It is time for us to look at more of my favorite classic Christmas cartoons.
First off is the 1939 cartoon classic, Peace on Earth. On top of being a Christmas cartoon it is also an anti-war film. This leads to some amazing animation during the battle scenes. Very few animation fans will not be visually impressed by those scenes. This film was actually directed by Hugh Harmon, Co-founder of Looney Tunes. This cartoon begins looking like just another cute cartoon (of which Harmon was doing many of at this time) and then amazes you with what direction it goes in. This was also the very first MGM cartoon to be nominated for an academy award (although The Milky Way(1940) would be the first to win (the first non-Disney cartoon to win as well). So from 1939 and directed by Hugh Harmon, here is Peace on Earth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8stkqssLYc
Peace on Earth, was remade in 1955 by William Hanna and Joesph Barbera. This remake was also the last film on which producer Fred Quimby's name appeared. he would go into retirement directly after. So from 1955 and directed by William Hanna and Joesph Barbera, here is Good Will Towards Men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4AXC2rmLm0
Next up comes the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon, True Boo. After the failure of the feature film, Mr. Bug Goes to Town, and other problems Fleshier Studios was shut down. The were replaced by Famous Studios, which maintained many of the same people (minus the Fleshier Brothers, of course). Famous Studios continued series done at Fleshier's (Popeye, Superman), and also added new characters. One of the new characters was Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper was originally created by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo, for a children's book. However the book was never made and the character was sold to Famous Studios. Famous Studios commonly reused ideas form old Fleshier films, and this film is quite similar to the Fleshier cartoon, Christmas Comes But Once a Year. However this cartoon has it's own unique charm to it. So from 1952 and directed by Izzy Sparber, here is True Boo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W5LFaVWy0g
Now comes a classic Disney cartoon, Toy Tinkers. This is probably one of the funniest Disney cartoons. It is one in a series of Donald Duck VS Chip and Dale cartoons directed by Jack Hannah. Jack Hannah, along with Jack Kinnley, brought a lot of cartoon slapstick, and fast paced funny action to Disney cartoons, and therefore they are responsible for many of the funniest Disney films. So form 1949, and directed by Jack Hannah, here is Toy Tinkers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjpT9QEnLdo
Next comes another Disney classic, Santa's Workshop. At this time Disney owned exclusive rights to Three Strip Technicolor. Therefore the color in this film is much more impressive than color cartoons from any other studio at this time. This film is virtually plot-less however to show off Three-Strip Technicolor was more than enough reason to make this film at the time. This film while a bit dated in some respects still remains a highly enjoyable cartoon, and the visuals are still quite impressive today. So from 1932 and Directed by Wilfred Jackson, here is Santa's workshop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4c6Ay6diFo
Santa's Workshop received a sequel the next year. This film holds up even better in my opinion. So from 1933, and directed again by Wilfred Jackson, here is The Night Before Christmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlNnriyVYvo
Tom and Jerry's first Christmas cartoon was their third cartoon. This being done during the early years of Tom and Jerry, was much slower paced, and more realistically animated than what we associated with the cat and mouse. However in this film it works very well. The Christmas setting bring out a great atmosphere and the slower pace gives it plenty of time to sink in. So from 1941, and directed by William Hanna, and Joesph Barbera, here is The Night Before Christmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Ck4G3Lm4A
-Michael J. Ruhland
