Bedtime for Sniffles

Taking a slight break from their usual stuff, the Chuck Jones crowd made this short about mouse Sniffles trying to stay awake on Christmas Eve so that he can meet Santa Claus...if he can. There have been so many overly sugary Christmas stories that it's neat to see one that functions as sort of a time capsule. "Bedtime for Sniffles" portrays the titular character listening to the radio, and it's clearly one of those 1940s broadcasts.

Anyway, it's an OK way to pass time. You probably won't have any kind of religious experience, but it doesn't pretend to be that kind of cartoon. I wonder if Sniffles appeared in any other cartoons.

Haxwell Mouse...Ha!

"In about 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 47 seconds, Santa Claus will be here!" So says Sniffles, a cute mouse from Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) during the '40s. He's trying to stay up late waiting for the bearded man in the fat red suit by drinking coffee, listening to the radio, etc. Will he succeed? Chuck Jones, the one animation director during this period of Looney Tunes-Merrie Melodies that didn't go for straight gags, takes his own sweet time in finding various ways to get Sniffles' attempting to stay awake as entertaining as possible for the next 6 minutes. Nothing hilarious here, just some mild chuckles but Jones succeeds in his goal. I was especially amused by one magazine ad that reminded the mouse of sleep that had a boy toddler in nightgown holding a candle with the slogan, "Time To Re-Tire" which was an actual one for the now-defunct tire company Fisk (there was still one in the Baton Rouge area when I first moved there in 1975). For fans of both Christmas cartoons and those made by the folks at Termite Terrace, I highly recommend Bedtime for Sniffles.

Despite being very slow and boring, this cartoon manages to be worth watching because of the incredibly cute mouse Sniffles (who looks a little bit like Fievel in "An American Tail"), the animation and the music.

Basically, this short is about a little mouse called Sniffles who, on Chirstmas Eve, is determined to stay awake to see Santa. He does things like make himself a cup of coffee and listening to Christmas music on the radio. Will he see Santa?

I recommend this to people who like old cartoons which are very slow and seem like fifteen minutes, people who like Christmas cartoons and for people who like mice. Enjoy "Bedtime for Sniffles"! :-)

P.S You do not have to just watch this for Chirstmas, it is fine for summer viewing as well.

P.P.S This is the only cartoon I have seen of Sniffles so far and I look forward to watching all his others, if possible. :-)

7 and a half out of ten.

Among the many Warner Bros. cartoons shown on television, this particular short is one that all the baby-boomers remember. The story tells of Sniffles the mouse who is trying to stay awake to see Santa Claus. An expert blend of comedy and sentiment with Carl Stalling's musical adaptations and score most effective. Watch this with your little ones (especially if it is their first viewing).

In this short, Sniffles the mouse is trying not to fall asleep so he won't miss the arrival of Santa Claus. Needless to say, he doesn't have much success...and neither did I. I found the images and sounds that made Sniffles droopy eyed had the same effect on me. This isn't a bad short, just don't view it late at night.