The Night Before Christmas (1941)

This might be my favourite “Tom and Jerry” cartoon as it combines the fun of their mischievous antics with a sentiment that Charles Dickens would have been proud of. With Christmas looming and plenty of snow outside, “Jerry” ventures out from his hole to explore some of the gifts that have been left for the humans, and he soon finds himself facing his long-tailed nemesis and unusually for him he doesn’t quite get the better of “Tom” and ends up out in the cold whilst there is a roaring fire inside. Might “Tom” have a crisis of conscience and maybe take pity on his rapidly chilling chum? The score mixes the naughty and curious with the seasonally choral and I always love cartoons where snow features prominently. If this doesn’t melt your heart a little then I just don’t know…. God bless us, every one!