00:00Paramount Pictures presents a color classic cartoon, Christmas Comes But Once a Year, released December 4, 1936.
00:17I'm Jerry Beck, this is the Audio Track Commentary, and I'm joined by Mike Cazalo.
00:24Hello.
00:24And we're going to look at one of our absolute favorites, a classic, starting off with a wonderful three-dimensional background set, as they did so well.
00:35And we go into this orphanage, where it's supposed to be a Merry Christmas, but it's a little bit pathetic.
00:44It's during the Depression, and these kids got nothing.
00:49And we'll look right in on them.
00:53And this cartoon, of course, features Grampy.
00:58And Grampy was a regular in the Betty Boop cartoons.
01:04And that is not Pudgy.
01:05Well, it looks like Pudgy.
01:09And these little Campbell kids are the orphans.
01:13Merry Christmas, everybody!
01:14And Grampy, as you can see, they're optimistic anyways.
01:21Very optimistic.
01:22Well, who isn't optimistic at Christmas?
01:27Another great song.
01:31Um, I love how these kids, you really, are they boys, girls?
01:37What are they?
01:37I don't know.
01:38They're kids.
01:38They're kids.
01:39They're just generic kids.
01:43Anyway, Grampy, of course, was really based, at least the speculation is, is the character
01:51was based on Max Fleischer, because he's an inventor, and always coming up with some wacky
01:57invention, which the Fleischers did, and Max Fleischer in particular did.
02:06And I think of all of the original characters they created in the later, in the mid to late
02:12thirties, Grampy is certainly memorable.
02:14I'm a big fan of Grampy.
02:17There's a lot of characters they created in that later period that just didn't go anywhere.
02:21Wiffle, Piffle, anybody?
02:22Um, not really, no.
02:24Or Pudgy.
02:25I mean, I know some people like Pudgy, because he's merchandised with Betty Boop, but he's
02:29a little too sweet for me.
02:31This is just too sad.
02:34Aw.
02:35Man, this used to break me up as a kid.
02:37The Island of Misfit Toys.
02:40Yeah, this part's really sad.
02:42Seeing kids crying in a cartoon is very, very sad.
02:46But, uh, luckily Grampy's coming.
02:48Grampy is coming in his motorized sleigh, one of his wacky inventions.
03:17Which might actually work.
03:21I always wonder, I'd like to see somebody actually do some of the things that Grampy does.
03:25They all seem to make sense.
03:26I mean, I know it's a cartoon and they can make it make sense, but...
03:30You know, something about it, these things always seem plausible in these Fleischer pictures.
03:36Right.
03:36At least within the logic of these cartoons.
03:40Grampy puts on his famous thinking cap, which is what he did in the Betty Boop cartoons.
03:44And when the light bulb goes off, that means he's got an idea.
03:48Hooray!
03:49I've got it!
03:50By the way, one of the things about this cartoon really shows off the Fleischer's skill in using layout and camera moves and editing.
03:59And the following sequence has some very strong composition and staging and use of camerawork.
04:06That's pretty convenient.
04:07See, that was all one shot from coming in the window.
04:08Yeah.
04:09That was always one of the strongest cards in the Fleischer's deck was their filmmaking, and this is a very good example of it.
04:18I mean, why couldn't this work, I mean, somehow as a kid you knew this stuff wouldn't work, but you wanted to do it anyways.
04:32Although they would never let us make a cartoon with somebody putting nails in their mouths.
04:47Oh yeah, these cartoons are loaded with things they can't do in cartoons for kids today.
04:54I mean, why wouldn't this work, you know?
04:59I will conveniently ignore that they won't have anything to cook with after this.
05:18Grampy's a bit of a madman.
05:24Once he's headed for the barn, there's no stopping him.
05:29Luckily, everything he pulls, every three things he pulls makes something good when you put those three things together.
05:45Oh boy, Grampy's got something planned for these kids.
05:54Everything's very recognizable, too.
05:58Audiences of the time, particularly, could recognize stuff that's in their house,
06:03that, you know, three or four items that are commonly in your house are suddenly, or take on a new form.
06:11Grampy becomes Santa Claus instantly.
06:13Luckily, he had the white beard.
06:15Santa Claus!
06:16Now, for the surprise!
06:18Good Christmas, everybody!
06:19Santa will save us!
06:20Great delayed reaction!
06:21I don't think today they'd let kids play with a vacuum cleaner like that.
06:39No, no, no, no, no.
07:09No, no, no, no.
07:39Any comments on that, Mike, as we conclude this film?
07:44On the Easter Seals?
07:45Yeah, I mean, I don't know.
07:46I don't know what the story is behind that.
07:49I don't mean either.
07:53But it's certainly a striking effect.
07:55Yeah.
07:58You know, we used that cartoon in a cheater film.
08:00They were saying, why do we have to have that beginning on?
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