Bedtime for Sniffles

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).

Sniffles was a character who appeared in a dozen Looney Tunes cartoons from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. Considering how the style of these cartoons did not fit in well with the edgier content Looney Tunes was making in the 1940s, it's hard to imagine why the character lasted nearly a decade. He was no Bugs Bunny nor Daffy Duck. Instead, he was ultra -cutesy...to the point of being a bit nauseating. If you see "Bedtime for Sniffles", you'll be able to see what I mean...Sniffles is incredibly cutesy. He sings, he mugs...but he also doesn't particularly induce laughs.

Through the course of "Bedtime for Sniffles", there's quite a bit of singing. This, combined with his cutesy voice will make it tough viewing for many folks.

Like other Sniffles cartoons, the animation is top-notch for Looney Tunes. While not quite as pretty as what Disney was doing at the time, this sort of cartoon is just lovely to watch from a technical standpoint. As for the story...well, it's just okay. Sniffles is trying to stay up all night in order to see Santa and he struggles to stay awake. And, in the end, the fat guy shows up...and that's about it. Overall, about as edgy as a tomato...which is why, despite the animation, the short left me cold.

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!

It's Christmas Eve, and Sniffles the mouse is going to wait up to see Santa Claus making his rounds. Only problem is, the little guy didn't realize just how tired he'd get - or how appealing his bed would look - waiting up that late. For all the hundreds of animated shorts WB put out over the years, this is one of the very few that is Christmas-themed, and I've never figured out just why that is. ("The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives", being black-and-white, doesn't get much air time nowadays.) Sniffles only appeared in about a dozen shorts in the late 1930's and 1940's, and the fact that this little classic is played every year at Christmas time is probably the only reason he didn't fade into obscurity.

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.