Here we have a 22-minute cartoon that is actually a collection of 3 short cartoons in one. Before I give you the individual reviews for each one of them, let me say that I really liked the transitions between these films, not just because of the singing that added a solid deal of holiday atmosphere, but also and especially because they somewhat elaborated further on the stories by including characters from these cartoons for the intermissions. And here are the three reviews in chronological order:
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979) 6/10 - Return to the quality days
"Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol" is an 8-minute cartoon from 1979, so this one will have its 40th anniversary soon. The names of Freleng and Blanc, but also Dunne make it obvious that this is another Warner Bros Looney Toons short film and the title gives away that this one is for the holidays. The Christmas Carol is a classic of course and here we have WB's take on the subject. They used Yosemite Sam for the central character, which is fine and the other inclusions (Bugs, Porky mostly) are okay too The one thing that did not impress me was Tweety as Tiny Tim. Sorry but as Porky's son, they really had to use a pig there. Oh well, lets just say he was adopted. Then again, I am not a great Tweety fan, so maybe this played in too for me. But this is one part that was rushed and Tiny Tim really deserves better. But perhaps they wanted the fun to still be in the center of it all and not make a tearjerker or anything. Still I believe that a half-hour television special at 21-24 minutes could have been the better choice doing more justice to the story as it was all incredibly rushed to fit in this minimal running time, also the part with the ghost(s) that was basically just Bugs pranking Sam here and the supernatural element is missing entirely. Maybe they realized this themselves and already made it a minute longer than these cartoons usually are. Despite some criticisms here, this was nicely done and it is definitely among Warner Bros's better efforts bringing back the spirit of the Golden Age of Animation a couple decades later. Especially worth seeing in the month before Christmas. I give it a thumbs-up.
Freeze Frame (1979) 6/10 - Christmas greetings from Coyote
"Freeze Frame" is a 7-minute cartoon from over 35 years ago and it was directed by the legendary Chuck Jones later in his career, way into his sixties already at this point. It stars Road Runner and Coyote and it is really the setting that makes a difference here. They are not in the dry desert this time, but in the cold snow. I wonder if this came out during the holidays. It certainly would have been a good fit with the atmosphere and also all the Christmas melodies in the background. Apart from that, it's the usual. Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner and always fails of course, even with the help of the most modern gadgets. It all backfires and Coyote keeps getting in trouble with all the new inventions that were actually supposed to help him catch his nemesis. I won't go into detail about particular gadgets or scenes, but there were a couple funny ones included in here and the last shot with the Christmas sign was cute too. A good watch during the holidays. Recommended.
Fright Before Christmas (1979) 6/10 - Bugs is forgettable here, but the other two save the day
"Fright Before Christmas" is a television short film from 1979, almost 40 years ago now, that runs for 7 minutes and was a collaboration by Freleng, Blanc and Foray, some of Warner Bros' finest reuniting for this little Christmas movie that has Bugs going up against a Taz who is just as destructive as always when he turns into that whirlwind, even if it is the season of giving and he is wearing a red-white Santa dress. I am a big Taz fan, so he was the highlight for me here. The shared highlight I would say as Bugs' little nephew is just divine cuteness and it is a bit of a shame that he does not appear in (many) other cartoons. It's probably because he does not deliver comedy whatsoever, but still quite a shame in my opinion. But luckily we got him here. Bugs himself was a bit forgettable this time, cool as always in the face of danger, but Taz clearly carried this one from the entertainment perspective, even if he found his master as usual in Bugs. Overall, a must-see all year for my fellow Taz lovers and everybody else if they don't hate cartoons and old animation can check this one out during the holiday season. I give it a thumbs-up.
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979) 6/10 - Return to the quality days
"Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol" is an 8-minute cartoon from 1979, so this one will have its 40th anniversary soon. The names of Freleng and Blanc, but also Dunne make it obvious that this is another Warner Bros Looney Toons short film and the title gives away that this one is for the holidays. The Christmas Carol is a classic of course and here we have WB's take on the subject. They used Yosemite Sam for the central character, which is fine and the other inclusions (Bugs, Porky mostly) are okay too The one thing that did not impress me was Tweety as Tiny Tim. Sorry but as Porky's son, they really had to use a pig there. Oh well, lets just say he was adopted. Then again, I am not a great Tweety fan, so maybe this played in too for me. But this is one part that was rushed and Tiny Tim really deserves better. But perhaps they wanted the fun to still be in the center of it all and not make a tearjerker or anything. Still I believe that a half-hour television special at 21-24 minutes could have been the better choice doing more justice to the story as it was all incredibly rushed to fit in this minimal running time, also the part with the ghost(s) that was basically just Bugs pranking Sam here and the supernatural element is missing entirely. Maybe they realized this themselves and already made it a minute longer than these cartoons usually are. Despite some criticisms here, this was nicely done and it is definitely among Warner Bros's better efforts bringing back the spirit of the Golden Age of Animation a couple decades later. Especially worth seeing in the month before Christmas. I give it a thumbs-up.
Freeze Frame (1979) 6/10 - Christmas greetings from Coyote
"Freeze Frame" is a 7-minute cartoon from over 35 years ago and it was directed by the legendary Chuck Jones later in his career, way into his sixties already at this point. It stars Road Runner and Coyote and it is really the setting that makes a difference here. They are not in the dry desert this time, but in the cold snow. I wonder if this came out during the holidays. It certainly would have been a good fit with the atmosphere and also all the Christmas melodies in the background. Apart from that, it's the usual. Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner and always fails of course, even with the help of the most modern gadgets. It all backfires and Coyote keeps getting in trouble with all the new inventions that were actually supposed to help him catch his nemesis. I won't go into detail about particular gadgets or scenes, but there were a couple funny ones included in here and the last shot with the Christmas sign was cute too. A good watch during the holidays. Recommended.
Fright Before Christmas (1979) 6/10 - Bugs is forgettable here, but the other two save the day
"Fright Before Christmas" is a television short film from 1979, almost 40 years ago now, that runs for 7 minutes and was a collaboration by Freleng, Blanc and Foray, some of Warner Bros' finest reuniting for this little Christmas movie that has Bugs going up against a Taz who is just as destructive as always when he turns into that whirlwind, even if it is the season of giving and he is wearing a red-white Santa dress. I am a big Taz fan, so he was the highlight for me here. The shared highlight I would say as Bugs' little nephew is just divine cuteness and it is a bit of a shame that he does not appear in (many) other cartoons. It's probably because he does not deliver comedy whatsoever, but still quite a shame in my opinion. But luckily we got him here. Bugs himself was a bit forgettable this time, cool as always in the face of danger, but Taz clearly carried this one from the entertainment perspective, even if he found his master as usual in Bugs. Overall, a must-see all year for my fellow Taz lovers and everybody else if they don't hate cartoons and old animation can check this one out during the holiday season. I give it a thumbs-up.