Cartoons on TV, Christmas 1965

60 years ago, Christmas fell on Saturday. And you know what that meant in 1965. Cartoons on TV!

Christmas cartoons fell into two categories, from what I recall. There were the prime-time specials earlier in December. In 1965 that meant Magoo’s version of “A Christmas Carol” (didn’t see) and the new A Charlie Brown Christmas (which I watched after anticipating it with excitement). And then there were old theatricals, some set during Christmas, others with Christmas gags. Included in this would be the touching and gentle classic Mice Meeting You with Herman and Katnip.

I don’t recall any others, but my memory is mistaken, or there were shows I didn’t watch. CBS sent a release to newspapers outlining its programming plans that morning. There were Christmas cartoons on shows made for TV.

A host of Christmas-morning presents will be offered on the CBS Television Network and WHBL-TV [Columbus, Georgia] today in the form of Christmas cartoons, Christmas stories and Christmas songs. The network is presenting five and one-hall hours of daytime holiday fare starting at 8 a.m.
There's a song-filled Christmas in (Captain Kangaroo's) Treasure House, from 8 until 9 and a jolly Christmas with “Tennessee Tuxedo” at 9:30. The precocious penguin and his walrus pal Chumley cut some hilarious Christmas capers in "Tree Trimmers," a cartoon created especially for the occasion.
Those who prefer a whimsical Christmas can watch 'So Hi's Nite Before Christmas" on “Linus the Lionhearted,” which presents the loveable Chinese boy in a charming Yuletide tale at 10:30 a.m.
At 11 a.m. the cat-and-mouse team of “Tom and Jerry” take over not only to deck the halls with fun and frolic, but also to turn halls, trees, walls and Santa himself topsy-turvy.
On a more serious note, "The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" at 10 a.m. offers a poignant story that expresses the true meaning of the day. Boris Karloff narrates the award-winning cartoon, "Juggler of Our Lady," based on the classic French fairy tale, "The Juggler of Notre Dame."

There were other TV Christmas cartoons. A week before Christmas, ABC advertised an hour-long special featuring “the yuletide adventures of Hoppity Hooper, Commander McBragg and Dudley Doright.” Hoppity was involved in a four-part holiday sequence. I never had a lot of interest in the frog and the cartoon series is the only produced by Jay Ward I stopped watching. McBragg was even less entertaining.

Newspaper listings include the generic title Christmas Cartoons with no specifics. You have to wonder if the stations got their hands on syndicate-packaged chestnuts like The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives, the Fleischer’s Christmas Comes But Once a Year with Grampy, or public domain shorts like Iwerks’ Jack Frost, or any cartoon with a flake of snow in it. Today, whole playlists of these can be found on the internet.

While I have a strong affection for that bygone period before endless bombardment of cartoon cable channels, I admit that there are probably more animated cartoons made up to 1965 available to watch today than back then, thanks to companies of all sizes restoring them. We can only hope that continues in the new year.