Delightful Christmas cartoon from Disney, part of the Silly Symphonies series. The simple story is about Santa Claus and his elves preparing for Christmas, getting all the toys ready. Made in a different era with a different (lost?) kind of magic than we see today. Lovely music and rhyming dialogue throughout the short help keep things lively and bouncing. The animation is very nice for its time. Love that beautiful Technicolor! It's a wonderful, creative Christmas short that is sure to leave a smile on most faces. There's something very innocent about it all. If you're able to still enjoy things like this, I'm sure you'll love it. Try to watch it with little kids and pass the fun on to them before they're too old to even give it a shot.
19 Reviews
Nice introspective on Santa's home
bellino-angelo201422 July 2019
In 1932 Disney became producing shorts in colour thanks to the three-striped colour process (beginning with FLOWER AND TREES). Among the few other colour shorts from 1932 we have the first of the two Silly Symphonies about Santa Claus (the other being THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS in 1933).
This short gives us a close look on what happens in the North Pole the day before Christmas. The dwarvs are cleaning the sleigh and feed the reindeers, and while Santa checks the list of who is naughty and who is nice, they work on the toys for the children of all world.
With a simple plot, nice colours and catchy music, this is among the best Disney shorts of its era and it's perfect to watch during the Christmas period.
This short gives us a close look on what happens in the North Pole the day before Christmas. The dwarvs are cleaning the sleigh and feed the reindeers, and while Santa checks the list of who is naughty and who is nice, they work on the toys for the children of all world.
With a simple plot, nice colours and catchy music, this is among the best Disney shorts of its era and it's perfect to watch during the Christmas period.
A Classic View Of The North Pole
Nemo_2413 July 2019
It's crazy to think that this short is from the early '30s. Like a lot of Silly Symphony shorts, unless you are big into Disney, you wouldn't automatically assume this was a Disney production. Once you take a closer look at the film and the jokes within it, you can see the quality of production and, if you're like me, find it hard to believe that the film was created in the 1930s. The gags are funny, the animation is good, and this image of Santa is used quite a bit, even today within the Disney world.
Santa prepares for the big night. I wish he'd have brought me a better Symphony!
Foreverisacastironmess12324 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Feeling a bit festive lately so this is one of old short animations that I thought I'd check out again after a long while. Um, it's adequate. I've seen way better Christmas-themed vintage cartoons though. The mass of Christ used to be my favourite of all the traditional holidays, before it was usurped by the darker and more fun magic of Halloween! When it starts though, oh my what a lovely enchanting opening scene of the busy workshop with the snow and sun around it in the North Pole, so exactly what generations of kids would picture in their heads when reminded of Santa's workplace. This short sees a most classic version of jolly Saint Nick reading off a long list of good and bad little children as his many elf helpers go about constructing the gifts that he will be delivering for Christmas Day. Like in all short animations now that I think about it, I love the smaller things in the animation like all the colourful wrapping paper and baubles in the backgrounds, and the machinery that helps build the rocking horses and when they're painting the blocks and the adorable little parade of wooden clockwork animals which was my favourite part of the short. Like with many of the Silly Symphonies in one way or another, there's a definite emphasis on the industry of what's going on, with the many working together to create some greater goal, and I always love to see that kind of imaginative animation on display. I do wish however, that the animators had opted to give Santa a nice rosy pink face, because I don't know if it was just the print that I watched, but he looks white as a dang ghost.. When Santa's teaching the dolls to say mama I just knew they couldn't resist having a black doll leap out and yell "Mammy!" Well I thought it was funny, and hey at least Santa appreciated her sass and didn't throw her back! It's a cute enough short with a bit of Christmas spirit behind it, but nothing about it leaps out at me that much at all. I liked the sequel Symphony "The Night Before Christmas" better. I mean it is over 84 fricking years old and is bound to be rough around the edges, but it's never the age or state of the animation that bothers me, only when a short is bland and fails to hit me! But regardless of my view of this particular short, I still love that good old-fashioned sweet heartwarming image of Christmas and I sincerely hope that young families of today still celebrate the season in that way with their kids because there's priceless emotional worth attached to those traditions that you don't fully appreciate until you're a little older. So give and love and feel that spirit of festivity and don't forget to be good, you know why! X
Delightful Christmas cartoon!
TheLittleSongbird24 June 2009
I have always had a soft spot for this cartoon, part of the always hugely enjoyable Silly Symphonies animated shorts. It shows Santa and his helpers working hard on Christmas Eve, and like most commentators have said it is certainly very interesting. Santa himself, and I still confess I still believe in him, is presented as a jolly old man with a hearty laugh that was very pleasurable to the ear. The animation, considering it was made in the 30s is surprisingly good, with a nice quality to it. The short does get a little too silly at times, some of the rhyming dialogue is very inspired but rather absurd; the description of Billy Brown not washing behind his ears for seven years is quite disgusting. But what I loved most about Santa's workshop is its imagination. I adored the toy's march to Schubert's famous Marche Militaire, which is also featured in the short when Chip and Dale give Donald Duck a hard time on Christmas, to be seen on the video, Jiminy Cricket's Christmas. About Marche Militaire, I believe it was originally written for two pianos, but I will say I prefer the orchestral arrangement, it has a certain liveliness to it. Another piece I felt the same about was the Tocatta and Fugue by Bach, used in Fantasia, that was very menacing with an orchestra. Overall, a delightful short, very fun to watch. 9/10 Bethany Cox.
Worth checking out during the holidays
Horst_In_Translation20 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Santa's Workshop" is another really old Silly Symphony from Walt Disney. The master himself appears as voice actor in here and so does the legendary Pinto Colvig. Director is Wilfred Jackson, who also made many many of these 7-minute short films. Some of the action takes place in the snow here, especially towards the end, but the toy shop sequence is when this movie really shines. The music is very good too from start to finish. Wild, but not over-the-top and perfectly adjusted to what we see. The animation is of course not too mind-blowing, but keep in mind that this is over 80 years ago. For the early 1930s, it's actually really good. And there is no denying its traditional charm. I enjoyed the watch. It is not among Disney most or least famous short film works, but definitely worth checking out, especially now with Christmas approaching. May get you in the spirit. Thumbs up.
Typically high-quality animation, but second-tier for Disney in the 1930s
llltdesq13 April 2002
This is a very good short and the animation is the quality you expect from Disney in this time-period. But it isn't one of the best Disney did in the 1930s, which should give you an idea just how great Disney was in the 1930s. No one else could consistently even come close to them until about 1938 or 1939. Other studios were doing good work, but until Disney started focusing more on features, they were all but alone at the top in terms of animated shorts. Well worth tracking down. Recommended.
When an alternative audio track for a film is . . .
pixrox117 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . peppered with wall-to-wall apologies, it's not unlike furnishing the Bubble Boy's "Clean Room" with a wall-to-wall pet hair carpet. Both of these botch jobs involve a grotesquely disastrous misunderstanding of core principles. Just as no one can make Clean Energy out of a Coal Pig's ear, there's no way to reap "good, clean fun" out of a misbegotten collage of hateful imagery. Legend has it that during the 1920's a certain discredited rabble rouser languishing in a Prussian jail viewed some of the Dizzy material seeping out overseas and offered his facial hair twin a position in his planned propaganda ministry. Watching SANTA'S WORKSHOP, it's kind of easy to believe that this tale is not totally apocryphal.
Santa's Workshop is another excellent Christmas cartoon from Walt Disney
tavm10 December 2008
Just watched this, a Walt Disney Silly Symphony, on YouTube. It's the first of two Disney cartoons that star Santa Claus (the other one was The Night Before Christmas). He checks his list which one of his elves monitor in a book that reveals each child's behavior. When one of the children is revealed to not have "washed behind the ears for seven years", Santa decides to add soap to this boy's long list of presents. Highly musically entertaining with some amusing gags like someone using a spider to scare some of the dolls' hair in an upright position and someone else painting exact checker squares in one fell swoop on a board. There's also one politically incorrect blackface doll that says, "Mammy!" to Claus that may be considered offensive today but was considered a highly amusing reference to then-star Al Jolson. Since it only lasts a few seconds, I don't think any harm is done. This was quite an entertaining animated short that I highly recommend to any animation fan especially Walt Disney completists. Children should enjoy this too.
Santa's Factory
flaviomarcelo2 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Santa's Workshop is a 33rd Silly Symphony throwback of the 75 that are; in these small scenes where we see how Santa's elves are working, cleaning the reindeer for Christmas and especially getting ready for December 25. Then they go to Santa Claus's house where an elf helps him to see which children receive or not gifts, with an unparalleled rhyme each of the children is read, it made me laugh like a child almost asks for a Noah's Ark, but in the end they give the poor man soap. In the factory all the toys are made with great fun and unparalleled music, each toy that is created is unique. As Santa Claus gives the thumbs up, the toys begin to come to life and head to the beat of the music for Santa's sack, then he heads to his sleigh to deliver the children.
Santa Claus is a very charismatic character and has that gift of laughter that infects more than one, true to style, his clothing is unique and very colorful.
The goblins are very funny, I liked the goblin that reads the list of the bad and good children.
In conclusion: A unique and unparalleled short film, where they combine music, animation and Christmas style. It is recommended to see with the family. I think I didn't see anything wrong with this short film, I liked it a lot.
Santa Claus is a very charismatic character and has that gift of laughter that infects more than one, true to style, his clothing is unique and very colorful.
The goblins are very funny, I liked the goblin that reads the list of the bad and good children.
In conclusion: A unique and unparalleled short film, where they combine music, animation and Christmas style. It is recommended to see with the family. I think I didn't see anything wrong with this short film, I liked it a lot.
Lovely but dated
planktonrules21 December 2014
This is the sort of Disney film that played very, very well back in the day but today it would certainly not be received so warmly. This short is a snippet of the North Pole and Santa's workshop. It has little in the way of actual plot and mostly consists of singing and cuteness. Today, it would probably be seen as very saccharine and bland. Additionally, there are some unnecessary but typical racial stereotypes that will offend today but were considered perfectly normal back in the day. So, with all this going against it, why do I give this a 9? Well, the animation is simply gorgeous and it's in full Technicolor-- and nothing from any of the rival studios of the day came close when it came to quality. It simply looks great. Worth seeing even today but not up to the standards of many of the other Disney shorts of the day in regard to story.
It exists
mickeythechamp15 December 2022
Christmas 2022 day 14. So yeah, this is a short that exists.
I just have no words for this. It never grabbed my attention, has no plot and I felt absolutely nothing during it. It´s a quick watch tough.
Santa and the elves are preparing for Christmas.
The animation looks fine here. Personally, I find it unsettling how everything looks and the animation style is not appealing to me. It´s also just a lot of repeating frames, which is not good for a 7-minute short. I think 2D always has charm to it, but here it feels a bit lifeless.
There is no plot here. It´s just look at these things, the end. Here´s Santa and some elves making toys, here are the toys, bye.
The humor isn't really for me. Checked paint is a good gag though.
Yeah, there isn't much to say or comment on here. It´s a short that exists and I don't really think it´s worth a watch. I was just sitting there, starring at the screen, felt nothing and shrugged it off. A numbing experience.
I just have no words for this. It never grabbed my attention, has no plot and I felt absolutely nothing during it. It´s a quick watch tough.
Santa and the elves are preparing for Christmas.
The animation looks fine here. Personally, I find it unsettling how everything looks and the animation style is not appealing to me. It´s also just a lot of repeating frames, which is not good for a 7-minute short. I think 2D always has charm to it, but here it feels a bit lifeless.
There is no plot here. It´s just look at these things, the end. Here´s Santa and some elves making toys, here are the toys, bye.
The humor isn't really for me. Checked paint is a good gag though.
Yeah, there isn't much to say or comment on here. It´s a short that exists and I don't really think it´s worth a watch. I was just sitting there, starring at the screen, felt nothing and shrugged it off. A numbing experience.
availability
chinatown741 December 2002
Delightful Silly Symphony cartoon. Does anyone out there know if this is available on dvd?
It's not mentioned on the case, but the "sequel" to this cartoon ("the Night Before Christmas") is a bonus feature on the recently released dvd of "the Santa Clause". In order to see the cartoon, you have to play a very simple game involving dropping presents from your Santa sleigh and dodging buildings/flocks of birds. I was wondering if "Santa's Workshop" might be available also in this manner.
It's not mentioned on the case, but the "sequel" to this cartoon ("the Night Before Christmas") is a bonus feature on the recently released dvd of "the Santa Clause". In order to see the cartoon, you have to play a very simple game involving dropping presents from your Santa sleigh and dodging buildings/flocks of birds. I was wondering if "Santa's Workshop" might be available also in this manner.
Nicely Done Portrayal of a Stereotypical Santa
Hitchcoc8 December 2018
This is quite a nice colorful feature. It takes us to the North Pole where a major workforce is producing toys. Santa is in his office with his clerk, checking letters and checking who is naughty and nice. The reindeer are being fed and prepared. But the highlight is workshop itself, showing the production of the toys. Obviously, there were some elaborate toys in those days, but their portrayal was of a rather simple time with simple tastes. But the clever processes for making the toys are excellent. Of course, they couldn't resist making one doll black, exhibiting the demeaning white view of black children. But the rest is quite good.
Disney Animates Mr. Claus, Part One
Ron Oliver25 October 2000
A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.
As Christmas approaches, SANTA'S WORKSHOP becomes a beehive of activity, producing & quality testing a myriad of new toys, with the jolly old elf himself checking his list & filling his big bag.
This is a very colorful & entertaining film, with lots for the eye to look at. The march of the toys - including a Charlie Chaplin doll - into the bag is lots of fun. Quibble: some of the toys, in the unedited version, are a bit racist and it was a real lapse of taste to group the Hassidic doll with the toy pigs.
The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.
As Christmas approaches, SANTA'S WORKSHOP becomes a beehive of activity, producing & quality testing a myriad of new toys, with the jolly old elf himself checking his list & filling his big bag.
This is a very colorful & entertaining film, with lots for the eye to look at. The march of the toys - including a Charlie Chaplin doll - into the bag is lots of fun. Quibble: some of the toys, in the unedited version, are a bit racist and it was a real lapse of taste to group the Hassidic doll with the toy pigs.
The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.
A Masterpice of Christmas Fun
patrickfilbeck24 December 2022
This Silly Symphonies short and early work of Disney meiser director Wilfred Jackson, is a prime example of not only how Disney understood the spirit of pop culture Christmas, but how much Disney helped shape it. Santa's Workshop is a classic that draws Santa Clause, his elves, the Christmas factory, the reindeer, the Christmas village and the North Pole so wonderfully that you can't help but look forward to the holidays. The short film creates a comforting warm feeling, is beautifully drawn, full of innocent wit and an incomparable charm of its time. The fact that timeless classics are currently being swept away with a combine built of cultural incomprehension, arrogance and an ahistorical understanding of the world, including this film, is tragic but simply to be ignored. The Twitter bubbles don't watch movies, the Cancel Culture activists don't flush money into the coffers, and the corporations that engage in this nonsense don't understand their own franchises and fans. For the pop culture nerds, however, the timeless classics will remain for all time. Santa's Workshop" is one of them.
First Color Cartoon of Santa Claus
springfieldrental25 December 2022
As the 1932 Christmas holiday was approaching, Walt Disney provided his fans with the first all-color cartoon of Santa Claus. In December 1932's "Santa's Workshop," the Silly Symphony short became an annual tradition in the nation's theaters during the holiday season. The cartoon was later incorporated into a Disney Production anthology television Christmas 1958 special, 'From All of Us to All of You,' a feature film that is especially embraced by Sweden and Norway, and shown annually in both countries each Christmas Eve.
"Santa's Workshop" shows Santa and his elves preparing for the big night where the gifts in the old man's will be carried by his reindeer to be delivered to all the boys and girls throughout the world. Disney's Santa is a micromanager, taking interest in the quality of all the elves' work, testing them out to make sure everything works properly. As one of cinema's first marketing campaigns, Disney allowed downtown merchants throughout the nation to set up window displays with screenshots from "Santa's Workshop," enticing holiday shoppers to buy Disney toys. A sequel the following year, 1933's 'The Night Before Christmas,' another 'Silly Symphony' installment, gave Disney a one-two punch by expanding the joys of the holiday season to movie goers by having the theaters show back-to-back stunning Christmas-themed Technicolor cartoons.
"Santa's Workshop" shows Santa and his elves preparing for the big night where the gifts in the old man's will be carried by his reindeer to be delivered to all the boys and girls throughout the world. Disney's Santa is a micromanager, taking interest in the quality of all the elves' work, testing them out to make sure everything works properly. As one of cinema's first marketing campaigns, Disney allowed downtown merchants throughout the nation to set up window displays with screenshots from "Santa's Workshop," enticing holiday shoppers to buy Disney toys. A sequel the following year, 1933's 'The Night Before Christmas,' another 'Silly Symphony' installment, gave Disney a one-two punch by expanding the joys of the holiday season to movie goers by having the theaters show back-to-back stunning Christmas-themed Technicolor cartoons.
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