The Age of Commercialism

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

. . . the Axis Powers of World War Two as they misjudged America as nearly-rotten fruit ripe for the plucking. THE CAPTAIN'S CHR!STMAS uses the hackneyed MGM cartoon device of the main character ("Pegleg John Silver" here, NOT "The Captain," as the title would lead you to suspect!) falling asleep to have a wild dream mid-cartoon. (If these animated folks had had any brains, they'd dream about being employed at ANOTHER movie studio besides MGM!) Problem is, Pegleg John NEVER wakes from his nightmare about shooting up the kids' Christmas while dressed in a Santa Suit. (Yes, there WAS a live-action feature remake of this animated short last holiday season titled KRAMPUS.) More perversely, Pegleg John rides over all the Captain's kids' new toys on their newly assembled tricycle, breaking the whole lot of them--trike and all! Most disturbingly, John-as-a-Kid (with a miniature Pegleg and all!) shows up to persuade John to go to a nearby village totally populated by Santas to beg for replacement toys! John's pirate crew may or may not crash the Pearly Gates during this foray, but who really cares?

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.

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 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.