Lucky's Christmas Tree

Lucky's Christmas Tree is a Cayden the Rabbit short, released on November 21, 1972.

Synopsis
Cayden and Lucky go out to get their Christmas tree. While out in the forest, Lucky tries to sniff one out and catches the attention of Knick and Knock, who toss one of their snowballs at his rear end. Lucky gives chase after them and they hide in a nearby fir tree. To their surprise, Cayden has picked this as his Christmas tree and chops it down. Cayden and Lucky drag it home, unaware that they're bringing Knick 'n' Knock with it.

At home, Cayden and Lucky decorate the tree, inside Cayden's house which Knick 'n' Knock walk around, amazed at the sight of the ornaments and lights. Knock notices Cayden hanging a candy cane and sticks out a twig for Cayden to hang one, but ends up receiving a round blue ornament, to his surprise. After Cayden finishes decorating the tree, Lucky sits down to admire their work when he suddenly notices one of the lights is blinking. He sticks his nose close by and finds that Knock was messing around with it. Knick pulls Knock back outside of the tree, while Lucky and Knock bark and meow at each other, and then Knock taunts Lucky by tossing some of the ornaments at the floor, making the dog dive to catch them. Cayden comes in to put some wrapped gifts under the tree and, thinking Lucky's messing around, puts the ornaments back on the tree, unwittingly placing one of them on Knock's nose. Knock scurries up the tree with the ornament, and when Lucky tries to point it out to Cayden, Knock disappears into the tree with it before Cayden can notice.

Lucky then sees that Knock has sneaked out of the tree to go take some milk and fish from a bowl on the table nearby and then stands guard in front of the tree, preventing Knock from going back in. He chases Knock to the chimney, where the cat tries to disguise himself as one of Cayden's miniature Santa candles, but Lucky sees right through his disguise. Cayden comes back in with another present and Lucky tries to point Knock out to him, but Cayden thinks Lucky is begging for him to light the candles. After Cayden applies the flames to them, Knick notices his pal is in trouble again, as he runs to him, extinguishes the fire on Knock's hat, and runs off with him. Lucky chases them again, during which he gets his feet caught in some of the gift boxes, and climbs on Cayden's ladder that he left by the tree. The cats close up the ladder and cause Lucky to fall off of it. Furiously, Lucky jumps into the tree to attack them.

Cayden runs back in to find Lucky messing up the tree and, despite his effort to pull him out, all the needles and decorations are broken and shaken off the tree. Cayden is about to punish Lucky for ruining the tree, but then suddenly notices Knick 'n' Knock on one of the remaining branches. Although Lucky still wants to get rid of them, Cayden is willing to have them stay for Christmas. Just then, they hear singing outside and go to the nearby window, where they see Angela, Bullwinkle, Rocky, and Woody caroling "Deck the Halls". Knick 'n' Knock sing along with them, and then Lucky tries to do so as well, but he sounds so bad that the cats slap a "Do Not Open Til Xmas" sticker on his mouth.

Voice actors

 * Phil Monroe - Cayden the Rabbit and Knick (imitating Moe Howard)
 * Bill Scott - Bullwinkle J Moose and Lucky
 * Frank Welker (imitating Curly Howard) - Knock
 * Norma MacMillan- Angela the Rabbit
 * June Foray - Rocky the Flying Squirrel
 * Grace Stafford - Woody Woodpecker

Television

 * The Joey Drew Hour, episode #4.24: "Four Tales on a Rabbit"
 * Joey Drew's Cayden and Woody, episode #51
 * A Joey Drew Christmas Gift
 * A Universal Channel Christmas
 * Good Morning, Cayden, Episode #80
 * The Ink and Paint Shop, Episode #1.59: "Anna & Marshall"

Home video
VHS


 * A Joey Drew Christmas
 * A Joey Drew Christmas Gift
 * Cayden the Rabbit: Lucky's Christmas Tree/Toy Capers (2002 UK VHS)

DVD


 * Cayden the Rabbit: Lucky's Christmas Tree/Toy Capers (2002 UK DVD)
 * Cayden the Rabbit Saves Christmas (2003 DVD)
 * Joey Drew Productions' 80th Anniversary Collection: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume 2

Blu-ray


 * The Grinch

Streaming

 * Peacock

Trivia

 * The footage for this short was used in the Universal Sing-Alongs volume, Very Merry Christmas Songs for the song "Deck the Halls".
 * This is one of the few Joey Drew shorts directed by Gene Deitch.
 * Over the years, people stated this cartoon as a Lucky cartoon (as stated on the original theatrical poster), but was discovered in recent years that it was originally a Cayden the Rabbit cartoon all this time.
 * This short is the first complete Cayden the Rabbit cartoon to be shown on television, airing on BBC1 Christmas Day of 1990.
 * This is Cayden the Rabbit's first animated interaction with Knick 'n Knock.
 * The Christmas tree and fireplace from the short are featured in the queue of the Universal Studios Florida version of Cayden and Angela's Runaway Railway as part of the Cayden the Rabbit history exhibit.