It's Not Christmas in Chicago Without Stop-Motion Animation Classics

Chicago was once a major force for broadcasting in America. Back in the day when radio ruled the world, the radio station WGN was one of the loudest and clearest. There was also WLS, which broadcast far and wide. Some of the most famous radio programs of the day were broadcast from Chicago. When television became the dominant medium, Chicago was there as well.

WGN has been a classic station in Chicago for a long time. The letters actually stand for World's Greatest Newspaper since the broadcasting facilities began as part of the Chicago Tribune newspaper empire. There are few children who grew up in Chicago who did not spend their mornings, before school, watching WGN and morning programs like Ray Rayner and Friends and Bozo the Clown.

First broadcast on that channel, back in the mid-1950s, when television was still a relatively new and novel medium, the station broadcast three short animated features. They were musicals, two of them were primitive stop-motion animation, and they were in black and white. They were probably produced as a lark, something to just fill some air time, but these three animated films have now become Christmas classics. Although they were originally broadcast in Chicago, thanks to the internet and YouTube, now anyone and everyone can enjoy these.

The most popular is probably Hardrock, Coco and Joe. This two-minute song tells the story of three dwarfs who travel with Santa. They are probably not familiar to you if you only know the story of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. According to the song Hardrock drives the sleigh and Coco navigates with maps. The song explains that Santa "has not need for Joe, but takes him 'cause he loves him so." See, with Hardrock and Coco taking care of things, Santa can focus on his list.

The song is amusing and the animation is interesting. It is primitive stop-motion. This is stop-motion even more primitive than the kind you would see, maybe a decade or so later, with the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated feature. Each time the chorus ends with "I'm Hardock, I'm Coco" and then a very deep-voiced "I'm Joe!"

The second-most famous one is the original black and white cartoon of the tune Frosty the Snowman. This is not the version in bright color that you might remember from when you were a child. This is a jazzy version that tells the now familiar tale of the snowman who comes to life thanks to a magical silk hat. There is no villain in this one as there would be when someone decided to try and make the tale a half hour special years later. This is more like a music video with classic hand drawn animation.

Finally, but not least, is the tale of Suzy Snowflake. She is a kind of winter fairy dressed in a "snow white gown" that falls to the ground whenever it starts to snow. In fact, it is sort of implied that she is the one who brings the snow. She comes "tap-tap-tappin" on your windowpane to let you know that she's around. She also will help you build a snowman "one-two-three." This one is probably more popular for girls than some of the other ones. It too is in stop-motion animation.

So, while you may be familiar with some of the more popular tunes this Christmas, your Christmas is not really complete until you seek these three out. They will likely become part of your holiday traditions.

The three shorts were broadcast on WGN and have become annual presentations there. They are also, evidently, popular on television station, WJAC in Jownstown, PA. They were often broadcast on the Bozo Show and other children's television shows that were shown early in the morning on WGN. For any kid in Chicago, the story of Suzy, the three dwarfs and Frosty go hand-in-hand with Christmas.

The animated features were originally created by Centaur Productions and they used the stop-motion skills of animator Wah Ming Chang. They have become so famous that there have been parodies of them. Comedy Central ran a parody called Christmas with Tingles to the tune of Hardrock, Coco and Joe. It tells the story of a elf who brings Christmas tension that leads to disastrous fighting. Robert Smigel also created Christmas Time for the Jews for Saturday Night Live that was in the same vein as these three animated features.

So, take the time to find them. While their animation will probably not dazzle anyone currently familiar with 3D animation done with computers, the quaintness of it will likely leave you smiling Instead of complaining about the snow and cold, these three little animated gems will make you appreciate the season. Search for them. You won't be sorry. It's a little gift from Chicago to the rest of the world this Christmas.