Credits: Supervision by – Rudolf Ising Summary: Toys come to life in Santa’s workshop. Description: Bells ring for Christmas Eve mass, and the sounds of “Silent Night” emanate from inside a church. A poor little street boy trudges through the snow outside the church, holding back tears. He passes by the window of a family home, and can’t resist the urge to look inside. Through the window he watches as children dance around a Christmas Tree and the many presents underneath it. Just as he begins to feel sorry for himself, a strong gust of wind blows him through the air until he crashes against the side of another home. Snow slides off the roof and blankets the poor boy, but he climbs out and soon returns to his run-down, empty house. He looks into the stocking hanging over his barren fireplace, but he’s saddened when he sees nothing inside. He begins to sob against a chair, but suddenly the sounds of sleigh bells can be heard outside. A sleigh passes by the window, and the door swings open revealing Santa Claus himself, singing the title song. The boy asks to go with Santa, and because he’s been a good boy Santa agrees. The boy hops onto the back of Santa’s sleigh, but as it moves forward he falls off. He catches up to the sleigh where Santa pulls him back on, and they fly up into the sky. Soon they arrive at “Santa Claus Shoppe”, and as the boy enters he is greeted by the cheers of the many toys inside. He begins playing with some of the toys, including a kangaroo doll and the wind-up “Sambo Jazz Band”. Nearby, a Napoleon toy (from Red-Headed Baby) uses tiny drumsticks to play percussion on Christmas tree ornaments and on the large drum and cymbal set he’s standing on. Next to him a baby doll cries “Mama!”, but after it falls into a can of ash it emerges in blackface and shouts “Mammy!”, and Mammy herself greets her “Sonny boy!”. Next, the Red-Headed Baby doll herself resumes the title song, along with her two black backup singers. She then picks up some maracas and starts shaking them to a rumba beat. Meanwhile, Napoleon opens up a “Baby Bank”, and a little girl doll starts inflating a balloon. The balloon gets too large however, and all the air blows back into the doll, inflating her into — Kate Smith! Kate begins singing “Shine on Harvest Moon”, during which two dogs repeat the old “Are you listening?” gag. We watch as a bear plays the trombone, knocking the head of a jack-in-the-box into a drum in the process. Another toy, bobbing on the branch of the Christmas tree, accidentally lets a candle drop under the tree, setting it ablaze. “Fire!” he shouts, and toy fire truck quickly speeds out of the “Toyland Fire Dept.” building. As various toys attempt to battle the fire, the poor little street boy (remember him?) takes a nearby hose and plugs it into a set of bagpipes. Three streams of water shoot out of the bagpipe, quickly putting the fire out. The toys cheer and the boy smiles as the cartoon irises out. Notes:
Memorable Scenes: Video Availability: Laserdisc: Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 3
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