New track is from their 2024 holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Party
With lead vocals by famed NFL brothers, Jason and Travis Kelce, the new video drops today as part of The Philly Specials’ holiday charity initiative “Operation Snowball,” which also includes six new animated digital shorts from WildBrain
Philadelphia & Toronto – December 6, 2024 – WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, has teamed up with The Philly Specials—the music group formed by NFL Eagles Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata and retired Eagle, Jason Kelce —to produce a brand-new animated music video for their original song “It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)” written by The Philly Specials’ Zach Miller (Dr. Dog) and featuring smooth guest vocals by Philadelphia’s iconic R&B trio, Boyz II Men. WildBrain has also produced six new animated shorts inspired by The Philly Specials that will be rolling out on social media this holiday season. WildBrain is making the new videos available for fans to enjoy on the WildBrain Kids YouTube channel and on WildBrain Television’s Family Channel in Canada.
Photo by Kait Privera
The first single from A Philly Special Christmas Party (Vera Y Records), “It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights),” debuted at #7 on the iTunes Holiday Chart this November and features brothers Jason and Travis Kelce singing about coming home at Christmas to Cleveland Heights, the Ohio suburb where they grew up. Produced by Charlie Hall (The War on Drugs) and executive producer Connor Barwin (Vera Y Records), the track is from The Philly Specials’ third and final holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Party, a centerpiece of the group’s Operation Snowball, the ambitious charity initiative that will give a gift to every student in the School District of Philadelphia this holiday season. Proceeds from sales of A Philly Special Christmas Party will go to support Operation Snowball with the goal to exceed the $4 million donated in 2022 and 2023 from the sales of previous holiday albums, A Philly Special Christmas and A Philly Special Christmas Special.
The Philly Specials Rescue Santa
The new animated videos are produced in support of Operation Snowball by the talented team at WildBrain’s Vancouver studio—the folks behind such hits as Camp Snoopy on Apple TV+ and SEGA's Sonic Prime on Netflix. The delightful new ’90s-R&B-meets-nostalgia music video for “It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)” sees The Philly Specials embark on a thrilling animated expedition across the polar tundra to find Santa Claus and save Christmas for the world—and Cleveland Heights!
Following a trail of scattered gifts, The Philly Specials discover Santa's sleigh has crashed into a snow drift on Christmas Eve, his toys have been lost and the reindeer have fled! Rescuing St. Nick, they team up with him and head to the North Pole in the wee hours (long after the Elves have gone to bed) to rebuild the lost toys and help make heroic deliveries around the world, ending in a triumphant return to Cleveland Heights.
Connor Barwin said: “We were delighted to work with WildBrain on the animated video for ‘It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights).’ Our goal was to capture the spirit of the song in a magical animated world with Jason, Travis and the whole Philly Specials gang. We wanted it to be fun for kids and a little nostalgic for adults, and the team at WildBrain nailed it. They were such a creative and collaborative group to work with, and we can’t wait for everyone to see it!”
Stephanie Betts, Executive Vice President of Content Creation at WildBrain, said: “We were thrilled to collaborate with The Philly Specials’ team and Vera Y Records on the video for ‘It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)’ and the accompanying social media shorts. It was a true pleasure for our team to bring their creative vision to life through animation, and we had an incredible time working together. Their dedication to children and families during the holiday season is nothing short of inspiring, and we were honored to support their efforts in making the world a brighter, better place.”
Art by Hannah Westerman
Get A Philly Special Christmas Party and support Operation Snowball
Fans can order the new album on white vinyl or CD from the official website below, or download it on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube music or wherever you stream your favorite songs. Fans can also support Operation Snowball by donating directly to The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia.
Find The Philly Specials Online:
For more information, please contact:
For WildBrain: Shaun Smith - Sr. Director, Global Communications & Public Relations, WildBrain
For The Philly Specials: Maggie Poulos | Mixtape Media
About WildBrain
At WildBrain we inspire imaginations through the wonder of storytelling. As a leader in 360° franchise management, we are experts in content creation, audience engagement and global licensing, cultivating and growing love for our own and partner brands around the world. With approximately 14,000 half-hours of kids’ and family content in our library—one of the world’s most extensive—we are home to such treasured franchises as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. WildBrain’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences that captivate and delight fans both young and young at heart.
Our studios produce such award-winning series as The Snoopy Show; Snoopy in Space; Camp Snoopy; Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City; Sonic Prime; Chip and Potato; Teletubbies Let’s Go! and many more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries on over 500 platforms, our content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment, including YouTube, where our network has garnered approximately 1.5 trillion minutes of watch time. Our television group owns and operates some of Canada’s most loved family entertainment channels. WildBrain CPLG, our leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency, represents our owned and partner properties in every major territory worldwide.
WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD). Visit us at wildbrain.com.
About The Philly Specials
The Philly Specials are a collaboration between NFL players Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson and musicians including Stevie Nicks, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men, Devon Gilfillian, The Hooters, members of The War On Drugs, Dr. Dog, Sun Ra Arkestra and more. The project celebrates the true spirit of the holiday season through music, friendship, and joy while raising money to support charitable organizations throughout Greater Philadelphia. A Philly Special Christmas Special raised over $3M for local charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Snowflake Station. Singles, “This Christmas,” “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” and “Pretty Paper,” have garnered over 10M streams across platforms, “Fairytale of Philadelphia” reached #1 on iTunes, and 50,000 copies have been sold on vinyl. Its predecessor in 2022, A Philly Special Christmas, immediately sold out its limited pressing. The record reached four top ten spots on various Billboard Music Charts including #1 on the Compilation Albums Chart. A Philly Special Christmas donated over $1M to local charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center, and fulfilled the wish lists of Philadelphia School District teachers via Donors Choose.