What is the name of the children's animated Christmas movie wherein a
tailor falls ill just before Christmas and is unable to complete his
commission of some work of clothing for a logal regent or royal, and
his cat, which wear boots and has a gruff demeanor, completes the
project for him while he sleeps?

This is -not- the standard Puss'n'Boots tale.

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 09 Jan 2005 16:42 PST

"The Tailor of Gloucester"?

"No thanks to his naughty cat Simpkin, the tailor of Gloucester has no
more twisted silk to finish the coat he has promised the mayor for his
wedding on Christmas Day. With the help of some special friends, the
tailor finds that a kind favor is returned. A sensitive retelling and
colorful music combine to beautifully evoke the period, flavor, and
subtle humor of this wry tale from Beatrix Potter (author of Peter
Rabbit). "
http://www.greattapes.com/gt/product.phtml/tailorglou

""A very sweet story of a tailor, his cat, and a group of mice who
save his business when he is too ill to work."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486201767/

Is this the movie?

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Clarification of Question by davepl-ga on 09 Jan 2005 17:03 PST

I'm not 100% certain, but I think you're right!

Okay, then, we'll make "The Tailor of Gloucester" the answer here.

There seem to have been several different movie versions of this
Beatrix Potter story.

There's the Meryl Streep-narrated version that I mentioned above.
Here's the Amazon listing for that:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6301046242/
(I get the impression that this version features book illustrations
rather than "animation").

However, there's another animated version that, at least from its
cover, appears to be a bit more "cartoonish," and, as such, may be a
likelier candidate for the film that you remember. That version is
available from Goodtimes Home Video. Here's the Amazon.com listing;
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DHKE/


Finally, for completeness, I should mention that there's a live-action
version starring Ian Holm:
http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/026359133459BT.html 

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search strategy:
animated tailor christmas

If "Tailor of Gloucester" turns out to not be right, please let me
know via the "request clarification" feature. Thanks.

I haven't viewed the movie to confirm, but it sounds convincly right,
and the answer was prompt, so I'm going to assume you're right!