A Very Merry Cricket Prolongs the Goodwill of A Cricket in Times Square

If you're lucky enough to strike gold with a children's movie or series, it stands to reason that a sequel or a Christmas special are likely future possibilities. It didn't take Chuck Jones long to follow his adaptation of George Selden's A Cricket in Times Square with A Very Merry Cricket, in which feisty Tucker Mouse (Mel Blanc) and gentle Harry Cat (Les Tremayne), fed up with the materialistic rabble of a New York Christmas, decide to pay a visit to their dear friend Chester C. Cricket (Tremayne) in hopes that he can return with them and remind the frazzled New Yorkers that Christmas should be a time of peace, joy and brotherhood.

There is just as much music in this second cricket cartoon as in the first. More, actually, because Chester's wings are not the only music makers. Harry and Tucker have a chance to sing, and even Chester occasionally uses his voice for tuneful purposes for a change. Because this is a Christmas special, there are snippets of several traditional Christmas songs, sometimes with altered lyrics. Chester also slyly adapts Three Blind Mice to fool a lanky alley cat (Blanc) who intends to make supper out of Tucker, and Tucker launches into a tirade against human consumerism that sounds suspiciously like My Fair Lady's A Hymn to Him.

And while watching this Christmassy sequel, it's inevitable to draw comparisons with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, perhaps the most famous Chuck Jones special of them all. In some ways, wise-cracking Tucker is a lot like the grouchy Grinch. He observes all the holiday hullabaloo with disgust, recalling the Grinch's agitated objections to all the "noise, noise, noise, NOISE!" In Dr. Seuss's story, the Grinch catches the Christmas spirit when he hears the Whos singing, devoid of their traditional trimmings. In A Very Merry Cricket, it takes the song of one sincere insect to spread the Christmas spirit to every citizen of a chaotic city.

Like many of Jones' productions, it has a message that it hammers over the heads of the viewers, but the heavy-handedness doesn't bother me this time around. We're treated to scene after scene of cacophony as shoppers shove each other and traffic blares and hideous animatronic Santas boom out stilted Christmas greetings. How different Chester's stirring wingsong sounds from all that clatter!

But along with the message of "Peace on Earth, goodwill to men," there are also several action-packed escape sequences: Tucker from a very persistent Connecticut cat, Harry from a belligerent Connecticut dog, Chester from relentless New York feet. Not to mention a fantastic toboggan ride inspiring Tucker to sing, "Oh, what fun it is to ride on a one-cat open sleigh!"

It's not quite as classic as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but fans of the first Chester, Tucker and Harry cartoon should find A Very Merry Cricket to be very merry indeed.