Alias St. Nick: A weird little slice of holiday malice

If you have ten minutes to kill and a high tolerance for vintage, slightly unnerving black-and-white animation, Alias St. Nick is worth a look. It is strictly for animation history nerds or people who like their Christmas cheer with a side of predatory stalking. If you hate old cartoons where characters move with that weird, jittery fluidity, stay far away.

The whole thing hinges on a cat who is honestly way too smart for his own good. He hears the mice talking about Santa Claus and decides to exploit their childhood innocence for a quick meal. It is genuinely dark when you think about it.

The animation style feels very much of its era—lots of round shapes and bouncy, elastic physics. There is this one shot where the cat is trying to squeeze into a Santa suit that is clearly three sizes too small, and the way the fabric stretches is oddly tactile. You can almost smell the mothballs on that red velvet.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Day Dreams, where the chaos just keeps escalating until the frame feels like it might burst. The mice are cute, I guess, but they are mostly just props for the cat to scheme against.

There is a moment where the cat is practicing his 'Ho Ho Ho' and his face contorts in a way that is actually pretty creepy. He looks less like a jolly saint and more like a guy who is about to cause a localized disaster. It’s those little, messy details that make it feel alive.

Notes from the couch:

• The cat’s fake beard is held on by what looks like a single, prayer-thin piece of string.
• The mice are surprisingly philosophical about Santa’s existence before they get interrupted.
• The ending is exactly what you expect, but the execution has a satisfying, slapstick thud to it.
• Why is there no chimney in this mouse house? It feels like a design oversight.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be. It just wants to show you a cat getting his comeuppance in a snowy landscape. Sometimes that is exactly what a movie needs to be.

I wouldn't call this heartwarming, but it definitely has character. It captures that specific, slightly frantic tone you find in a lot of mid-century shorts, where the stakes are life-or-death but everyone is still dancing around to the music. Watch it, don't watch it—the cat is going to lose either way. 🎅🐈