Disney Christmas Story

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Disney Christmas Story
Author(s)Frank Reilly, Carl Fallberg, Floyd Norman
Illustrator(s) Manuel Gonzales, Chuck Fuson, John Ushler, Floyd Gottfredson, Guillermo Cardoso, Mike Arens, Cliff Nordberg, James Swain, Tom McKimson, Lorna Smith, Larry Mayer, Willie Ito, Tony Strobl, Mike Royer, Steve Steere, Bill Langley, Keith Moseley
Current status/scheduleConcluded annual Christmas strip
Launch dateNovember 28, 1960
End dateDecember 24, 1987
Syndicate(s) King Features Syndicate

Disney Christmas Story is an American Disney comic strip that appeared each year in the weeks before Christmas, beginning in 1960. [1] The strip ran Monday to Saturday for the three to four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, and often promoted the latest Disney release or re-release. [2] The strips were usually not published on the newspaper's comics page; they appeared at the bottom of the page somewhere else in the paper, so that the reader would have to hunt for it, and not-coincidentally pass by some of the Christmas advertising. [3] The strip appeared every year until 1987.

Contents

In 2017, the Christmas stories were collected in a hardback volume, Disney's Christmas Classics, published by IDW Publishing. [4] [5] The collection includes all of the Christmas stories except for 1986's story based on Song of the South .

Development

Unlike most Disney comic strips, Disney Christmas Story actively mixed characters from different Disney films—for example, in 1962, Ludwig Von Drake saved Princess Aurora from Maleficent's spell, and in 1976, the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio helped Santa Claus foil an evil plot hatched by Captain Hook, the Big Bad Wolf and Honest John to steal his toys and hold them for ransom. The 1963 sequence was the only comic strip appearance of the popular Disney comics character Li'l Bad Wolf, [6] and the 1971 story features a rare comic-strip appearance by the Beagle Boys. [2]

The strip was written by Frank Reilly from its inception in 1960 until 1975, and then by Carl Fallberg from 1976 to 1984. Floyd Norman wrote the 1985 and 1986 sequences, and Fallberg wrote the last story in 1987. [1]

When Norman was given the assignment to write the Christmas Story in 1985, he was bothered by the way that the stories mixed up characters from different films. He recalled in a 2013 blog post, "I couldn't help but find this approach somewhat bizarre. Mickey and Pluto didn't fit in the same world as Dumbo and the seven dwarfs certainly didn't mix well with Jaq and Gus Gus from Cinderella. I decided if I was going to write a holiday story the characters used would have to be consistent... No more of this wacky 'mix and match' approach to Disney storytelling." [7] Norman's first story featured only characters from One Hundred and One Dalmatians , and his second characters from Song of the South . [8]

In 1992, the strip returned as Disney Holiday Story, telling more straightforward tales starring the characters from the most recent Disney animated release. This strip lasted for six years, until 1997. [7] All six storylines were written by Floyd Norman (with Karen Kreider on the first year), and illustrated by Richard Moore. [1]

Disney Christmas Story

TitleDatesCharactersWritersArtistsINDUCKS
link
Peter Pan's Christmas Story1960
(Nov 28-Dec 24)
Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Tinker Bell, the Seven Dwarfs Frank Reilly Manuel Gonzales CS 1
Pinocchio's Christmas Story1961
(Nov 27-Dec 23)
Pinocchio, Geppetto, Jiminy Cricket, Stromboli, Honest John, Gideon & the Blue Fairy Chuck Fuson & Manuel Gonzales CS 2
Sleeping Beauty's Christmas Story1962
(Nov 26-Dec 24)
Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, the Good Fairies, Maleficent & Ludwig Von Drake John Ushler CS 3
Three Little Pigs Christmas Story1963
(Nov 25-Dec 24)
The Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf & Li'l Bad Wolf Floyd Gottfredson
CS 4
Cinderella's Christmas Party1964
(Nov 23-Dec 24)
Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq, & the Fairy Godmother Manuel Gonzales CS 5
Bambi's Christmas Adventure1965
(Nov 29-Dec 24)
Bambi, Flower & Mr. Stork Floyd Gottfredson CS 6
Snow White's Christmas Surprise1966
(Nov 28-Dec 24)
Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil Queen Mike Arens CS 7
Dumbo and the Christmas Mystery1967
(Nov 27-Dec 23)
Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, Mad Madam Mim, Maleficent & the Seven Dwarfs CS 8
Santa Claus in Neverland1968
(Nov 25-Dec 24)
Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Lost Boys, the Indian Girls, the Mermaids & the PiratesCliff Nordberg & Manuel Gonzales CS 9
The Quest for Christmas1969
(Dec 1-24)
The Seven Dwarfs, Who from Planet Galaxia, the Good FairiesJames Swain & Manuel Gonzales CS 10
Santa's Christmas Crisis1970
(Nov 30-Dec 24)
Maleficent, her raven & the Goon John Ushler CS 11
The Christmas Conspiracy1971
(Dec 6-24)
The Beagle Boys, Gus, Jaq & Mr. StorkMike Arens CS 12
The Magic Christmas Tree1972
(Dec 4-23)
Merlin, Mad Madam MimJohn Ushler CS 13
A Castle for Christmas1973
(Dec 3-24)
Mr. Stork, Bambi & Thumper CS 14
Santa's Crucial Christmas1974
(Dec 2-24)
Timothy Q. Mouse, the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Robin Hood, Little John, the Three Little Pigs, Gus, Jaq, Merlin & the Big Bad Wolf Tom McKimson CS 15
Santa and the Pirates1975
(Dec 1-24)
The Seven Dwarfs, Gus & JaqJohn Ushler CS 16
Captain Hook's Christmas Caper1976
(Nov 29-Dec 24)
The Three Little Pigs, Br'er Bear, Missus Bear, Honest John, the Big Bad Wolf, the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio & Archimedes Carl Fallberg Lorna Smith & Larry Mayer CS 17
No Puppets for Christmas1977
(Dec 5-24)
Peter Pan, Gepetto, Stromboli, Honest John & the Fairy GodmotherWillie Ito & Larry Mayer CS 18
The Day Christmas Was Banned1978
(Dec 4-23)
Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Mr. Stork, Dumbo, Skippy & the Robin Hood Kids Tony Strobl & Larry Mayer CS 19
Madam Mim's Christmas Grudge1979
(Dec 3-24)
Mad Madam Mim, Merlin & Wart Tony Strobl & Mike Royer CS 20
Santa's Magical Christmas Helpers1980
(Dec 1-24)
Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, Br'er Bear & the Good Fairies CS 21
Cinderella's Christmas Crisis1981
(Nov 30-Dec 24)
Cinderella, Lucifer, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq & the Fairy GodmotherTony Strobl & Steve Steere CS 22
The Mysterious Christmas Spell1982
(Nov 29-Dec 24)
Merlin, Wart, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil Queen CS 23
Christmas Comes to Neverland1983
(Nov 28-Dec 24)
Peter Pan, Wendy, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Pirates & the CrocodileWillie Ito & Bill Langley
CS 24
A Christmas Present for Mister Toad1984
(Dec 3-22)
Ratty, Mole, Honest John, Gideon & the CoachmanTony Strobl & Steve Steere CS 25
Cruella's Very Furry Christmas1985
(Dec 2-24)
Cruella De Vil, Pongo, Perdita, Jasper & Horace Floyd NormanWillie Ito & Mike Royer CS 26
A Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Christmas!1986
(Dec 1-24)
Uncle Remus, Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear & Br'er Fox Keith Moseley & Larry Mayer CS 27
Snow White's Sinister Christmas Gift1987
(Nov 30-Dec 24)
Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs, the Evil Queen & her ravenCarl FallbergKeith Moseley & Bill Langley CS 28

Disney Holiday Story

Disney Holiday Story
Author(s) Floyd Norman, Karen Kreider
Illustrator(s)Richard Moore
Current status/scheduleConcluded annual Christmas strip
Launch dateNovember 30, 1992
End dateDecember 27, 1997
Syndicate(s) King Features Syndicate

The tradition was revived in 1992 to publicize contemporary Disney feature animated films. All six storylines were written by Floyd Norman (with Karen Kreider on the first year), and illustrated by Richard Moore. [2] These stories only included the cast of the featured movie; there were no special crossovers with other characters.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN   9780472117567.
  2. 1 2 3 Becattini, Alberto (2016). Disney Comics: The Whole Story. Theme Park Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN   978-1683900177.
  3. Korkis, Jim (December 23, 2015). "The Disney Christmas Comic Strips". MousePlanet. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  4. "Review: 'Walt Disney's Christmas Classics'". blogs.slj.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  5. Disney's Christmas Classics. IDW Publishing. 2017. ISBN   978-1684050062.
  6. Becattini, Alberto (2019). "Disney Beyond Mickey". American Funny Animal Comics in the 20th Century: Volume One. Seattle, WA: Theme Park Press. ISBN   978-1683901860.
  7. 1 2 Norman, Floyd. "The Disney Holiday Stories". Mrfun. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. A detailed description of Norman's Song of the South story, which was not reprinted in the Christmas Classics collection, is included here: Korkis, Jim. "An Uncle Remus Christmas". MousePlanet. Retrieved 28 July 2019.