First up is “Pluto’s Christmas Tree” from 1952. Mickey and Pluto are in search of the perfect Christmas tree, while Chip & Dale are in search of acorns for the holiday. Chip and Dale begin teasing Pluto once they see him, and Pluto chases after them. Mickey finally finds one not realizing that Chip and Dale were in that particular tree. (Maybe Pluto should have barked up this tree!) Once inside, Mickey begins to decorate the tree. Chip and Dale begin to love their new surrounding (and home!) Dale decides to get in on the fun of decorating and pulls a small branch from inside the tree. He sticks out the branch, and Mickey places on ornament on it. Dale pulls the ornament inside the tree, and begins to have some fun with it. Dale then plays with Christmas lights, making one blink. He then sees Pluto’s nose thinking it is a bulb and begins to twist it. Then, Chip and Dale begin to have fun with Pluto. While that goes on, it gets out of control that Mickey comes in to see what all the fuss is about. He is then in the middle of it all. The tree gets destroyed, and Mickey gets mad at Pluto for all the mess he created. But before Mickey could punish Pluto, he notices Chip and Dale near the top of the tree. Soon after, Mickey hears some Christmas caroling going on outside, and it’s Minnie, Donald and Goofy singing “Deck The Halls.” Chip and Dale join in, and Pluto does as well, but Chip and Dale put and end to it by slapping on a “Do Not Open Til Xmas” sticker on Pluto’s mouth.
The next short we saw was “Toy Tinkers” from 1949, featuring Donald Duck and Chip and Dale. Anytime Donald is paired with Chip and Dale in a Disney short, you know it’s going to be funny, and “Toy Tinkers” is no exception. In this short, Chip and Dale are curious to know what Donald is up to after they see him chop down a Christmas tree in the forest and take it home. They slide down the hill, and see nuts and candy inside through a window. Of course, Chip and Dale find a way to get in and enjoy some treats for themselves. There’s only one problem: Donald sees them and begins to use the toys to get back at them. Chip and Dale see what Donald is doing come up with a plan of their own to get at Donald. Soon after, Donald builds a fort, and the chipmunks and Donald battle it out. Chip and Dale successfully bombard Donald with ornaments from a toy cannon. Dale soon takes a telephone and sneaks it into Donald’s fort. They ring the phone, and Donald answers as they transmit direct cannon fire. This goes on two more times. Donald then surrenders as Chip and Dale march back to their tree with the help of the toys.
The final short we saw was “The Night Before Christmas,” a Silly Symphony from 1933. I don’t believe I had ever seen this short, so it was definitely new to me. (You can kind of call this short a sequel to “Santa’s Workshop,” which was released in 1932.) One thing that surprised me was the Disneyland connection to this Silly Symphony. Donald Novis, the narrator of the short, co-wrote the script for the original “Golden Horseshoe Revue” with Wally Boag. Novis also starred in the show. He also sang in several movie soundtracks, and even recorded the Academy Award nominated song “Love Is A Song” from the animated feature “Bambi.” In “The Night Before Christmas,” Santa is delivering presents and stops at one house to make his delivery. He decorates the house, places the presents underneath the tree, and has some fun with the toys as they come alive. The 8 kids upstairs hear the commotion upstairs, and rush downstairs to see what is fuss is about. A 9th kid, a baby, also crawls down the stairs. The kids happily play with their new presents as Santa leaves and continues on his way.
After the shorts were seen, Stacia made an appearance and once again gave away a sketch. This sketch had Pluto with the “Do Not Open Til Xmas” sticker over his mouth. One lucky guest won the sketch, and it was determined by seat number. Everyone received another red or green Annual Passholder exclusive ornament.
A list of “Wednesdays with Walt” presentations is available on Disneyland Annual Passholder website. Show times for each week’s presentations are made available every Tuesday on the Disneyland Annual Passholders Facebook page.