Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town Reviews

A really wonderful Christmas special from Rankin and Bass. I kind of wish I had these growing up, but I'm glad they are still around today. Fred Astaire plays a mailman that decides to educate us about the origins of Santa Claus. This was done in a very original way, and handled a lot of the traditions in a way I hadn't heard before. In the town of Somber, toys are outlawed. Enter Kris Kringle, a man raised by Elves that love to make toys and have no way of delivering them. We are introduced to some wonderful chaarcters, such as The Winter Warlock and Topper the lost penguin. The songs aren't as memorable as other specials, but the film has so much creativity and charm that I was taken in by it all. Will certainly be promoted to my yearly watchings.

A fantastic film from the minds of Rankin Bass that is very creative and has great plot, characters, comedy, songs, and animation, and one more thing BURGERMEISTER MEISTERBURGER, that is all

A true Christmas classic and a holiday season "must-watch" at my house. I'm not sure how many times I've seen it, but I know the words to EVERY song in it. (ho ho ho)

Creative ideas behind old kris kringle, but also pretty creepy. Kids must sit on his lap and pay the fine of a kiss to him for presents from a stranger? Yikes. But it teaches us that we can change the world by giving people toy trains, for all evil dictators and cold hearted women can't resist a wooden piece of crap.

A boring Christmas special from Rankin-Bass, which doesn't come close to the greatness of Rudolph and Frosty. The supposed history of Santa Claus depicted here just wasn't too magical or interesting. I sold the DVD promptly.

The story of Santa Claus. My second favorite Christmas show, after A Christmas Carol.

the best christmas movie of all time

Classic holiday special

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town stands as the best of the stop-motion animated Christmas classics. Featuring the talents of Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, and the Westminster Children's Choir, this feature is excellently cast. The story is particularly clever in creating an origin story that interweaves and explains all the elements of the Santa Claus mythology: the red suit, flying reindeer, Christmas stockings, etc. The animation is especially well done and is charming in an old fashion way. And, the music plays well with the story and added to its enjoyment. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is an enjoyable romp that sparks the magic of childhood.

It is extremely slow-paced, but overall Tim Allen can't touch this. This is a very honest very family friendly "re-telling" of Santa Claus. A definite recommend.

Mickey Rooney as Santa= yuck, but the the movie is a classic.

Although I'm not normally a fan of this type of animation, I enjoyed the story they created to explain santa claus.

Not one of the ones you can watch every year but cute.

This movie is awesome, the story of Santa Claus, how can you resist! Best of All it's Narrated by Fred Astaire.

A super classic Christmas tale...still makes me tear up!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's okay to start signing the old Christmas standards, right? Okay. *clears my throat* Ohhhhhhhhhh......no I won't go there. But you know, it's amazing how a single song can be made into a full family holiday classic. And if ever there was a studio that had the talent do do that, it was Rankin Bass. Compared to the features churned out by Rankin Bass, other more recent ones such as Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer (yes, there's really an animated feature based on that song), pale in comparison. Sure the latter feature is actually hand drawn. It's a refreshing change of pace to see hand drawn animation again. But, by comparison, it simply didn't have the heart of the classic Rankin Bass features. Every RB feature has heart. But if there's one that's really got some heart behind it, it's Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town first debuted on television in 1970. It was right in the thick of the RB productions. It was also the only of the RB features to really show the influence of the time in which it was crafted. The concept of Burgermeister Meisterburger's authoritarian rule, and Jessica's psychadelic song cue were mirrors to what was going on in America at the time this special debuted. Younger audiences probably wouldn't be able to graps such concepts. But parents likely would. While younger audiences may not get the political messages thrown into the special, they're more likely to get the double moral message that's included.

One of the moral messages included in the story emphasizes the importance of a single kind act. When Kris (Mickey Rooney) gives the Winter Warlock a little toy engine, the Warlock goes from being a powerful, mean being to a kind, caring individual. If ever there was a simple way to illustrate the effect of a single kind act, that is it. Sure his magic didn't exactly work after his cold exterior melted. But he did regain some of his powers over time. His regained powers tie into another important aspect of the special. That aspect will be discussed momentarily. As for the other moral message, that message is similar to that of A Miser Brothers Christmas. It's just done in a different fashion. In Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Kris sings to the Winter Warlock, "You put one foot in front of the other/and soon you'll be walkin' out that door". What he's really saying is you need to keep moving forward, rather than allowing yourself to live in the past, hold grudges, etc. He was telling the Warlock that before he became simply, Mr. Winter, he turned into the Winter Warlock because he lived in the past. He held those grudges. Again, yet another great, illustration of a moral that kids'll easily get, even today.

Now, back to the warlock's powers. He uses them to light up the trees during the wedding of Kris and Jessica. But before that, the warlock visibly prays. He closes his eyes, clasps his hands, and prays that his pwoers will work just a little. In relation, at the beginning of the wedding sequence, there is mention of Kris and Jessica being married in the forest before God, as no church would have them. This could bring up some interesting discussion points. But that's not the intention here. As brief as the moment is, it's one more aspect of the special that makes it so important, culturally speaking. It's just one of many points in the story that seamlessly tie Christian religious elements into the secular story of how Kris Kringle became one of the most well known symbols of Christmas.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is one of the most beloved holiday specials of all time. It's also among the most beloved of the many specials created by Rankin Bass. As simple of a movie as it is on the surface, it has so much more depth. Because of that immense depth and substance, it is and always will be among the greatest holiday movies/specials of the past, present, and future.

The origin of Santa Claus is explored in this Rankin/Bass classic. I think this one is okay...it is no Rudolph, and it isn't as fun as Frosty...but it is a fairly good holiday special, with decent animation and an interesting take on the life story of Jolly Old St. Nick.

There are a few nice things about this special, not the least of which is the stop-motion animation. But there are also a lot of obnoxious things, like Santa's honking penguin sidekick for god-knows what reason and voice-overs by children (which is a personal pet peeve of mine).

Just one more classic Christmas movie that should be paired up with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

It is a classic at Christmas time! I'm not always big on claymation but for many reasons this one is pretty fun!