[7.5/10] This is one of the few classic cartoon shorts I can remember seeing as a kid, and it’s not hard to see why it stuck with me. This one ahs a classic and engaging premise. The idea of an enterprising inventor, taking items from around the house, and turning it into a toy-filled Xmas morning, is the kind of concept that would enchant a younger kid. The Fleischer studio folks do a great job of finding fun ways to blend the domestic and the toyetic, with percolator-powered locomotives, alarm clock/brillo pad chickens, and vacuum-motored horsey rides. The resourcefulness of the inventor, and the exaggerated fun of the orphans discovering their resorted Xmas morning is outstanding.

The animation is well done too, with amusing little sequences involving the makeshift toys, cute little skips and dances from the orphans, and a jovial spirit realized in the guffaws and gestures of the inventor-turned-Santa impersonator. I watched the restored version of the cartoon, and it’s remarkable how crisp and modern the short looks with the loving treatment it received. The live action elements are well-integrated, adding a proto-CGI like artificial depth to the proceedings. And the main song, while a little insipid in its lyrics, is a total earworm.

Overall, this one is near and dear to my heart from when I was a young boy myself, and seeing it again, done up with such care and color, with a creative bent and a tale of the less fortunate getting to enjoy the day after all, makes this short one worth holding onto in my book.