The Captain's Christmas

This is the funniest cartoon that I have ever seen!! Never have I laughed so hard til I cried, but this is the one that did it to me!! I have spent years trying to find out the title to this gem and am so glad to find it!! If you ever get the chance to see it, then do--it is funny beyond funny!! I love it.

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.

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.

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'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.