There’s also the more recent trope of Western-as-Sci-Fi, notably Firefly and The Mandalorian. The latter could star Clint Eastwood under that mask in his younger days.
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that makes it even better!!!
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I rarely hear of anyone being gaga for this episode, but I happen to love it.
“So this guy comes in, stops the plot cold, and then leaves.” 
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Why is that I wonder? Has it fallen through the cracks?
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I think many fans don’t care for kids’ movies. That was a lament I heard a few times during the Netflix seasons, too.
Or it may be a case of a movie being overshadowed by how hilarious its short is. 
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Which is true of a lot of experiments.
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Yet they’re so rich with comic possibility. Why not? The old Trix argument? “You silly riffer!!! This is for kids!!!”
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I should point out that all the Japanese ones are intended to be kids movies (and TV shows). But it hits differently because it’s from another culture and because Japanese children’s entertainment often has more mature material than comparable US material.
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Also, the two Santa movies in the original run were obviously for kids, as was The Sword and the Dragon and Jack Frost. There’s definitely precedent.
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Consider the anime series Detective Conan (localized in the States as Case Closed). It has a half-pint protagonist, has an art style with something of a kiddie vibe to it, and airs in a prime-time slot rather than being placed in the small hours as is typical for shows that come to mind when the average gaijin thinks of anime. Yet it regularly features some quite graphic murders on a regular basis.
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Oh, heck yes! Watching this right now and trying not to spew lemonade out my nose.
Crow’s written projects make me think of Ladybug from the early years of Cricket magazine and her similar penchant for bald-faced scholarly lying. I’ve always wondered if one of the writers had a younger sib or niece or nephew who had the magazine around the house.
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As annoying as Bobby Blake? Yes! Much more so! Winner? Trayzure/Sierra Madre! By a landslide!
Disagree about the short, however: the narrator’s views could be taken verbatim from parts of my inner monologue on a daily basis. It is true that I am considered judgmental, and am not well liked, but I know an unkempt appearance like no other! And despise it!
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There’s some cynical content in those santa claus films, like Joel, Crow, and Tom’s realistically cynical essays on how santa and the reindeers would die in space, economic conditions in the north pole, etc.
I don’t think MST3K is for kids to some degree. There’s a lot of adult content in it, but not to the same extent as a rated r- series. Like that one Ed Wood porn film called “The Sinister Urge”.
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“My agent booked me in this warehouse. (Nyah!)”
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