Rhythm in the Ranks (1941)

There is something quite Christmassy about this charming little stop-motion animation. A soldier gets distracted from dragging a great big cannon by an ice skater and so he goes to join her for some fun. Realising that he was now late for parade, he hurries back to his barracks but he forgets the gun! Dismissed in disgrace, he is reduced to painting everything he can get his brush to with camouflage paint. That’s just as well, because the screwball army have just declared war, and they look like they are going to wipe the floor with his erstwhile colleagues. Can he save the day and maybe even get the gal? I quite enjoyed this, especially the quite cleverly crafted ice dance routine and some of the action scenes at the end are skilfully put together, too. If you like a bit of Hans Christian Anderson set to music with mischief, then you might quite like this.