Happy Saturday morning my friends and merry Christmas Eve. I hope you are ready for some classic Christmas cartoons.
Today's cartoon collection starts with a film that is familiar to pretty much anyone who ever watched DVDs of public domain cartoons, as it has appeared on nearly every set even slightly Christmas related. The cartoon is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1948). Despite being made for the often-forgotten Jam Handy Studio, the name of the director will immediately be familiar to cartoon fans as it is the one and only Max Fleischer (of Popeye and Betty Boop fame). However, the version you are going to see below is not the low-quality version of the movie, you are used to seeing. This is a new restoration from Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored!
Up next comes one of my favorite Happy Harmonies cartoons, Alias St. Nick (1935). The Happy Harmonies series was one of many cartoon series of the 1930's trying to copy the success of Disney's Silly Symphonies. Like the Disney cartoons, this series for the most part featured one off characters. There were a few exceptions where there would be characters who would appear in multiple Happy Harmonies films. This movie introduces one of those characters, Little Cheeser. This is one of those cartoons that I for a long time had a distinct memory of it being on TV in the background one Christmas Eve, when I was small. The first time I saw this movie as an adult, it was a joy to find out just what the name of the cartoon was and what studio it came from. I was also happy to find out that the cartoon was a pure delight. This film looks wonderful as did most of the cartoons Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising looks wonderful and this gives it a delightful Christmas-y feel that I simply love. I watch this every Christmas time and I hope you enjoy it and maybe it will become a Christmas tradition for you too.
Up next comes a classic Silly Symphony, The Night Before Christmas (1933). Though the Silly Symphonies were mostly one-off shorts, the occasional sequel could happen (with the Three Little Pigs sequels being the most well-known). The Night Before Christmas is a follow up to the often better remembered Santa's Workshop (1932). Yet as much as I love Santa's Workshop, I love this sequel even more. It could be argued that this film picks up where the previous one left off, as the last one ends with Santa leaving the North Pole for his trip and this cartoon has him visiting houses. Like the last film this is a reissue and there is a bit of a difference towards the end. In the original 1933 version, Little Junior is disappointed to get a chamber pot for Christmas. Here he is happy to get a puppy. In this version we do get a bit of Junior getting a blackface appearance from the chimney soot that would be cut out when the film was shown a Disney TV Christmas special in 1983. For all four years of the original Mickey Mouse Club, this would be the Mousekartoon on the last new episode to be aired before Christmas. The following is a brief article from The Film Daily (dated December 28, 1933), "In conjunction with the showing of Walt Disney's Silly Symphony, 'The Night Before Christmas,' The Radio City Music Hall is exhibiting six original Walt Disney drawings used in the production of this picture. The short, a united Artists release, will be held over a second week." A review of the cartoon in The Film Daily called The Night Before Christmas "... one of Walt Disney's best cartoons." Not everyone was so impressed as evidenced by the following exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE: Silly Symphony—These Silly Symphonies arc okay, but not worth difference in rental United Artists asks for them.-P. G. Held, New Strand Theatre, Griswold, Iowa. General patronage."
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next comes Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil in The Fright Before Christmas (1979). This short was originally created for the TV special Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979). This was the final of three segments in that special and was directed Friz Freleng. This makes this the first time Taz was directed by someone other than Robert McKimson. The result like the whole special is a delightful Christmas treat and one of the best uses of Taz after the golden age of Looney Tunes. Also appearing here is Bugs' nephew Clyde. Clyde had only appeared in two theatrical shorts, His Hare Raising Tale (1951) and Yankee Doodle Bugs (1954). Both of those were directed by Friz Freleng.
Now comes another Happy Harmony Christmas cartoon, The Pup's Christmas (1936). The following is a review from the Motion Picture Herald, "particularly appropriate for the current Yuletide season is this excellent little subject in color. When the two puppies grow inquisitive as to what Satna might have brought them, things begin to pop in more ways than one. There is much noise as well as fun when the pups become involved with runaway trains, speeding autos and exploding toy tanks. The sequence in which the tiny canines encounter the big calico hound is especially hilarious." The following are a couple of exhibitor's reviews from The Motion Picture Herald, "Pup's Christmas: Harman-Ising - just about perfect. Excellent animated fun. L.A. Irwin, Palace Theatre, Penacook, N.H. General Patronage." "Pup's Christmas, The: Real good very clever. You'll be pleased to show this to your patrons. - Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Can. General Patronage."
Motion Picture Herald, 1936
Now to end by singing one we all know.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. Merry Christmas my friends.
Resources Used
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merrit and J.B. Kaufman.
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin.
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Brothers Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald
https://mediahistoryproject.org/
Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas my friend.
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