Disney Christmas Story


Disney Christmas Story is an American Disney comic strip that appeared each year in the weeks before Christmas, beginning in 1960. 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. 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. 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. The collection includes all of the Christmas stories except for 1986's story based on Song of the South.

Development

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, and the 1971 story features a rare comic-strip appearance by the Beagle Boys.
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.
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." Norman's first story featured only characters from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and his second characters from Song of the South.
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. All six storylines were written by Floyd Norman, and illustrated by Richard Moore.

Disney Christmas Story

TitleDatesCharactersWritersArtistsINDUCKS
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Peter Pan's Christmas Story1960
Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Tinker Bell, the Seven DwarfsFrank ReillyManuel Gonzales
Pinocchio's Christmas Story1961
Pinocchio, Geppetto, Jiminy Cricket, Stromboli, Honest John, Gideon & the Blue FairyFrank ReillyChuck Fuson & Manuel Gonzales
Sleeping Beauty's Christmas Story1962
Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, the Good Fairies, Maleficent & Ludwig Von DrakeFrank ReillyJohn Ushler
Three Little Pigs Christmas Story1963
The Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf & Li'l Bad WolfFrank ReillyFloyd Gottfredson
Cinderella's Christmas Party1964
Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq, & the Fairy GodmotherFrank ReillyManuel Gonzales
Bambi's Christmas Adventure1965
Bambi, Flower & Mr. StorkFrank ReillyFloyd Gottfredson
Snow White's Christmas Surprise1966
Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil QueenFrank ReillyMike Arens
Dumbo and the Christmas Mystery1967
Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, Mad Madam Mim, Maleficent & the Seven DwarfsFrank ReillyMike Arens
Santa Claus in Neverland1968
Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Lost Boys, the Indian Girls, the Mermaids & the PiratesFrank ReillyCliff Nordberg & Manuel Gonzales
The Quest for Christmas1969
The Seven Dwarfs, Who from Planet Galaxia, the Good FairiesFrank ReillyJames Swain & Manuel Gonzales
Santa's Christmas Crisis1970
Maleficent, her raven & the GoonFrank ReillyJohn Ushler
The Christmas Conspiracy1971
The Beagle Boys, Gus, Jaq & Mr. StorkFrank ReillyMike Arens
The Magic Christmas Tree1972
Merlin, Mad Madam MimFrank ReillyJohn Ushler
A Castle for Christmas1973
Mr. Stork, Bambi & ThumperFrank ReillyJohn Ushler
Santa's Crucial Christmas1974
Timothy Q. Mouse, the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Robin Hood, Little John, the Three Little Pigs, Gus, Jaq, Merlin & the Big Bad WolfFrank ReillyTom McKimson
Santa and the Pirates1975
The Seven Dwarfs, Gus & JaqFrank ReillyJohn Ushler
Captain Hook's Christmas Caper1976
The Three Little Pigs, Br'er Bear, Missus Bear, Honest John, the Big Bad Wolf, the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio & ArchimedesCarl FallbergLorna Smith & Larry Mayer
No Puppets for Christmas1977
Peter Pan, Gepetto, Stromboli, Honest John & the Fairy GodmotherCarl FallbergWillie Ito & Larry Mayer
The Day Christmas Was Banned1978
Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Mr. Stork, Dumbo, Skippy & the Robin Hood KidsCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Larry Mayer
Madam Mim's Christmas Grudge1979
Mad Madam Mim, Merlin & WartCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Mike Royer
Santa's Magical Christmas Helpers1980
Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, Br'er Bear & the Good FairiesCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Mike Royer
Cinderella's Christmas Crisis1981
Cinderella, Lucifer, Anastasia, Drizella, Gus, Jaq & the Fairy GodmotherCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Steve Steere
The Mysterious Christmas Spell1982
Merlin, Wart, the Seven Dwarfs & the Evil QueenCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Steve Steere
Christmas Comes to Neverland1983
Peter Pan, Wendy, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the Pirates & the CrocodileCarl FallbergWillie Ito & Bill Langley
A Christmas Present for Mister Toad1984
Ratty, Mole, Honest John, Gideon & the CoachmanCarl FallbergTony Strobl & Steve Steere
Cruella's Very Furry Christmas1985
Cruella De Vil, Pongo, Perdita, Jasper & HoraceFloyd NormanWillie Ito & Mike Royer
A Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Christmas!1986
Uncle Remus, Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear & Br'er FoxFloyd NormanKeith Moseley & Larry Mayer
Snow White's Sinister Christmas Gift1987
Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs, the Evil Queen & her ravenCarl FallbergKeith Moseley & Bill Langley

Disney Holiday Story

The tradition was revived in 1992 to publicize contemporary Disney feature animated films. All six storylines were written by Floyd Norman, and illustrated by Richard Moore. These stories only included the cast of the featured movie; there were no special crossovers with other characters.