The greatest shootout in the history of the great wild west can be found in Jeff Hale's The Great Toy Robbery. This animation short recounts one of the many untold stories of how Santa Claus - with the help of some law-abiding friends - saves Christmas from a trio of greedy, trigger-happy bandits .
The Beginning, Middle and End of "The Great Toy Robbery"
Riding through the desert one fine evening, Jolly ol' Saint Nick (along with his single, but loyal reindeer), is accosted by three bandits hiding behind a large boulder. What do they want? What else, but Santa's goodies!
After robbing poor ol'Santa, the bandits decide to let their hair down in the nearest saloon. Upon entering the establishment, the music stops playin' and the dancing girl stops dancin' as the townfolk freeze in horror at the sight of the three angry bandits sporting one mean, dirty look.
The saloon is respectfully handed over to its new visitors who shuffle across the room like a trio of synchronized swimmers covered with hairy armpits and large moustaches. They find a corner, open the bag of goodies and party like it's nineteen ninety-nine. In a matter of seconds, the dirty drink hole of a saloon is transformed into a veritable playground stocked with Santa's finest playthings.
Whose to save the day?
Enter our cowboy hero; saviour of all pilgrim-kind, the most handsomest able-bodied gunslinging peacekeeping good ol'boy the wild west could ever hope for! And be a savior he would, if could only stay on his horse! The cowboy enters the saloon only to be "asked" by the bandits to vacate the premises. Our lovable, handsome cowboy quietly steps outside.
However, the townsfolk shan't despair as jolly ol' Saint Nick along with the local sheriff take back the night with a good ol' fashioned showdown. They enter the saloon, fight the bandits only to force them out of the main entrance of the establishment where they run into our cowboy hero armed with a wild horse and loaded guitar.
Jeff Hale - Writer, Director and Animator
Jeff Hale has worked extensively within the animation industry since the early 60s. His first animation short appeared within a film collection sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada's Hors-D'oeuvre. Since then Hale has worked as a writer, director and animator in a variety of projects including Christmas Cracker (1962), Heavy Metal (1981), and Transformers (1984).
National Film Board of Canada Online
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is proudly joined the next frontier in Canadian broadcasting – the Internet. The NFB has opened up its treasure chest of beloved favourites and forgotten classics for free online viewing. Canadians can also view new releases and subscribe to the NFB newsletter, RSS feed and blog. This site is funded in part by Heritage Canada’s Canadian Culture Online.
Credits for "The Great Toy Robbery
- Voice and Narration: Richard Gilbert
- Director: Jeff Hale
- Animation: Jeff Hale and Cameron Guess
- Sound: George Croll, Karl Duplessis and Don Wellington
- Music: Donald Douglas
- Producers: Wolf Koenig, Robert Verrall and Tom Daly
- Produced by the National Film Board of Canada
- Running Time: 8min 27s
Michael Falcone - My Suite101 articles represent my first attempts to experiment and learn the craft of online writing. Since 2009, I've had the opportunity ...
