Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas" is a 25-minute animated short film from December 1973, which means not only that it is already 44 years old, but also that it is of course a Christmas-themed work as you may have guessed from the title already. I will not bother you with all the names of the writers and directors here as you can check these out for yourself. Same about the voice actors, but I must say I am not familiar with any of them. My loss I guess as here everybody's doing a decent job. The story is sweet too and I am not surprised at all about the name Freleng being linked to the project. Plus, the visual side is among the film's biggest strengths. The characters and locations/landscapes look really retro, really traditional and it goes well with the story of a rougher Winnie the Pooh finding out about Santa and the spirit of Christmas despite obstacles getting in his way like other bears who don't like Christmas at all. Oh yeah, the comedy in terms of plays on words here was great too like the one reference about the bear symbolizing bad times in the world of finance or the comment about building something with one's bear/bare hands that actually had me laugh out loud. So yeah, this is definitely a good choice for a harmless little fun film for the holidays. It also has a pretty nice message and I recommend this well-rounded effort. The one area where it came a bit short for me was the music, but that's entirely subjective. I'm sure many will like that aspect too. Go check it out.

Michael_Elliott The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973) *** (out of 4)This animated short starts off in a bear community where the honey factory is about to close down so that everyone can hibernate. This doesn't sit well with one bear because he wants to know what happens on Christmas morning so he sets out to find it. After a somewhat slow start I was worried this one here was going to be a dub but it actually turned out to be quite good and I'd say the ending was highly memorable as well. I'm not going to spoil the twist at the end but I thought it was quite touching and it certainly managed to end the film on a high note. I also really enjoyed the section of the film taking a look at a bear's life inside the factory. I thought the honey plant featured some pretty good animation with a lot of imagination. I found the bear characters to be mostly memorable and especially the lead one who wants to go against his kind, refuse sleep and try to find out about Santa. I'm sure kids will enjoy the cute looking bear and the adventure he goes on.

Nick Castrellon (macktruck909) I grew up watching this movie from 3 years old until I was about 12. At the time I thought it was a great cartoon, but 10 years later, after losing my original tape and paying $20 for a new copy at a pawn shop, I love this movie even more. Now I understand the story and it is the most touching Christmas special and it completes my Christmas holiday. If anyone is lucky enough to see this, please do, it will be worth it.

AbeStreet It seems that Christmas specials about bears trying to stay awake until Christmas are a dime a dozen. I can't count how many different specials I've seen using this scenario. However, this is one of the good stories. We, the viewers, follow Ted E. Bear on his journey to find Christmas through various hardships and trials. What he finds in the end is not what one might first expect given the way the show starts but is just as good if not better.I think the simple art work is great. It is simple and yet satisfying. Thumbs up to Tom Smothers, Barbara Feldon, Arte Johnson and the other actors who provided the voices.