Grampy Saves Christmas!

By the mid-1930s, the popularity of Fleischer Stuidos' animated wild child, Betty Boop, was waning, partly due to shifts in audience tastes but mostly because the Motion Picture Production Code put the kibosh on the edgy humor that had made her adventures so much fun. The creatives on the Fleischer team took several runs at finding a character that could replace Betty, using her cartoons as launching points. One such character was Professor Grampy, a white-bearded mechanical engineering genius with a talent for turning every day objects into one or more device serving a different purpose. The studio had such faith in him that he got top billing over Better in several of the cartoons they shared, and actually did relegate her to a supporting role in a few.

In the end, Betty's time in the limelight had passed, and Grampy was not fated to take over her role as cash cow; he appeared in ten shorts. All but one he shared the marquee with Betty Boop--and you can watch them, and read reviews of them, here, at Shades of Gray. However that one solo cartoon for Grampy was also his only color appearance--a Christmas Special, which I review below.. and which you can watch from this very post, also below.

Christmas Comes But Once a Year (1936)

Starring: Jack Mercer (as the voice of Grampy) and Mae Questel (as the voices of Orphans)

Directors: Dave Fleisher and Seymour Kneitel

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Grampy saves Christmas by swiftly creating high-quality toys for orphans who had been gifted second-hand or shoddily made ones.

"Christmas Comes But Once a Year" is peak Grampy--which I suppose is logical seeing that it was the fifth cartoon to feature him and came right in the middle of the series. The cartoon is driven by a catchy tune ("Christmas Comes But Once a Year") and Grampy's cartoon MacGyverism ability to turn debris and random household items into fantastic devices.

From Grampy's bizarre fan-propelled sleigh (with built-in tubular bells/chimes that would make Mike Oldfield jealous through the saving of Christmas, this is a joy-filled, tour-de-force of whacky fun. Check it out, embedded below, and feel your Christmas Spirit grow!