The Captain's Christmas

This is just about the only genuinely funny Captain and the Kids cartoon they made. A few were reasonably good, if not terribly memorable. But this one deserves to be seen and remembered. I suspect that the fact that, despite the title, The Captain makes but a cameo appearance has something to do with its success. The focus here is on the pirate John, a much more interesting character. John's attempts to make amends for his thoughtless actions are the bulk of the cartoon. The caroling scene is beautiful!!! Suffice it to say that I've never quite heard "Hang Up the Holly in the Window" in the same way before and it will always remind me of this cartoon whenever I hear it in the future! Painful, but effective! Well worth tracking down. Most recommended.

Mama, Hans, and Fritz are decorating the hearth with stockings, and the Captain is heading in on a sleigh, dressed as Santa Claus. But John Silver sees no reason why he shouldn't get all the goodies, at least until he falls down the chimney, bumps his head, and thinks he is Santa Claus.

Fred Quimby had a good thing going in this series, with Joe Barbera writing, and Friz Freleng directing. Unfortunately, this was not the sort of cartoon Freleng wanted to make, especially when the contract with Rudolph Dirks meant he got all the credit, and Quimby was not interested in cartoons, and allowed Dirks to interfere. So Freleng would soon head back to Leon Schlesinger, who also wasn't interested in cartoons, but had no problem with giving credit to his artists rather than paying them more money.

I have to admit, this is the first, and so far the only, short I've seen featuring the Katzenjammer Kids (or "The Captain and the Kids" as they're called here). I really enjoyed it. The story is simple, the Captain is going to surprise the kids by dressing as Santa Claus, however, the peg-legged villain called John takes his place. There are some very funny visuals. I especially enjoyed the peg-legged foot prints left by John on the snow covered roof. The final Christmas carolling scene is also a riot. Unlike many Christmas cartoons, this one doesn't get too sappy. It keeps a high level of craziness while remaining in the Christmas spirit.

Long John Silver and his henchmen, the Herring Boys, dress up as St. Nick and ruin Christmas Eve for the Captain and the Kids. John feels an unusual sting of remorse and is briefly haunted by a vision of himself as a child. (He looks a lot like Buster Brown!!) Lively and amusing, even though the kids aren't allowed to be their traditionally diabolical selves. Silver's unorthodox method of fund-raising is a highlight. I'm not sure who to credit for this since Graham Webb's "Animated Film Encyclopedia" lists Milt Gross as the director, while other sources give the honors to Friz Freleng.

I'm admittedly not overly familiar with "The Captain and the Kids" series. So perhaps this cartoon is a poor place to jump on. Apparently The Captain is dressed up as Santa to deliver presents to the kids. Some British thief (he says blimey and bloomin' a lot) with three weird little guys who hang around him jumps the Captain and puts on his Santa suit. Then he goes into the house and proceeds to terrorize the children destroying everything and ruining their Christmas. So basically what we have here is a Christmas cartoon about a home invasion. Creepy.

The animation is OK but the guy's peg leg switches legs constantly. The humor that I see such praise for here was missing for me. Judging by other reviews this is I guess one of the better "Captain & the Kids" shorts. That doesn't make me want to seek out the others. Undoubtedly fans of the series will enjoy it much more.