Depression era Christmas cartoon.
What I find most interesting about this animated short is how the filmmakers made a successful Christmas film which worked with an audience during the Great Depression.
How do you tell children a story about Santa Claus during a time when most families would not be visited by Santa that year?
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A Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising Production, Vitaphone Pictures. Merrie Melodies cartoon short produced by Leon Schlesinger for Warner Bros.
Animated By Rollin Hamilton, Norm Blackburn.
Originally Released on January 07, 1933.
Thanks to XmasFlix.com for their in depth background material regarding on this unique Christmas film:
The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933) Christmas Cartoon Classic. A Christmas fable with a twist: on a cold Christmas Eve, a poor little boy wanders through a snowy village to his "shanty" on the other side of the tracks knowing that Santa Claus will never come to his house. Then in the distance, the sounds of hooves are heard, and old St. Nicholas himself bursts through the door. The one and only Santa Claus takes him aboard his sleigh to the North Pole and "the shanty where Santy Claus lives." The lad prepares to accompany St. Nick on his Christmas Eve rounds, but they first must load themselves up with some singing, dancing toys. A good example of Depression-era wealth fantasies. This cartoon would later be reworked as "Toyland Broadcast" by Rudolf Ising in 1934, following his move to MGM. Kate Smith is caricatured as a doll singing, "Shine on Harvest Moon". A brief animation clip from Red-Headed Baby is reused from the toy scene.
Christmas Eve. A poor orphan boy trudges through the snow, pathetically. He finally arrives at his miserable cabin. While he is crying, Santa arrives and, singing the title song, offers to take the boy to his workshop. They arrive, and the toys go wild (in the full version, they sing the title song, but this has been censored in some versions due to outdated stereotypes). He plays with a few toys. A candle falls off the tree and starts a fire. The toys try in vain to fight the fire; the boy hooks up a hose to a set of bagpipes and takes care of it.
Animated By Rollin Hamilton, Norm Blackburn.
Originally Released on January 07, 1933.
Thanks to XmasFlix.com for their in depth background material regarding on this unique Christmas film:
The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933) Christmas Cartoon Classic. A Christmas fable with a twist: on a cold Christmas Eve, a poor little boy wanders through a snowy village to his "shanty" on the other side of the tracks knowing that Santa Claus will never come to his house. Then in the distance, the sounds of hooves are heard, and old St. Nicholas himself bursts through the door. The one and only Santa Claus takes him aboard his sleigh to the North Pole and "the shanty where Santy Claus lives." The lad prepares to accompany St. Nick on his Christmas Eve rounds, but they first must load themselves up with some singing, dancing toys. A good example of Depression-era wealth fantasies. This cartoon would later be reworked as "Toyland Broadcast" by Rudolf Ising in 1934, following his move to MGM. Kate Smith is caricatured as a doll singing, "Shine on Harvest Moon". A brief animation clip from Red-Headed Baby is reused from the toy scene.
Christmas Eve. A poor orphan boy trudges through the snow, pathetically. He finally arrives at his miserable cabin. While he is crying, Santa arrives and, singing the title song, offers to take the boy to his workshop. They arrive, and the toys go wild (in the full version, they sing the title song, but this has been censored in some versions due to outdated stereotypes). He plays with a few toys. A candle falls off the tree and starts a fire. The toys try in vain to fight the fire; the boy hooks up a hose to a set of bagpipes and takes care of it.
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