It’s winter, once again. We’re “stuck inside” with nothing to do but watch TV. You’d think after this lifestyle being such a part of last year, we would be used to it, but it’s still easy to develop “cabin fever” and have an urgent need to get out and do something exciting…like walk to the mailbox.

As animation fans, instead of fighting the season, why not embrace it by looking back at some classic cartoons, in which some iconic cartoon characters celebrate winter?

The Art of Skiing (1941)

Of all of Disney’s “How to” Goofy short subjects, this one has the most amazingly executed sight gags. As the title suggests, Goofy is used as the model for proper ski instruction with the familiar tone of John McLeish, who narrated these Goofy shorts, guiding us through.

Veteran Disney Studio shorts director Jack Kinney is at the helm here and shows his usual knack for well-planned visual humor (a sequence in which Goofy attempts to put on his ski pants over his skis is particularly entertaining as it plays out).

Kinney also adds a nice touch of sarcastic humor to the proceedings. As Goofy first heads out on the ski lift, narrator McLeish adds, “If you smell something out of the ordinary, don’t be alarmed, it’s only fresh air.”

Additionally, juxtaposed against all of the “Goofy”-ness are some beautifully crafted backgrounds of the snow-covered mountains (still nice to look at, even as Goofy is separated from his skis while careening down the mountainside).

The Art of Skiing is also a part of Disney film history, as it is stated that this is the first time that the main character used what is now known as the “Goofy holler’ (“Yahoo-hoo-hooey!”).

This winter, save the risk of serious injury, skip the ski lift, stay home, watch this classic short and let Goofy do it for you.

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Snow Place Like Home (1948)

Who knew that Popeye the Sailor was a winter “snowbird?” That’s exactly what we learn at the start of this cartoon, as Popeye and Olive Oyl are relaxing in Miami Beach, when a tornado blows through, whisking the two of them all the way to the North Pole.

Here, Popeye is unable to thaw out Olive (who is literally encased in ice). He sees a penguin wearing a sign that advertises “Pierre’s Trading Post.” The two head there to purchase furs from Pierre (who looks suspiciously like a French-Canadian version of Bluto). But, as soon as Pierre sees Olive, he is smitten and attempts to get Popeye out of the picture.

What follows is a winter/snow-themed battle between Popeye and Bluto…er, Pierre. He tries to sell Popeye a bearskin coat, that a bear is still wearing, dumps Popeye into a barrel of grease (after which, a seal is enamored with him, through some mistaken identity) and even shoots Popeye by harpoon into the belly of a whale.

It’s here that Popeye eats his spinach and literally bursts out of the whale, turning it into a pile of “fresh fish” and wins Olive back from Pierre. Olive and Popeye end the cartoon by riding a sleigh led by a team of seals and a penguin, whose sign now reads “Miami or Bust!”

A very typical Paramount/Famous Studios outing for Popeye, directed by Seymour Kneitel who had helmed a number of Popeye cartoons. Here the artists take full advantage of the cold-weather setting and nice vocal work from Jack Mercer as Popeye (his lines like, “Oh Olive, what beautiful ice you’ve got,” can only be attributed to the improvisation that the actor was noted for).

Miami Beach had been the home of The Fleischer Studio, who gave the Sailor Man his start in film in 1933. In 1943, the Studio relocated to New York City, eventually becoming Famous Studios. One can only wonder if the warm-weather setting of Miami was the wishful thinking and hoping many have this time of year.

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Chilly Willy (1953)

Who better to spend a winter day with than this member of the Walter Lantz cartoon canon?

Chilly Willy the penguin made his debut in this 1953 short, directed by Paul Smith. In it, he looks much different than his later incarnation (redesigned by Tex Avery the following year) and his personality is less the cute-and-cuddly we would come to know and more aligned with the Woody Woodpecker-like trouble maker persona.

As this short opens, a St. Bernard mascot on a boat is left in charge by the captain to make sure no one comes on to the ship.

Enter Chilly Willy, singing his song “I’m so very unhappy, I don’t know what to do. My head is hot, my feet are cold. Ah-choo!” And he soon wants to, of course, get on board the ship to warm up and proceeds to drive the poor St. Bernard crazy. Willy winds up sending the dog for a trip aboard an “expanding ski jump” and forces him to make his way across dangerously thin ice, which Willy of course assists with cracking.

What’s most interesting about watching Chilly Willy is how much the title character changed from his debut. The pudgier, rounder look that the character would evolve into is much nicer from a design perspective, than this smaller, thinner version and Willy’s more innocent shenanigans are more fitting than the unnecessary cruelty we see here.

At the end of the short, as the St. Bernard resorts to drinking booze from a barrel, we as an audience can’t really blame him!

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The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)

A late-era entry in the Chuck Jones canon of Warner Bros. cartoons begins with the familiar trope of Bugs burrowing his way on vacation, this time to a snow-covered locale. He and Daffy Duck arrive, but it’s not Palm Springs (Bugs didn’t “turn left at East St. Louis”). They wind up in the “Hi-my-lay-us” mountains.

Upon realizing they’re lost, Daffy burrows back into the ground to go back to “Perth Amboy” and he winds up coming face to face with the Abominable Snowman (a hysterically designed, very Chuck-Jones-esque character).

Daffy has pulled his shirt up over his head with sleeves that look like ears, so Abominable thinks he’s a bunny. The Snowman is very dim-witted and declares, “Just what I always wanted! My own little bunny rabbit! I will name him “George” and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him!”

Daffy explains that he’s not a rabbit, but offers to show the Snowman where an actually rabbit is and brings him to Bugs, who, of course, eventually outwits both Duck and Snowman and borrows back to Palm Springs, after which the Snowman follows.

We then cut to sunny Palm Springs where the Snowman is relaying his tale to a stranger (Bugs in disguise). Daffy shows up, Bugs slips a “Bunny hood” on his head and Abominable begins “hugging and petting and squeezing” again…but he soon melts.

“What’ ya know?” says Bugs. “He was a Snowman!”

Daffy emerges from the puddle and declares, “Abominable!”

This short is filled with the timing that we would come to expect from Chuck Jones (here co-directing with Maurice Noble). When Daffy is being patted by the Snowman, he is calmly asking, “You’re hurting me, put me down please?” which just makes the proceedings that much funnier.

It’s also a beautiful short subject to watch, with the same snow-covered artistry that Jones and Noble would bring to How the Grinch Stole Christmas just five years later.

It’s a seldom discussed Warner Bros outing, but The Abominable Snow Rabbit is as funny and as classic as they come.

In fact, all of these cartoon short subjects may just be what a cold, winter afternoon ordered. Each one of them is as warm as a hug from the Abominable Snowman!