Harman-Isling Christmas cartoon. Mother mouse reads "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to a bunch of little mice kids. Among them is Little Cheeser. Cheeser is cynical and doesn't believe in Santa. Meanwhile some mangy-looking cat eavesdrops through the window and decides to masquerade as Santa. He hopes to gain entrance to the mouse home and eat them. But once inside he gets more than he bargained for from the suspicious Cheeser. An innocent little toon that will probably play best for toddlers. Not really much for adults. First appearance of Little Cheeser. The cat looks positively demonic. The animation is nice.
11 Reviews
Charming little seasonal cartoon
TheLittleSongbird20 November 2016
'Alias St. Nick' was introduced me quite late, very recently actually via Youtube, so nostalgic value plays no part whatsoever in rating and reviewing it.
It is a very charming seasonal Christmas cartoon, without being one of the best around. It doesn't necessarily do anything wrong really, just that there are Christmas cartoons, many of which with iconic childhood favourite characters and from more famous companies and directors, that have more emotional impact and more staying power.
The start is a bit draggy, and it is agreed that the humour factor is low (apart from the train sequence, but that's more amusing than laugh-out-loud hilarious). And that it does at times try too hard to be cute so the cartoon occasionally goes overboard on the sentimentality.
On the other hand, the animation is colourful and beautifully drawn, the backgrounds smooth and rich in detail. The animation on the cat in expressions and movements is a mini-masterstroke. Also outstanding is the music, with a lush understated elegance but also uses rousing and dynamic arrangements of pre-existing music like "Light Cavalry" and "Snake Charmer" (a very clever brief bit).
While there are reservations about it being too cute and sentimental, 'Alias St. Nick' is also very charming and heart-warming. The beginning with the cat has some foreboding, but the highlight is the exciting and clever climax where the pace of the story drastically picks up.
Regarding the characters, the mice are sweet, with Little Cheeser not falling on the wrong sides of annoying or cloying, but the most memorable is the cunning characterisation of the cat, most of which can be seen in the animation but with Billy Bletcher doing a marvellous job with the voice work. The voice acting generally is fine.
In conclusion, charming cartoon with a particularly engaging climax and a great character in the cat being particularly noteworthy. 7/10 Bethany Cox
It is a very charming seasonal Christmas cartoon, without being one of the best around. It doesn't necessarily do anything wrong really, just that there are Christmas cartoons, many of which with iconic childhood favourite characters and from more famous companies and directors, that have more emotional impact and more staying power.
The start is a bit draggy, and it is agreed that the humour factor is low (apart from the train sequence, but that's more amusing than laugh-out-loud hilarious). And that it does at times try too hard to be cute so the cartoon occasionally goes overboard on the sentimentality.
On the other hand, the animation is colourful and beautifully drawn, the backgrounds smooth and rich in detail. The animation on the cat in expressions and movements is a mini-masterstroke. Also outstanding is the music, with a lush understated elegance but also uses rousing and dynamic arrangements of pre-existing music like "Light Cavalry" and "Snake Charmer" (a very clever brief bit).
While there are reservations about it being too cute and sentimental, 'Alias St. Nick' is also very charming and heart-warming. The beginning with the cat has some foreboding, but the highlight is the exciting and clever climax where the pace of the story drastically picks up.
Regarding the characters, the mice are sweet, with Little Cheeser not falling on the wrong sides of annoying or cloying, but the most memorable is the cunning characterisation of the cat, most of which can be seen in the animation but with Billy Bletcher doing a marvellous job with the voice work. The voice acting generally is fine.
In conclusion, charming cartoon with a particularly engaging climax and a great character in the cat being particularly noteworthy. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Surprised to see this again on You Tube
Moax42912 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I remember first seeing "Alias St. Nick" in 1971 when I was in fourth grade at Lewton Elementary School (which I dubbed "Auschwitz I") in Lansing, Michigan. I remember our homeroom teachers (it was one of those "team-teaching" schools then) surprised us with a showing of this short on the Friday afternoon before Christmas break that year. I just ran across this short on You Tube, and was surprised to see it again after so long.
Although I am not really a fan of the MGM cartoons (I always liked the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies better), "Alias St. Nick" ranks as one of those rare exceptions. Especially amusing was the "train" sequence; I always remembered those tracks running across the far-back hallway of the mice's cave home.
(For some strange reason, the print of "Alias St. Nick" I saw in school was in black and white, or maybe the print began to deteriorate and the colors were fading; obviously, in 1971 there *wasn't* any such thing as "digital remastering." And, ironically, *Warner Bros.* now owns this short today; Time Warner, Inc. (now WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T (!)) bought out Turner Entertainment Company in 1998, which in turn had bought out the pre-June 1986 MGM library of films and TV shows in September 1986, including this short subject.)
I give "Alias St. Nick" a 7, especially for the (few good) childhood memories (at that time) it evokes. (To be sure, later Christmases became *much* better.)
Although I am not really a fan of the MGM cartoons (I always liked the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies better), "Alias St. Nick" ranks as one of those rare exceptions. Especially amusing was the "train" sequence; I always remembered those tracks running across the far-back hallway of the mice's cave home.
(For some strange reason, the print of "Alias St. Nick" I saw in school was in black and white, or maybe the print began to deteriorate and the colors were fading; obviously, in 1971 there *wasn't* any such thing as "digital remastering." And, ironically, *Warner Bros.* now owns this short today; Time Warner, Inc. (now WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T (!)) bought out Turner Entertainment Company in 1998, which in turn had bought out the pre-June 1986 MGM library of films and TV shows in September 1986, including this short subject.)
I give "Alias St. Nick" a 7, especially for the (few good) childhood memories (at that time) it evokes. (To be sure, later Christmases became *much* better.)
It's hard to EVER root for a mouse . . .
oscaralbert28 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
. . . if you're a 21st Century World Citizen aware of Mickey's Disney Megacorp. and its sorry story of the Rat Who Swallowed Civilization. Since his Steamboat Willie Days, the Mick has behaved like the 8,000-ton Gorilla in the room (as seen in the KONG: SKULL ISLAND preview, only multiplied by 100). Blatantly bribing the Job-killing Corrupt Capitalist Toadies in the U.S. Congress to prevent ANY poem, short story, flip-book, doodled kindergartner's coloring book page, animated short, or live-action feature film from EVER joining Beethoven, Van Gogh, and Shakespeare in the formerly EXPANDING Breezy Clouds of the Public Domain IF the said item was created even one instant AFTER Steamed Clam Willie, Disney's Legal Thugs have been the Tip of the Fat Cat One Per Centers' spear in eradicating the American Middle Class by squelching innovators, artists, artisans, writers, wit, filmmaking, and fun. So any thinking viewer of ALIAS ST. NICK (misattributed here to plagiarist Tory Traitor Family Member and pinched-mouthed, lemon-sucking killjoy Clement Moore, rather than its ACTUAL author, fun-loving Hero of the American Revolution Capt. Henry Livingston!) Today will be hoping for the cat to gobble down as many of the wretched little Disney trademark rodents underfoot as possible. (SPOILER ALERT:) Don't expect no satisfaction here.
meh
SnoopyStyle16 December 2023
It's a MGM Happy Harmonies cartoon. Mrs. Mouse is reading "The Night Before Christmas" (the title on the book) and all her baby mice are laughing. An argument breaks out about Santa Claus. A scrawny cat is outside freezing and the mice won't let him in. He does overhear the argument about Santa Claus. He has the idea to play Santa Claus. The mice let him in and he brings them gifts.
It's a Harman Ising cartoon. Rudolf Ising is apparently the director. I was thinking that the disbelieving mouse would uncover the ruse. At the very least, the cat should have a plan to catch and eat all the mice. This cartoon is fine, but it has no bite. It's a meh.
It's a Harman Ising cartoon. Rudolf Ising is apparently the director. I was thinking that the disbelieving mouse would uncover the ruse. At the very least, the cat should have a plan to catch and eat all the mice. This cartoon is fine, but it has no bite. It's a meh.
The main point of this animated short is . . .
pixrox115 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
. . . the message that a mouse infestation is no laughing matter, and that adding a cat to the mix might make things worse. ALIAS ST. NICK is punctuated by images of rodents plundering human food stuff, including eggs and cheese. This hits me close to home, since I recently heard crackling noises coming from the vicinity of my refrigerator. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that mice were having a field day among my supply of unshelled peanuts. The little pests were almost as messy as kids, the way they were leaving debris spread around. As emphasized during ALIAS ST. NICK, Mama Mouse is not willing to restrict herself to the U.S. average of 1.8 children per female, either. A dozen wee marauders are pictured in her care. (My own mouse traps have yielded seven so far, which means that I probably have four or five to go.) Why not get a feline mouser? you may wonder. As ALIAS ST. NICK illustrates, cats are more trouble than they're worth, knocking over stuff and creating a big mess. This cartoon doesn't even broach the litter box problem. P-U!
Charming watch for the holidays
Horst_In_Translation25 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
"Alias St. Nick" is a title that could really mean anything, but here it is the name of a really old cartoon, one from 1935, so soon 85 years old and still cartoon fans will easily recognize the names of director Ising as well as voice actors Bletcher and Hansen. At 10 minutes, it is slightly longer than most other cartoons from that era and that is a good thing because it is an enjoyable little movie and I also think the fact that it has color already despite from being before World War II makes it a better watch. There is honestly not too much happening, less than in other 6-minute cartoons from back then, but there is an aura to it that makes it fun to follow. Early on, I felt the little mice are a bit too mean towards the starving, freezing cat outside really, but yeah it is their natural enemy and they sure made the cat look hideous and gruesome enough really to make it easy for audiences to forget about that. The cat listens a conversation about Santa and manages to dress up as the man to be allowed inside. What you could expect would be the cat following up on his plan and catching himself some mice for Christmas dinner, but nope: All he does is basically stand around in the mice's home and do nothing, occasionally make a slight move towards catching a mouse, but quickly abandon it right away. Very strange. I guess they really wanted to keep the scare factor to zero almost, so that very young audiences could watch it too. Then, however, they should not have included the idea of one mouse that there is no Santa. That was really the only thing that set one mouse apart from the other ones and even this one little critical mouse accepts Santa when he gives it a present. So yeah, the cat is really the MVP here story-wise, even if his character's behavior throughout the film makes virtually no sense at all. One good thing though: The music was amazing. Not just the mouse whistling the Jingle Bells tune on two occasions, mut there are more memorable melodies in here. But there had to be too because after all, it is a Happy Harmony. The latter word perhaps also explains the harmless cat. Overall, a sweet little film that is far from flawless but good enough for a thumbs-up and a positive recommendation for the holidays. Go see it with your kids perhaps.
Not too cute to be fun! Great toys!
AnnieLola23 November 2018
The MGM cartoons do tend to trade on cuteness, and are never as hip or edgy as the Warner Brothers output of the 30s and 40s, but this one really isn't hard to watch, if you don't mind yet another cat-versus-mouse cartoon. The cat just wants a meal, but after all, playing on the gullibility of nice little mice is pretty rough, and he's obviously cast as an out-and-out villain. As mouse households go, this one is enormously well-furnished and a quite extensive burrow capable of sheltering thousands of mice, by the look of it.
The cunning cat shows enormous resourcefulness in quickly coming up with a Santa suit and an enormous bag of really terrific toys, many of them mechanical. It's a pleasure to watch those mice having a ball with all that great stuff; as a Santa impostor, that cat performs admirably. When his cover is blown (literally!) and the cat is finally out of the bag, so to speak, the mice mobilize as a fearless attack force using many of the toys. Inventive visuals abound. Worth a look!
...or Santa Claws.
Squonk4 August 1999
In 'Alias St. Nick' a cat tries to get his Christmas dinner by playing Santa Claus for a family of mice. This short is pretty low on humor, it goes for cuteness instead and suffers for it. Some fun voice characterizations is about all this short has going for it.
Mean-spirited cartoon misses the true spirit of Christmas
joneslepidas-2645716 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This mean-spirited cartoon completely misses the true spirit of Christmas. Instead of following an obvious plot--a cat chases mice, the mice defeat the cat--this animators should have added some interesting (and warm) twists. For example, I kept hoping that the cat (dressed as Santa) would have been won over by the mice and turned into a real Santa Claus, and that the mouse who kept claiming that Santa didn't exist would be won over by the cat's change of heart. Alas, the makers of this cartoon went for lazy and violent gags at the expense of a good story. I couldn't sympathize with the dull and unlikeable mice, and I actually felt sorry for the cat, who was cruelly tortured at the end. If you want a real Christmas cartoon, avoid this one and seek out the warm and charming Mickey Mouse short, "Mickey's Good Deed," from 1932.
There Ain't No Santa Claus
boblipton16 December 2023
On Christmas Eve, a cat disguises himself as Santa Claus to get into the home of a mouse and her many children.
Like almost all of the Harman-Ising cartoons of this period, I find something off about it, and it's the heavy-handed sense of humor. It seems calculated to get through to the dullest of audiences. It annoyed me as a young child when I delighted in the rapid-fire gags offered by Looney Tunes and Fleischer, and offends me now. Like a lot of entertainment offered to young children, it seems intent on despising its audience.
There is also something a bit odd about the Technicolor effects. Disney had recently lost its monopoly on 3-Strip Technicolor for cartoons, but Harman-Ising's use of it suggests they were still being very cautious in mixing primary colors.
Like almost all of the Harman-Ising cartoons of this period, I find something off about it, and it's the heavy-handed sense of humor. It seems calculated to get through to the dullest of audiences. It annoyed me as a young child when I delighted in the rapid-fire gags offered by Looney Tunes and Fleischer, and offends me now. Like a lot of entertainment offered to young children, it seems intent on despising its audience.
There is also something a bit odd about the Technicolor effects. Disney had recently lost its monopoly on 3-Strip Technicolor for cartoons, but Harman-Ising's use of it suggests they were still being very cautious in mixing primary colors.
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