Hardrock, Coco, and Joe, The Three Little Dwarfs

On December 18, 1956, WGN-TV’s “Garfield Goose and Friends” introduced Chicago area children to Santa Claus’ three favorite elves, Hardrock, Coco and Joe. At two-feet-high, Hardrock drove Santa’s sleigh while Coco navigated and Joe tagged along for fun. To create the animated short or “song cartoonette”, Hill & Range Songs hired Centaur Productions. The company was established in the early 1950s by Wah Ming Chang, a sculptor in Walt Disney’s Effects and Model Department who created the model of Pinocchio; and George Pal, a producer and Academy Award nominee. The shorts were produced in black-and-white using stop-motion animation, a cinematic process that brings figures or puppets to life by minutely reposing and photographing them frame-by-frame, resulting as fluid movement on screen. To purchase this DVD in a digitally remastered format, visit The Museum of Broadcast Communications at www.tvondvdshop.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

  • F1315NJ

    @wyvernsc You have no heart and soul for nostalgia…

  • melikeymakemusic

    The happier they get, the more oriental they get.

  • 50zcarsman

    I can’t help but think that if this were remade today everything would move at lightning speed, no scene would last more than 3 seconds, a loud techno soundtrack would play throughout, Santa would fling a rope tied to a batarang-type thing down the chimney, the elves would all be wearing muscled outfits that showed them real buff, and multi-camera perspectives would be everywhere — a shot up the chimney, pan-out from Blitzen’s eye, a 360-deg. shot, and the simple, heartwarming narrative lost.

  • Christheatheist1

    OMG! I was a kid in the 50s an this took me all the way back. Thanks!

  • buttonguy76

    @normbreyfogle If you read the description under the video..a Japenese artist designed the characters and worked for Disney..that’s my guess.

  • snarkus63

    I ‘ve gotta admit,I’m curious about how the creators of this came up with the elfin name “Hardrock”….which,in 1956,didn’t have the same connotation it has today.

  • terrio777

    Seattle you are so correct. Only our generation can enjoy this and it brings back such fond memories.

  • parkman35

    Santa looks like he’s on an acid trip…

  • normbreyfogle

    I remember this one from 40 years ago, and how I thought it strange that Santa appears oriental. : )

  • timstv75

    @rcarmes1941 so true. this took work. those images are real unlike computer animation

  • timstv75

    thanks for posting this. it isnt christmas till i hear this.

  • ronv11

    yes yes yes yes yes

  • tikibongo99

    I just bought the three dwarves dvd from the museum. Even on the dvd, they had the nerve to put their stupid mbc logo constantly on the screen. Plus, the quality is low grade, much worse than what you see here. The mbc is a scam !

  • V3n0mCarna93

    thumbs up if Paul Dini brought you here..

  • bikamper

    I found a copy of this about 15 years ago and for Christmas I had the whole fam damily over to the house. My wife and I asked our respective siblings to sit on the couch with us to watch something on TV. When this started playing, all us forty-somethings started singing with it. Our teenagers thought we were nuts and our folks chuckled a bit but us middle agers were 6 years old again. Funny that we all had tears in eyes when it was over.

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