Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Night Before Christmas" is an 8.5-minute cartoon from 1933, so this one will have its 85th anniversary next year already and to show you how old this is: It was released in America back in the year when Hitler came into power in Germany. You know Christmas is approaching when these holiday-themed cartoons shoot up the Starmeter here on IMDb. This is just one example. IIt is in color and we should not take that for granted, but it means it is from pretty early from the Golden Age of Animation. Director Wilfred Jackson can be considered one of the most successful cartoon filmmakers from Disney back in the day. Kenny Baker is probably not too known to most, but that's also because he is singing and not voice acting. The thing that defines this little movie is maybe the innocence of it all. And the animation is of course brilliant for its time. A lot of heart in there. It is no really a film that scores through comedy at all unlike many other Disney cartoons. You will not burst into laughter on any occasion here. But this approach would not have fit the tone either, so it's all good. The emphasis on the spirit of Christmas, together with harmlessness, cuteness and just the longing for happiness are what makes this little movie. As a consequence, I think that this is a film that should not be checked out in the first 10 months of the year because you somehow need to be in the mood for that, but afterward it is a very rewarding watch and I certainly recommend the watch here. A definite thumbs-up for the holidays! Oh yeah, the music is of course pretty good too and the title is no unfulfilled bait.

Foreverisacastironmess For a start I was quite in awe of the beautiful artwork done on the opening scenes of the wintry house with the glowing window shining outside, the burning fireplace with the Christmas stockings adorning it, and all the children sleeping in the gigantic bed, it's so joyous and snowy, so warm and marvellously simple, so luminously beautiful. It was heartwarming and nostalgic to me, I watched this recently for the first time in a long time and that part of it made me feel like a kid again for a moment, it awakened that old cosy childhood feeling of Christmas. Those images are what I love the most about this short. I'm afraid there's a fair bit about it that stops me from finding it all that great, including Santa himself! Yes I thought it was a rather poor version of old Saint Nick. The face was all wrong, it was toonish and unlovable, and I didn't like his too-scary boisterous laugh which definitely was no "Ho-ho-ho!" And he was a most indiscreet Santa, in fact bringing a whole fanfare with him! I did love that part of it though, when all of the toys come to life and decorate the tree. There's lots of rich colours and details and fun sight gags in the actions of the toys. I love the toy soldiers cannoning the baubles onto the tree's branches, the mini aeroplane flying around the tree to drape it in tinsel, and the fire engine spraying it with mock snow, all marvellously adorable and clever. It's a sequence that's done time and again not just throughout the Silly Symphonies but with many short cartoons of the 30s, some kind of parade of small beings all working together to accomplish some bigger goal(or going to war!), and I've always tended to love it, it's very visually fun and fascinating. This sure isn't one of my favourites of this series but I don't dislike it or anything either, it's very sweet and wholesome innocent fun and is definitely a worthwhile watch as a short, especially around the season to which it owes its name. And that classic Christmas imagery and tone is sure to put big smiles on practically all viewers faces. Merry everyone!

TheLittleSongbird The Night Before Christmas is a sweet Silly Symphony based on the humorous, charming poem that has amused my family for as long as I can remember. True, some of the animation is a bit dated, but that is forgivable as it was made in 1933. We still have the Santa we know and love from Santa's Workshop, which is really delightful. I loved the soundtrack, and the toys even do a toy march before decorating the room. Seeing those children enjoying themselves with those toys, especially that sweet baby, brought tears of joy into my eyes. it actually reminded me of a Mickey Mouse cartoon called Mickey's Good Deed, where Mickey sacrifices his Christmas to make it enjoyable for a poor family, it is a forgotten treasure that broke my heart. Anyway, back to Night Before Christmas, I also liked the song at the beginning, and refrains at the end. Overall, delightful! 9/10 Bethany Cox.

tavm When I was a kid growing up in the '70s, the only way you could see any Disney cartoons were on NBC's Sunday evening program The Wonderful World of Disney and they were usually limited to those starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip 'n' Dale. So I was wonderfully surprised to find on YouTube a Walt Disney Silly Symphony classic called The Night Before Christmas. Singer Donald Novis sings the beginning verses of that famous poem as we see several children sleeping and then Santa comes with his bag of toys coming to life decorating the Christmas tree. The toys are having lots of fun but while Santa plays the toy piano, the children wake up. The toys get into their boxes and Santa goes back up the chimney as all the kids unwrap their toys. The littlest one named Junior gets a cute Scottish dog as the singer croons the very last verses: "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night." By the way, this cartoon has a little butt cleavage with Junior that I was a bit surprised to see. I am thinking the Production Code eventually put an end to that soon enough! Very enjoyable Silly Symphony that should put the Christmas spirit in anyone under 10 right away. Highly recommend to any Walt Disney animation buff.