A Christmas Dream (1946) "Vánoční sen" (1945) Zeman Brothers Stop-Motion

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A Christmas Dream (American Version 1946) * (aka Vánocní sen, 1945).
One of my favorites. I hope you enjoy and appreciate the work that went into this. Especially with the limitations of the era. Directed and created by a team of two Czech Brothers, Borivoj Zeman and Karel Zeman. Both continued making films for over 30 years. Karel Zeman became the director of feature-length movies Including "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" and " Baron Munchausen". Borivoj Zeman directed titles such as "The Phantom of Morrisville" and "The Young Lady from the Riverside"

This short film is also known as:
Rêve de Noël ... France
Vánoční sen ... Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic title)
The Christmas Dream ... International (English title)
A Christmas Dream ... USA (dubbed version) *

A vintage "Toy Story", so to speak. "Vánoční sen" was ahead of it's time and still holds up today, over 60 years old, as an impressive achievement in film. Rankin Bass comes to mind when viewing, and I am sure it has inspired many Directors through the years.

A little girl walks into the living room to see her Christmas tree lit with what we know as sparklers, and an abundance of beautiful new toys from Santa Claus. Her favorite toy before the new arrivals was a worn rag-doll which she promptly throws to the side to embrace her new toy friends. Off to bed with her new doll, teddy bear and other toys, the rag doll still lays were it was thrown on Christmas morning. Santa Claus magically appears when she is asleep to see the old doll mistreated, so he uses his magic to bring her dreams to life. He casts a spell for her "Christmas Dream", she awakes to see her rag doll come to life and the old friend tries his best to win her back. He talks, climbs, spins, dances, ice skates and plays piano. All further impressing her to reconsider her neglect. Soon the teddy bear, giraffe, doll join in the fun of creating chaos with a table fan that apparently has turbo charged wind power. All works out in the end when she goes back to her old friend with a hug, and they sleep happily ever after. Thanks Santa!

Stop motion (also known as stop-action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Stop motion animation using clay is described as clay animation or clay-mation. Stop motion animation has a long history in film. Of the forms already mentioned, object animation is the oldest, then direct manipulation animation, followed (roughly) by sequential drawings on multiple pages, which quickly evolved into cel animation, with clay animation, pixilation, puppet animation, and time-lapse being developed concurrently next. The first instance of the stop motion technique can be credited to Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton for The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898), in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life. In 1902, the film, Fun in a Bakery Shop used clay for a stop-motion "lightning sculpting" sequence. French trick film maestro Georges Méliès used it to produce moving title-card letters for one of his short films, but never exploited the process for any of his other films. The Haunted Hotel (1907) is another stop motion film by James Stuart Blackton, and was a resounding success when released. Segundo de Chomón (1871-1929), from Spain, released El Hotel eléctrico later that same year, and used similar techniques as the Blackton film. In 1908, A Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Nightmare was released, as was The Sculptor's Nightmare, a film by Billy Bitzer. The first 3-D stop motion short was In Tune With Tomorrow(also known as Motor Rhythm) in 1939 by John Norling. The second stereoscopic stop motion release was The Adventures of Sam Space in 1955 by Paul Sprunck. The third and latest stop motion short in stereo 3-D was The Incredible Invasion of the 20,000 Giant Robots from Outer Space in 2000 by Elmer Kaan and Alexander Lentjes. This is also the first ever 3-D stereoscopic stop motion and CGI short in the history of film.

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[Hypsan]

This was really WONDERFUL! Such marvelous stop-action for so long ago! The mixture of stop & live action is excellent. I LOVE the voice of the "Dolly". A VERY UN-creepy dolly and voice. Well done all around!! Of course, stop action had been around for a long time even in 1945/46. One of the finest examples ever was KING KONG from the early 30's. Some insist it has never been equalled, but I'll take this charming short any day of the week! I never recall seeing this as a child. My loss.

[XmasFLIX]

@Hypsan check out my main channel for my "stop-motion and puppet" playlist.

I think you will also like "The Insects' Christmas (1913) "Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa" (Wladyslaw Starewicz) Russian Stop-Motion"

Merry Xmas! XmasFLIX.com

[parajocfan]

Wow, this brings back so many memories! I haven't seen this in years! Thank you for uploading this. It has really put me in the Christmas spirit!

[XmasFLIX]

@parajocfan Thanks for making it worth the effort! Merry Xmas - XmasFLIX.com

[stellamedusa]

I am 20 years-old as of writing this. I would watch this on a VHS compilation of Christmas shorts between the ages of 3 and 7. Never fathomed I'd someday watch this in such clarity, without the visual artifacts of a worn-out VHS cassette. Well done.

[XmasFLIX]

@stellamedusa nothing can compare to real film. :-)

Merry Xmas!

[txbrendart]

when i was 5 or 6 years old..(1964-65) my mother took me christmas shopping with her...there was a small kids theater set up in the shopping center (we call them malls now)...it was actually a place for shoppers to leave kids to keep them occupied...there i saw this short film...i never was able to find it again because being so young...i didn't know the title or the actors...i am now 51 and just happened on it here...during a random search...seeing this means more than you know...thankyou!

[TaraG89]

i love this this is my childhood Christmas movie !!!

[Hypsan]

@mrsmagloo May 2012 be a much brighter and happier year for you.

[beemelo]

same as everyone else, I was born in 1992 but my parents has this along with other shorts on a Jack Frost VHS, and it was my absolute favourite. if I ever dig it up I have to convert the VHS to DVD!

[mrsmagloo]

I can't find my Xmas tapes! So thanks for posting this. It's been a terrible year for me and my family, So I'm watching as many of favorite Xmas films as possible today. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[htpnk120]

now i really feel this christmas is complete.... :')

[ceeloshady3]

Notice, at 1:37 Santa "nose" what to do! LOL Love this, brings back sooo many memories... Now, quickly! I must go find my VHS tape of these Christmas shorts!