Directed by: Jim Pabian

Synopsis: A fictional story about how Clement C. Moore was inspired to write his famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas.

Cartoon Cat: As the poem section of the special begins, an orange and white cat is sleeping in front of a fireplace.

A mother mouse puts her children to bed behind a fireplace brick and then curls up on the cat’s tail to sleep.

The cat wickedly flicks the mouse up into the air where she lands in a stocking.

When Santa Claus arrives, he does not disturb the sleeping cat.

Through a strange series of incidents, the mouse ends up in father’s nightcap and crawls across the floor. The cat awakens to see the cap crawling towards him and freaks out.

Jumping into Santa’s beard for safety, the cat is bounced up and down by Santa’s laughter.

Eventually St. Nick sets the cat down on the floor and gently encourages him to walk away. The animation in the “real” part of the special is a bit stilted but more realistic. In contrast, the “story” portion is done in an exaggerated, cartoonish style, obviously to set it apart as a story being told by Moore. Even so, the animation done on the cat is particularly over the top and silly.

Final Mewsings: Cats would rather have peace and quiet for Christmas.

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