Santa's Workshop

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer [Max Fleischer]

Santa's Suprise

The Tell-Tale Heart (1953)

Nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar, this UPA produced film routinely ranks high among animation historians and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

There's Good Boos Tonight

BONUS: Vintage Terry Gilliam on his Monty Python animations

To Spring (1936)

A weird little ditty that suggests spring exists as a result of a subterranean civilization of miners pumping colors up to the Earth's surface through some sort of arterial system. This cartoon is the directorial debut William Hanna, who would go on to cofound Hanna-Barbera Productions. Impressively detailed animation, spectacular use of color. (Thanks to CartoonBrew.com)

BONUS: The 100 best animated movies

As voted on by industry professionals. See if your favorite made the cut!

Click here for the list

BONUS: Orchestra Plays 43 Cartoon Theme Song Mashup

With cartoon enhancements!

Christmas Comes But Once A Year (1936)

A creepy old man with a creepy laugh thinks it's a good idea to break into an orphanage on Christmas Day. That's not the way you're supposed to take it, but it's not untrue.

Dig the sneaky use of models at the beginning and end that look convincingly hand-drawn... until the camera moves, and you get a better idea of what you're looking at. Very innovative stuff.

Hardrock, Coco & Joe

Produced by Centaur Productions in 1956, this short, like "Suzy Snowflake" and "Frosty the Snowman," has become an annual tradition in certain regions.

Peace On Earth

This is a truly bizarre little cartoon disguised as family treacle: a deceptively sweet Christmas tableau with cutesy woodland creatures gives way to an anti-war statement by revealing itself to be set in a post-apocalyptic world wherein war caused the extinction of humanity. And it was released in 1939, when World War II was underway in Europe, but America had yet to become involved. Ballsy. Merry Christmas, humanity!

Suzy Snowflake

Preceding UPA's "Frosty the Snowman" by a year, Centaur Productions created this adaptation of the winter song in 1953. It has remained an annual staple in certain regions, particularly Chicago, ever since.

Snow Miser/Heat Miser

From Rankin/Bass's "The Year Without a Santa Claus" comes this beloved showstopper...

The first Christmas special

What you're about to witness is the very first Christmas special ever produced for American television. The success of the video below is why we have Rankin/Bass's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and everything right up through "Prep & Landing 3." This is why every TV series does its obligatory variation of the Dickens standard. This is ground zero for the ever-expanding holiday subgenre of televised entertainment that dominates the month of December (and often leaks over into November). Everything we know about holiday specials can be traced back to this singular event.

Ladies and gentlemen... "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"!

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

"Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz was born on this day in 1922! In honor of that and Thanksgiving, here's the Peanuts gang having their non-traditional meal from the 1973 special "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."


You can watch the entire Charlie Brown special by clicking here. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Steamboat Willie

This all-time classic was released 85 years ago today! Noted not only for being the public debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, but also for being the first cartoon released with synchronized sound. Every single voice in the cartoon was provided by Walt Disney himself.

Trick or Treat

Happy trick-or-treating tonight, everyone!

Swing You Sinners!

To Boo or Not To Boo