Christmas Comes But Once a Year
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| Christmas Comes But Once a Year
Color Classics (Grampy) series |
|
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dave Fleischer |
| Produced by | Max Fleischer |
| Music by | Sammy Timberg Bob Rothberg Tot Seymour |
| Animation by | Seymour Kneitel William Henning |
| Studio | Fleischer Studios |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 24, 1938 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 mins |
| IMDb profile | |
Christmas Comes But Once a Year is a 1936 Max Fleischer cartoon, featuring Grampy from the Betty Boop cartoons.
[edit] Summary
The short begins in an orphanage, where the orphans are all asleep, awaiting Christmas morning. Just then, the puppy from the clock slides down a ramp and licks on one of the orphans. The first orphan shouts, "Merry Christmas, everybody!" And all the orphans jump out of bed and head to the hall, singing the title song. They grab the toys from their stockings, and get ready to play with them. However, they are sad to discover that the toys are completely broken and fall apart when they are played with. The orphans can't help but cry.
Meanwhile, Professor Grampy is out riding through the snow in his motor-driven sleigh, singing the title song himself. He hears the orphans crying from inside the orphanage, and he parks the sleigh, runs to the door, peeps through the window, and tries to think of a way to give the orphans a better Christmas. He puts on his thinking cap, and shortly, the lightbulb on the cap blinks. Apparently, he has an idea. He climbs through the window and starts making new toys out of household appliances.
Finally, he dresses up as Santa Claus (with a stove pipes as the boots, a red cloth as the jacket, a pillow for the weight, and potholders as the hat), grabs a dinner bell, and surprises the orphans by ringing the bell and shouting, "Merry Christmas, everybody!" The orphans all rush out to greet him and to play with their new toys. Grampy completes the scene by making a Christmas tree out of umbrellas. At the end, they sing the title song one last time, and a giant stamp appears, showing Santa Claus and a "Holiday Greetings" message.
Along with many of the other Color Classics, Christmas Comes But Once a Year is today in the public domain.
