A Very Merry Cricket (1973)

We all know Chuck Jones' classic TV special based on Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but I thought it might be fun to revisit some of Jones' other Christmas-related cartoons during the next few days.

During the 1970s, Jones independently produced a few TV specials including the one below. 1973's A Very Merry Cricket is actually a sequel to an earlier Jones special A Cricket in Times Square based on the book by George Selden. Don't worry, if you haven't seen the first one, you'll get a recap in this. It features the voices of Les Tremayne and Mel Blanc and is actually quite charming.



Six of these Jones television specials (including all three "Cricket" cartoons) have been gathered on a single DVD release titled The Chuck Jones Collection.