Christmas Movie Review: **Animated Shorts

** "Santa's Surprise." (1947) This movie depicts children in a positive light.  They have caught rides on Santa's Sleigh and visit the North Pole to clean his house while he is sleeping.  There are children from all over the world.  The movie uses caricatures of different ethnic groups.  The African American boy is in black face and shines shoes, The Polynesian girl is topless, the Chinese boy does laundry.  However it makes fun of everyone as a cartoon is suppose to do.  The Dutch boy is the bungler with his wood shoes that make noise and he is always bumping into things.  They get the job done and leave a hint for him to visit them again next year.
 *^ "Christmas Comes but Once a Year" (1936)  This short is of an orphanage where all the Christmas toys are hand me downs, and break quickly.  An inventor happens by, takes the part of Santa Clause, making toys out of household items.  I only wonder what they will do without any household utensils for the next year.
* "Snow Foolin" (1949) "With these prices who can afford Florida says the bird who didn't migrate for the winter."
* "Hector's Hectic Live", (1948) Dog trouble.
* "Jack Frost"  A baby grizzly runs from home and gets caught by Jack Frost.  A kind elf saves him and takes him home.
* The Shanty Where Shanty Clause Lives" (1933)
* "Somewhere in Dreamland"  (1936)
** "The Night Before Christmas" If you like the poem you'll like this movie, although it is a bit slow.