Product Details

• Actors: Mel Blanc, Daws Butler
• Directors: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Tex Avery
• Writers: Clement Moore, Rich Hogan
• Producers: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Fred Quimby
• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: September 26, 1995
• Run Time: 35 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630197140X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,373 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have video for true fans of Animation..., May 7, 2002

By 

Mark Savary "moon_city" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mgm Cartoon Christmas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a wonderful tape that will hopefully either be re-released, or released on DVD.

Several cartoons from MGM are featured, with the theme of Christmas at their center. One of the four includes the delightful "The Pups' Christmas", in which two puppies cause holiday havoc when they discover the wonderous world under the Christmas tree. A real treat from pre-WWII Rudolf Ising's animation.

The centerpiece of the collection is, of course, "Peace on Earth". The time was 1938, and director Hugh Harman saw the clouds of war blackening the horizon. A veteran of World War I, he was determined to do whatever he could to tell the world of the stupidity of war. Teaming up with Fred Quimby (who helmed the famous cat and mouse antics of Tom and Jerry), together they surpassed all expectations for an animated short.

The story tells what happened to Men, and why only animals now live in the world. Grandpa Squirrel (voiced by Mel Blanc), tells his grandchildren about the race of Men, who have now become all but mythical. Grandpa decribes War from an innocent animal perspective; War makes no sense, none whatever, but this is what Men did anyway.

The animation is superb, and is an easy marriage of cute, furry animal characters, and a highly detailed and somewhat graphic depiction of Men at War. The real-life WWI memories of Harman on the design of the Men and their war machines are obvious.

MGM just didn't know what to make of the film. It had furry cartoon animals, but a clearly adult message. Happily, unlike today's PC crowd of executives would have, MGM chose to release the cartoon anyway, and hoped for the best. The result was an Oscar nomination.

Clearly one of the twenty best of all cartoons ever made, "Peace on Earth" is a forgotten and overlooked gem. For a short filler cartoon, "Peace on Earth" rivals Disney's best efforts of the same time period, I kid you not. Sadly, "Peace on Earth" was not the herald of similar efforts in animation at MGM. If it had been, today we might be saying, "Disney, who?"

This particular tape can be obtained for a low cost, so if you truly love cartoon animation, you must get a copy as soon as you can.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Christmas Cartoons, April 24, 2010

By 

liloates (Chicago, Il.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mgm Cartoon Christmas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was looking all over for these cartoons and couldn't find them anywhere. Was so happy that I finally found them. The only thing that would make it better, is if they were on DVD. Maybe someday, them I will purchase again on DVD.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Typical Christmas Cartoons, December 3, 2004

By 

Susanna King (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mgm Cartoon Christmas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

My friends and I rented this tape by chance one Christmas and it immediately became an annual "must-see." The first three cartoons contain rather violent slapstick and have nearly as many creepy or puzzling moments as funny ones. If you are a Tom & Jerry fan, they should be right up your alley. The last cartoon, "Peace on Earth," is well done but a bit depressing. I know it's supposed to make you think, but still I recommend having something else a litle more cheerful lined up to watch immediately afterwards to restore your Christmas spirit.

These cartoons are a nice antidote to the treacly animated specials that seem to be everywhere around Christmastime. Perhaps too scary for very young children, I'd recommend the MGM Cartoon Christmas for ages 8 and up.