Hardrock, Coco and Joe

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Hardrock, Coco and Joe is a short stop motion animated cartoon about three of Santa Claus' helpers who ride on Santa's sleigh each Christmas. The short has become an annual "Christmas Classic" on Chicago's WGN-TV since its introduction in the early 1950s.

Its full title is Hardrock, Coco and Joe - The Three Little Dwarfs. It was originally created by a company called Centaur Productions. Its running time is about 2 minutes and 45 seconds. This cartoon is traditionally broadcast with their two other short Christmas cartoons, "Suzy Snowflake" and "Frosty the Snowman".

According to the narrative song, Hardrock drives Santa's sleigh, and Coco navigates with maps. Santa "has no need for Joe/ but takes him 'cause he loves him so". Part of the charm of this primitively-made cartoon is that Joe, the smallest of the three and very boyish-looking has a deep bass voice.

Chorus:

Oh-lee-o-lay-dee, o-lay-dee-I-ay

Donner and Blitzen, away, away

Oh-lee-o-lay-dee, o-lay-dee-I-oh

I'm Hardrock!

I'm Coco!

I'm Joe!

[edit] Parody

A new generation of animation lovers was introduced to this Christmas classic via the short-lived Comedy Central television series, TV Funhouse, a spinoff of the recurring Saturday Night Live cartoons. In the series' third episode, "Christmas Day", the Hardrock, Coco, and Joe short is satirized under the name "Christmas With Tingles" in which an elf named Tingles magically spreads tension and guilt during the Christmas season. Aside from the subject matter, the spoof stays remarkably faithful to the original, featuring black-and-white stop-motion animation, as well as spoken lyrics backed by an a capella chorus:

Yo-dee-yo-die-deedle, deedle-ee-dee

Awakwardness and anxiety,

Yeedle-dee-doo-deedle, dee-deedle dension

"I'm Tingles the Christmas Tension!"

The tune of the song featured in the "Christmas With Tingles" short is almost identical to the tune of the song featured in the Hardrock, Coco, and Joe "Three Little Dwarfs" cartoon.