La Noche Antes de Navidad

'Twas THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and Santa arrives at a home with nine little children. Quickly he sets up a Christmas tree and takes a few moments to enjoy the toys' tiny celebration upon the placing of the star. But now the noise has awakened the children...

This follow-up to SANTA'S WORKSHOP (1932) is a very enjoyable cartoon. As in its predecessor, the March of the Toys is both colorful & fun to watch - although the playthings coming out of the bag are completely different from those we previously saw marching into it. (Notice the Mickey Mouse toy which Disney cannily included.) Query: do bad little kiddies live in all the many houses which Santa flies past & ignores?

The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.

While the cartoon does have a dated feel to it in spots, the animation is excellent (a Disney strength during the 1930s) and it still largely works for the most part, although probably not as well for the age group raised on jump-cut, fast-pace edits and Matrix style special effects. Well worth watching. Recommended.

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!

The Night Before Christmas, could easily be looked at as a "sequel" to another Christmas Silly Symphony: Santa's Workshop. You will see a lot of the same toys and the same style Santa in both shorts. Both shorts are filled with comical gags and jokes. Although 50+ years before my time, I could imagine this idea of Santa and Christmas Eve was exactly what people thought of in the 1930s.

Look for some Mickey Mouse toy placements! Even back in the 1930's, hidden Mickeys were a thing!

"The Night Before Christmas" continues the story of "Santa's Workshop", but this time «jolly old Saint Nicholas» is leaving the presents. In this case, in a house with lots of children, while they are sleeping.

This is pure Christmas magic and childhood memories: a classic story with Santa Claus, his sleigh and his reindeers. He comes down the chimney to let presents for children, bringing joy and happiness for them. This Christmas spirit feeling already makes this a wonderful animated short, but that's not all.

The designs, sceneries and picture quality are pretty good (an improvement over "Santa's Workshop"). The Christmas decorations are beautiful and this cartoon is also full of creativity and imagination: the toys marching (which includes two Mickey Mouse dolls) and decorating the Christmas tree with Santa's help, as well as the moon smiling at the end.

Again, Santa Claus makes his funny laughters. The ending is one of the best parts: the children wake up but Santa escapes before they come in. The children open their presents and the youngest one (named Junior) gets a Scottish Terrier puppy as a Christmas present. So sweet! Yet, the children still see Santa from the window. A perfect ending.

I consider this even better than "Santa's Workshop", despite being a sequel to that one. Without a doubt, this is one of Disney's finest animated shorts and it doesn't even look that dated.

"The Night Before Christmas" is one of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies and the best of that collection.

Curiously, this isn't the only animated short with this title. There's also a wonderful Tom & Jerry cartoon with exactly the same title.