Arthur Rankin Jr.

Highest Rated: 95% Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Lowest Rated: 13% The King and I (1999)

Birthday: Jul 19, 1924

Birthplace: New York, New York, USA

One half of the celebrated animation production company Rankin/Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr. produced and directed some of the longest-running, universally adored holiday animated specials, including "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (NBC, 1964) and "Frosty the Snowman" (CBS, 1969), as well as "The Hobbit" (NBC, 1977) and weekly series like "ThunderCats" (syndicated, 1985-89). Rankin/Bass's stop-motion "Animagic" process imbued their efforts with a level of wonder and technical finesse that was underscored by the charm and genuine warmth of their stories, which often surpassed the fabricated emotions of bigger-budgeted studio and network efforts. Rankin/Bass produced an enormous array of animated projects between 1964 and 1987, as well as several live-action features and TV films, though none of these were held in the same regard as their holiday specials, which became an essential part of the season itself through yearly screenings, generation after generation. Arthur Rankin, Jr.'s best work with Jules Bass was not unlike the holiday itself: magical, moving and altogether memorable.

Filmography

Movies

			Credit
13%	41%	The King and I	Producer	$12.0M	1999
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Mumm-Ra Lives	Executive Producer	-	1987
No Score Yet	70%	Wind in the Willows	Director	-	1987
No Score Yet	92%	The Flight of Dragons	Director	-	1982
73%	86%	The Last Unicorn	Director, Producer	-	1982
No Score Yet	35%	The Bushido Blade	Producer	-	1981
14%	37%	Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July	Director	-	1980
67%	39%	The Return of the King	Director	-	1980
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	The Ivory Ape	Producer	-	1980
No Score Yet	41%	The Bermuda Depths	Producer	-	1978
69%	65%	The Hobbit	Director, Producer, Production Design	-	1977
No Score Yet	50%	The Last Dinosaur	Producer	-	1977
No Score Yet	70%	The First Christmas: The First Christmas Snow	Director, Producer	-	1975
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Marco	Producer	-	1973
No Score Yet	70%	Here Comes Peter Cottontail	Director, Producer	-	1971
93%	80%	Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town	Director, Producer	-	1970
73%	72%	Frosty the Snowman	Director	-	1969
75%	61%	The Little Drummer Boy	Director	-	1968
63%	42%	King Kong Escapes	Producer	-	1968
70%	68%	Mad Monster Party?	Writer, Producer	-	1967
No Score Yet	40%	The Daydreamer	Screenwriter, Producer	-	1966
No Score Yet	60%	Willy McBean and His Magic Machine	Director	-	1965
95%	82%	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer	Producer	-	1964
No Score Yet	50%	Return to Oz	Producer	-	1964