Steve Urkel Christmas Movie Announced For Cartoon Network and HBO Max

Iconic Family Matters character Steve Urkel is returning to television in the form of a new, animated musical film. On Wednesday, WarnerMedia Kids & Family announced a new family programming block, ACME Night, on Cartoon Network and revealed Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story as one of the projects given the green light.

According to the official description of Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story, “the holiday season has arrived, and brilliant but accident-prone Steve Urkel has already ruined his local celebration by publicly humiliating a shopping mall Santa,” reads the special’s official logline. “In his attempt to make things right and score some nice points with the big guy in the North Pole, Steve creates an invention that only makes things worse. Using his big brain and even bigger heart, Steve must find the real Santa to see if together they can help the city rediscover the holiday spirit.” (via Variety).

Jaleel White, who played Urkel in the original Family Matters television series, will reprise his iconic role as well as produce the film. The film will also be produced by Warner Bros. Animation and is written by Wyatt Cenac with Bryan Newton serving as supervising director.

White played Steve Urkel on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters from 1989 to 1998. The series followed a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, the Winslow’s, and Urkel was their nerdy, goofy next-door neighbor. The character was originally slated to have been a one-time appearance, but quickly became the show’s most popular character and, eventually, became the series’ protagonist. Urkel also quickly became part of the pop culture landscape with his stereotypical “geek” look — big glasses, out-of-fashion clothing like suspenders and too-short pants — high-pitched voice, clumsiness, and numerous catchphrases, not to mention his eccentric hobbies and interests.

Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story isn’t the first time White has reprised his role as Urkel. He also lent his voice to an animated version of Urkel in a 2019 episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?. That episode, “When Urkel-Bots Go Bad!” saw Urkel team up with Scooby and the gang after one of his Urkel-Bots went out of control.

While a premiere date for Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story has not yet been set, we do know when Cartoon Network’s ACME Night will kick-off. That programming block will debut on Sunday, September 19th at 6/5c and will see the network air family-friendly films on Sunday evenings, beginning with Shazam!. ACME Night programming will also be available on HBO Max starting in 2022.