Van Beuren cartoons are extremely variable, especially in the number of gags and whether the absurdist humour shines through enough (sometimes it does, other times it doesn't), but are strangely interesting. Although they are often poorly animated with barely existent stories and less than compelling lead characters, they are also often outstandingly scored, there can be some fun support characters and some are well-timed and amusing.
'Christmas Night', aka 'Pals', may not be a great cartoon and there are better ones based on the Christmas theme. Having said that, 'Christmas Night' is a pleasant enough watch and there's a reason why it's one of the better known The Little King cartoons. It's the fourth The Little King cartoon and the sixth of eleven Van Beuren cartoons (Fleischer did the twelfth as part of the Betty Boop series) adapted from the work of Otto Soglow, generally it is among the better efforts of the series and demonstrates why Van Beuren's cartoons adapted from Soglow's work are among the studio's better, more ambitious and more entertaining efforts.
The cartoon is not one to be seen if one is expecting a laugh a minute hilarious cartoon, there are not many laughs here but 'Christmas Night' does amuse at least when there is anything humorous if never more than that.
A scene with a black doll has been referred to negatively. Understandably, although not there for long and not as offensive as other racially stereotypical characters in cartoon history it felt rather misplaced here and jars.
However, one expects Van Beuren cartoons to generally not be well animated which tends to be the case. That's not the case with 'Christmas Night', the studio's Soglow adaptations come to think of it were all among their better-looking cartoons and showed more detail and crispness. It may not quite be as visually ambitious as 'The Fatal Note' but the improvement in quality is huge.
Music as always with Van Beuren, very nearly always the best thing about their cartoons and sometimes the only good thing, is lively and beautifully and cleverly orchestrated. Story-wise, while slight it is sweet and charming and in terms of content it is more reliant on cuteness than humour but it just avoids the saccharine sugar trap. The Little King is an appealing lead.
In summary, pleasant Christmas-themed cartoon. 7/10 Bethany Cox
