Sunday Morning Special: “Christmas Comes But Once a Year,” 1936

Another of the treasured “Sugar Plum Nightmares,” this Max Fleischer cartoon from 1936 features his character, “Grampy,” the nutty inventor as he tries to bring some joy to a group of orphans by creating dangerous Christmas gifts for them out of forks, cheese graters and percolating coffee pots.  Sure, they may scald themselves, cut their little fingers, swallow small parts and break their necks, but by jiminy, they’re going to have a happy Christmas thanks to Grampy and his craftiness.  And, yet, the big question I have is “why does the dog live in a cuckoo clock?”  As I’ve said before of 30’s-era cartoons, expect lots of knee-bending and bobbing up and down.  And, of course, yes, the song will stick in your head until 2015. Merry Christmas.    It's coming.