Find some Christmas Cheer with the Little King

Pals (aka "Christmas Night") (1933)
Starring: Anonymous Voice Actor (speaking two lines as Santa Claus)
Director: Jim Tyer

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

The Little King invites a pair of bums back to his palace to share an otherwise lonely Christmas Eve with him. His generosity is rewarded with a magical Christmas Morning brought by Santa himself.

Reportedly, "Pals" is the best-remembered of all the Van Beuren Little King cartoons--perhaps even the only one that's remembered by anyone other than folks who frequent blogs like this one. This is because it used to be aired frequently on American television at Christmas time, under the title "Christmas Night". (Personally, I'd never seen it until I began my project of watching and reviewing the entries in this series.)

As a Christmas Special, it strikes all the right warm-hearted Holiday notes and it's full of cuteness. It's particularly sweet the way the Letter to Santa is read by the Real Thing instead of just a guy in a suit--one of the benefits of living in a cartoon universe, I suppose! I personally would have preferred more of a plotline running through the thing, but the almost random collection of events and scenes are amusing and cute enough that I can look past that.

Two interesting details that stood out to me is the fact that the Little King's queen is such a nasty piece of work that she doesn't even spend Christmas with him. Secondly, it continues to be remarkable to me the way the cartoon's character designs create a distinction and gulfs between the Little King, his servants and ministers, and the common folk of his realm; each group has a distinct look. While I might be prone to chalk that up to the general slipshod approach that was a hallmark of the Van Beuren approach to continuity and quality control, I think it's purposeful in this cartoon and the series in general. The level of details in the backgrounds and the statement by some film historians that Jim Tyer was highly invested in translating "The Little King" newspaper strip to the amination medium with as much respect to the original source material as possible says to me that not only effort but thought was put into every frame. 

But don't just take my word for it. Take a few minutes to check out this classic Christmas celebration; it's bound to bring some cheer! 

(Trivia: "Pals" was released into theaters on December 22, 1933, exactly 88 years prior to this post being made.)