El Taller de Santa

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.