| Disney Christmas Story | |
| Author: | Frank Reilly, Carl Fallberg, Floyd Norman |
| Illustrator: | 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 |
| Status: | Concluded annual Christmas strip |
| Syndicate: | King Features Syndicate |
| First: | November 28, 1960 |
| Last: | December 24, 1987 |
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.
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.
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]
| Title | Dates | Characters | Writers | Artists | INDUCKS link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Pan's Christmas Story | 1960 (Nov 28-Dec 24) | Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Tinker Bell, the Seven Dwarfs | Frank Reilly | Manuel Gonzales | CS 1 | |
| Pinocchio's Christmas Story | 1961 (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 Story | 1962 (Nov 26-Dec 24) | Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, the Good Fairies, Maleficent & Ludwig Von Drake | John Ushler | CS 3 | ||
| Three Little Pigs Christmas Story | 1963 (Nov 25-Dec 24) | The Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf & Li'l Bad Wolf | Floyd Gottfredson | CS 4 | ||
| Cinderella's Christmas Party | 1964 (Nov 23-Dec 24) | Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq, & the Fairy Godmother | Manuel Gonzales | CS 5 | ||
| Bambi's Christmas Adventure | 1965 (Nov 29-Dec 24) | Bambi, Flower & Mr. Stork | Floyd Gottfredson | CS 6 | ||
| Snow White's Christmas Surprise | 1966 (Nov 28-Dec 24) | Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil Queen | Mike Arens | CS 7 | ||
| Dumbo and the Christmas Mystery | 1967 (Nov 27-Dec 23) | Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, Mad Madam Mim, Maleficent & the Seven Dwarfs | CS 8 | |||
| Santa Claus in Neverland | 1968 (Nov 25-Dec 24) | Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Lost Boys, the Indian Girls, the Mermaids & the Pirates | Cliff Nordberg & Manuel Gonzales | CS 9 | ||
| The Quest for Christmas | 1969 (Dec 1-24) | The Seven Dwarfs, Who from Planet Galaxia, the Good Fairies | James Swain & Manuel Gonzales | CS 10 | ||
| Santa's Christmas Crisis | 1970 (Nov 30-Dec 24) | Maleficent, her raven & the Goon | John Ushler | CS 11 | ||
| The Christmas Conspiracy | 1971 (Dec 6-24) | The Beagle Boys, Gus, Jaq & Mr. Stork | Mike Arens | CS 12 | ||
| The Magic Christmas Tree | 1972 (Dec 4-23) | Merlin, Mad Madam Mim | John Ushler | CS 13 | ||
| A Castle for Christmas | 1973 (Dec 3-24) | Mr. Stork, Bambi & Thumper | CS 14 | |||
| Santa's Crucial Christmas | 1974 (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 Pirates | 1975 (Dec 1-24) | The Seven Dwarfs, Gus & Jaq | John Ushler | CS 16 | ||
| Captain Hook's Christmas Caper | 1976 (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 Christmas | 1977 (Dec 5-24) | Peter Pan, Gepetto, Stromboli, Honest John & the Fairy Godmother | Willie Ito & Larry Mayer | CS 18 | ||
| The Day Christmas Was Banned | 1978 (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 Grudge | 1979 (Dec 3-24) | Mad Madam Mim, Merlin & Wart | Tony Strobl & Mike Royer | CS 20 | ||
| Santa's Magical Christmas Helpers | 1980 (Dec 1-24) | Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, Br'er Bear & the Good Fairies | CS 21 | |||
| Cinderella's Christmas Crisis | 1981 (Nov 30-Dec 24) | Cinderella, Lucifer, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq & the Fairy Godmother | Tony Strobl & Steve Steere | CS 22 | ||
| The Mysterious Christmas Spell | 1982 (Nov 29-Dec 24) | Merlin, Wart, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil Queen | CS 23 | |||
| Christmas Comes to Neverland | 1983 (Nov 28-Dec 24) | Peter Pan, Wendy, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Pirates & the Crocodile | Willie Ito & Bill Langley | CS 24 | ||
| A Christmas Present for Mister Toad | 1984 (Dec 3-22) | Ratty, Mole, Honest John, Gideon & the Coachman | Tony Strobl & Steve Steere | CS 25 | ||
| Cruella's Very Furry Christmas | 1985 (Dec 2-24) | Cruella De Vil, Pongo, Perdita, Jasper & Horace | Floyd Norman | Willie 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 Gift | 1987 (Nov 30-Dec 24) | Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs, the Evil Queen & her raven | Carl Fallberg | Keith Moseley & Bill Langley | CS 28 |
| Disney Holiday Story | |
| Author: | Floyd Norman, Karen Kreider |
| Illustrator: | Richard Moore |
| Status: | Concluded annual Christmas strip |
| Syndicate: | King Features Syndicate |
| First: | November 30, 1992 |
| Last: | December 27, 1997 |
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.