Holiday Smackdown: Who-ville vs. Bedford Falls
Next to Bethlehem, they’re the towns most often associated with Christmas:
Who-ville, the sleepy hamlet whose holiday cheer is hampered by a Grinchy green neighbor with a heart condition in Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and Bedford Falls, the wholesome, all-American burg whose inherent goodness, along with some divine intervention, helps avert a Christmas Eve suicide in It’s a Wonderful Life.
Both towns provide idyllic settings for their holiday stories. The events in Who-ville fill us with childlike wonder at the unsinkable joy that is Christmas. And what transpires in Bedford Falls — well, maybe we’ll be able to watch it this year without being reduced to tearful puddles of goo.
And as generations have watched The Grinch and It’s a Wonderful Life, their powerful stories pushed their respective towns into the background. It occurs to us that no one’s ever judged Who-ville or Bedford Falls as holiday destinations on their own merits.
Then we got an idea!
An awful idea!
YAHOO TRAVEL
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
We’re going to put Who-ville and Bedford Falls to the test in this week’s special holiday edition of City Smackdown. We’re going to show, once and for all, which town reigns supreme as the top (fictional) holiday destination.
The case for Who-ville
Welcome to Who-ville (Photo: Everett Collection)
There’s no questioning this Seussian utopia’s small-town credentials: Who-ville exists inside a snowflake! (For the normal-size Bedford Falls to call itself a “small town” sure takes some enormous … falls.) Unlike Bedford Falls, where Christmas sometimes makes you want to just kill yourself, Who-ville is a Christmas paradise where everyone is hopelessly, permanently infected with holiday cheer — even after their homes are robbed blind (homeowners’ policies are really cheap there).
The “people”: Who-ville is populated by a crowd of creatures called Whos. And with their big eyes, spiky hair, and puppylike snouts, they still manage to be more diverse than the residents of Bedford Falls.
Meet the Whos (Photo: Everett Collection)
Town good guy: It’s a girl, actually: Cindy-Lou Who, a cute-as-a-button toddler who apparently is the lightest sleeper in all of Who-ville.
Cindy-Lou Who (Photo: Everett Collection)
Town bad guy: Mr. Grinch (first name unknown), whose personality is described as “cuddly as a cactus, charming as an eel.” He lives just north of
Who-ville. He’s cranky, vile, and not above hate-watching Christmas parties. And, of course, in robbing Who-ville of all its presents on Christmas Eve, he pulls off pop culture’s greatest heist this side of “Ocean’s Eleven.” But really, how bad can he be? After all, he has a dog. And unlike Bedford Falls’ resident baddie — for whom robbing his neighbors is a year-round pursuit — the Grinch is capable of seeing the error of his ways, thanks to that enlarged heart of his (seriously, dude, see a cardiologist).
The Grinch’s attempted theft of Christmas. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Where to eat/drink: The big Christmas feast is the biggest meal in town, with Who-pudding and rare Who-roast-beast on the menu. (No apparent vegan options for those who don’t like roast beast.)
Even the Grinch can’t resist Who-ville’s roast beast feast. (Photo: Everett Collection)
What to do during the holidays: Singing. Singing. And more singing. Heck, we wouldn’t be surprised if the singing the Whos do on Christmas is something they do all year long (“New Year’s Day? Let’s sing!” “Presidents Day? Let’s sing!” “IRS tax filing deadline…”).
Apparently there’ s singing. (Photo: Everett Collection)
It might seem boring, but it’s a musical walk in the park compared to the horror show that goes on at Bedford Falls, where, admittedly, a lot of dark, un-Christmassy stuff goes down.
How would Seuss contrast the two? In Who-ville…
They sing with conviction. They sing really nice.
They sing without little boys falling through ice.
They sing on the mountains, they sing on the hills.
They sing without men killing kids with bad pills.
They sing with contentment, and roast beast in the fridge.
And nobody tries to go jump off a bridge.
You get the idea.
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The case for Bedford Falls
(Photo: AP)
This town invented the term “Capraesque.” Unlike Who-ville, which is populated by unidentifiable mini creatures who happen to share the same last name (what’s that about, anyway?), Bedford Falls is populated by living, breathing, and normal-size human beings. This is the kind of place where you make friends for life, everybody knows your name, and you just might be able to go out drinking with your guardian angel. This is a great, lively place to spend Christmas.
Even Pottersville — the seedy version of Bedford Falls that George Bailey sees in his vision of life if he’d never been born — has its own charms; kinda reminds us of New York City in the early ’80s.
Pottersville didn’t look that bad to us. (Photo: John Ell/Flickr)
The people: Here you’ll find a bastion of wholesome yuletide Americana where your friends are your friends for life and will, even at your worst moments, have your back.
Everyone’s got your back at Bedford Falls — and they’re generous with their cash! (Photo: Everett Collection)
But don’t be fooled by this town’s nice-guy image. This most certainly is not Who-ville, where a guy who robbed them of thousands of dollars’ worth of Christmas loot is quickly forgiven and invited over for dinner. No, Bedford Falls dispenses good ol’ American justice: When there’s some alleged larceny by the local financial institution in this town, you can forget about “too big to fail” leniency; somebody’s ass is going to prison. And no, they don’t care if it’s Christmas Eve.
Town good guy: Who-ville has a toddler as its hero (and, really, all she does is witness the Grinch’s burglary without doing anything. Obviously, the “See Something, Say Something” campaign has yet to reach Who-ville preschools). But Bedford Falls’ heroes are two grownups: George Bailey, who single-handedly rescued the town from the clutches of a greedy slumlord, and Harry Bailey, a war hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who shot down 15 enemy planes in World War II. It’d have been worth the Grinch breaking into Harry’s house just so he could’ve caught him doing it.
Meet George Bailey and his daughter Zuzu. Not pictured: Zuzu’s petals. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Town bad guy: Rich and greedy slumlord Henry Potter (no relation to Harry), a “ warped, frustrated old man” who, like the Grinch, is not above thievery. His evil ambition is even greater than the Grinch’s; he wants to take over the whole town (really, all the Grinch wants is for the Whos to keep the noise down). But the actor who played him is the great-uncle of Drew Barrymore, so that’s a bonus. The closest thing the Grinch has to a movie star descendant is Jim Carrey in a green suit.
A ”warped, frustrated old man.” But his great niece is really cool. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Where to eat/drink: Nick’s Bar. Food options apparently are limited. But for generations, this local watering hole has served hard drinks for men who want to get drunk fast. After a couple of stiff ones in this joint you’ll definitely be seeing angels. Tip: Don’t order mulled wine. It doesn’t go over very well.
A night at Nick’s (Photo: Everett Collection)
Favorite Christmas activity: Handing out angels’ wings; showing a decent but depressed guy that no man is a failure who has friends.
And the best part of Bedford Falls? No one here rhymes.
This scene just gets us every time. (Photo: AP)
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