionette segments, one