The Night Before Christmas

When the film began, I was struck with absolute joy and absolute terror! On one hand, the animation was truly breathtaking--particularly the gorgeous colors. Unlike the previous cartoon on the "Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies, Vol. 2" DVD collection ("Birds in the Spring"), the colors are perfect--and it's obvious that the Disney animators had quickly learned to use color well. On the other hand, the cartoon also had something that was very popular in this era--and it was god-awful--that awful singing--very old fashioned and very saccharine-like singing.

The cartoon is all about the visit of Santa to one home in particular. He takes so much time here setting up the presents and playing you wonder how he'd ever have time for any of the other homes! And, after he's done, the hoard of soulless-eyed children come down to play. This is all very, very cutesy. But, some might notice and be offended by the little kid who gets coal dust in his face, as he then looks like a stereotypical black caricature of the era. All in all, apart from the great color, I wasn't thrilled with this sickly sweet thing--but still, compared to other cartoons of the era, it's pretty good.

By the way, among the many toys Santa brings are some Mickey Mouse pull toys!