The Night Before Christmas

1905
9m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

686

YOUR RATING

Animation Family Fantasy Short

It's December 24th, and 'Santa Claus' is busy feeding his reindeer and finishing up the toys that he will soon deliver. Meanwhile, the children in a large family hang their stockings over th... Read allIt's December 24th, and 'Santa Claus' is busy feeding his reindeer and finishing up the toys that he will soon deliver. Meanwhile, the children in a large family hang their stockings over the fireplace, and then are put to bed. But the restless children cannot sleep, and they soo... Read allIt's December 24th, and 'Santa Claus' is busy feeding his reindeer and finishing up the toys that he will soon deliver. Meanwhile, the children in a large family hang their stockings over the fireplace, and then are put to bed. But the restless children cannot sleep, and they soon start a lively pillow fight. Back at his workshop, Santa loads up everything and begins ... Read all

Director
- Edwin S. Porter
Writer
- Clement Moore

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

686

YOUR RATING

Director
- Edwin S. Porter
Writer
- Clement Moore

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
One of the title cards refers to "Dunder" the reindeer. This is not a mistake. In old versions of "Twas The Night Before Chtistmas," the reindeer's name sometimes appears as "Donner," sometimes as "Donder", and sometimes as "Dunder." In fact, "Dunder and Blixem" in Dutch means "Thunder and Lightning", and some think these are the true names of Donner and Blitzen.

Connections
Featured in A Hollywood Christmas (1996)

User reviews12

Review

Featured review

Edison Christmas

Night Before Christmas, The (1905)

*** (out of 4)

I believe this was the first version of the famous poem and wouldn't you know it would come from Edison Studios and the forgotten Edwin S. Porter. The movie pretty much shows a group of kids getting ready for bed as Santa gets his reindeers ready for the night's work. While the special effects are obviously fake you can't help but fall victim to the film's charm, which is shining very brightly from start to finish. The movie does a wonderful job of coming off like a fairy tale and this is especially true during all the scenes with Santa. The highlight of the film is a sequence where Santa takes off with his deers and rides over various mountains before going through the air. Again, it's obvious how this scene was shot but that doesn't take away from any of its charm or magic. I don't think the film has lost any of its magic but you can't help but wonder how great this thing would have been in 1905.