[7.1/10] This one started off pretty shaky, trying to stretch out every notable beat of a 4-minute sketch and graft it onto a generic holiday special. It reminded me of the SNL movies of old, which tried to make feature length hay out of short-run skits and came out the worse for it.

But eventually, the comedic sensibilities of Bobby Moynihan & Co. took over and made for an enjoyable, if not exactly uproarious half hour. Little bits like David S. Pumpkins driving a strawberry, or the kid telling David S. Pumpkins that yes, he knows his name by now, or the subversion of the “I really learned a lesson about Halloween” routine with a “no, it’s just about candy, and you’ll never see me again” twist is all fun.

The story is paint by numbers, but the few twists and comedic bits they do, like the one pudgy triplet ringing his bike’s bell repeatedly, or Mr. Pumpkins’ holiday miracle being that he gets rid of raisins in Halloween candy make it go down easy. Talents like Tom Hanks and Peter Dinklage are mostly wasted, but do fine with what they’re given. The one really weak spot is the animation, which is stiff and rudimentary, without the charm of the T.V. Funhouse cartoons.

Overall, this isn’t a special to go out of your way for, but there’s a few good laughs here and there, and it’s an enjoyable enough extrapolation of four minutes of random humor into a basic but decent tale.