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Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories

Posted By: angus77
Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories

Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories
DVD5 | Untouched | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 4:3 720x480 VBR 29.97 fps | 58mn | 3.13 GB
Audio: English AC-3 Stereo @ 192 kbps 48.0 kHz | Subtitles: English, Closed Captions
Extras: Menu, Cartoon Selection | Genre: Animation, For Children, Family, Comedy | Country: USA

In this collection of three classic holiday-themed cartoons including The Small One, Pluto's Christmas Tree, and Mickey's Christmas Carol, Pluto, Chip 'n' Dale, and Disney superstar Mickey Mouse bring the holiday spirit home like never before.

List of Cartoons Included:

"The Small One" (1978) (25:25)

In this simple, sweet story, an unnamed Judean boy has the unfortunate task of having to sell his best friend, a playful but petite donkey named Small One. All the boy needs is to find someone willing to part with a lone piece of silver, but locating someone both wanting and worthy of the donkey proves to be a challenge. First, he encounters a dark man who is interested only in the creature's hide, then an odd trio of shysters making marketplace deals left and right who are little help, and finally a "jolly" auctioneer who ridicules the boy and makes a spectacle out of the donkey. Saddened and low, the boy and Small One are approached by a friendly bearded man looking for a donkey to help his wife get to Bethlehem. The deal seems to please all parties: Small One gets a chance to prove his strength in a most important way, the boy can rest easy that his pal will have a nice home, and the traveling couple will be able to get to Bethlehem. Even if the ending is somewhat subtle, I'm sure you can guess why Small One and his new owners are following the bright star in the sky and it is a most satisfying conclusion to a cartoon filled with heart.

The Small One marked the directorial debut of Don Bluth, who had spent the preceding years animating characters on Disney films like Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and Pete's Dragon. The short was released nine days before Christmas in 1978, attached to a reissue of Pinocchio. It would prove to be Bluth's last Disney credit, as he left the studio in grand fashion nine months later, joined by eleven others in the same week. Since exiting Disney, Bluth has helmed a number of animated films, beginning at a time when studios not named Disney generally didn't animate for theaters.
He has given us such sequel-spawning productions as An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs To Heaven, as well as more recently for Fox, Anastasia and the CGI-heavy flop Titan A.E..

This featurette is distinguished among the Disney canon not just because of the paucity of films of this length, but also because of its surprising religious theme. Truth be told, it hardly feels like a Christmas short until its closing minutes, but introducing this element impacts all that came before it and underscores the strong Christian nature of the film's message. The short was adapted from a children's book by Charles Tazewell (who did not live to see it made) and it is handled sensibly and effectively. Though some may fault it for being saccharine, I would wholly disagree. Compared to the typical glitzy Christmas specials of today, there's a pleasant low-key mood present here, which is apparent from the tender melancholy of its opening and closing song. In that regard and in the fact that Small One acknowledges the true meaning of Christmas goes beyond thinking of others and being nice, the cartoon reminds me a bit of A Charlie Brown Christmas. That's no small praise, as I consider the Peanuts' debut TV special perhaps the finest 25 minutes of animation ever produced. While I can't quite say the same about Small One after just one viewing, it is definitely a compelling cartoon I intend to revisit much.

Mickey stands proud of his Christmas tree, but Pluto is troubled by the chipmunks within. How dare Crachit use another piece of coal!

"Pluto's Christmas Tree" (1952) (6:53)

On a lighter note, there is this standard-length short, which was the next-to-last Mickey Mouse theatrical cartoon produced for thirty years. It also happens to be one of Disney's best, with or without Mickey. Christmastime is upon us, a fact quickly announced by the brief medley of seasonal tune instrumentals that accompanies the opening title screens. To prepare for the holiday, Mickey and Pluto go out to chop down a Christmas tree. The one Mickey picks out unexpectedly comes with two chipmunk residents, Chip 'n (you guessed it!) Dale. When Pluto finds this out, he's enraged, but the two mischievous rodents narrowly and repeatedly escape the dog's attempts to thwart them.
Pluto's antics threaten the vibrantly-decorated tree and raise Mickey's rarely-seen temper. Another nice, happy, Christmasy ending punctuates this fun cartoon which at all times dazzles the eyes with its colorful holiday imagery.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) (25:35)

This third and final short on the disc is really a wonderful blend of new and old Disney styles. Representing the "old" was Eric Larson (one of Walt's Nine Old Men, acting as "animation consultant"), Clarence Nash (the original voice of Donald Duck, in his last performance), and the visual sensibilities (from the enduring cast of characters to the feel which can be characterized both as vintage and timeless). As far as the "new", among those key players who were cutting their teeth on this production in anticipation of many great things to come were Glen Keane, Mark Henn, Don Hahn, and pre-Pixar John Lasseter. This hybrid of talent aligned to make Mickey Mouse's return to the big screen for the first time since 1953 an auspicious and memorable occasion.

Charles Dickens' beloved tale of redemption is condensed to featurette length with the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge being played, of course, by Scrooge McDuck. The rest of the casting is expertly done, with roles going to a mix of the regular gang (Donald, Pete, and so on) as well as some memorable supporting characters from 1940s animation like , Jiminy Cricket (the Ghost of Christmas Past), Willie the Giant (the Ghost of Christmas Present), Mr. Toad and his friends, and more. It's fun trying to recognize characters left and right, whether they're from Disney's Tortoise and the Hare of the 1930s or Robin Hood of 1973. Mickey plays Scrooge's thankless employee Bob Crachit who is used to putting up with his boss's stingy and self-serving ways. Scrooge, on the other hand, is not very aware of the error of his ways, until he is visited by his old (now dead) partner Jacob Marley (played by a shackled Goofy) and shown his past, present, and future pitfalls by a quirky trio of visiting spirits.

You and I both know the story, and yet, that alone never seems to rob any of its countless adaptations of their potency. Mickey's is not my favorite take on Dickens' masterpiece (that honor goes to Bill Murray's Scrooged), but it is hard not to love. Compact and clever, dramatic and funny, faithful and original, Mickey's is many things, and all of them to its benefit. Released in 1983, the short scored high praise and wound up earning top billing in many places over its feature-length accompaniment (a reissue of The Rescuers). It even garnered an Academy Award nomination in the Best Short category (but lost to claymated Ed Koch singing "New York, New York"). Christmas Carol may be Mickey and company's finest (half-)hour yet, and few would dispute it is the best use the Mouse has been put to since Walt's passing. If after watching this entire collection and you're still not in the mood for Christmas, you might want to check your pulse.

Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories

Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories

Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9: Classic Holiday Stories