Review written by Christian Garcia
On the 8th Day of Christmas, good CG told me: you better not shout, you better not cry because... Santa Claus is Comin to Town!
Background:
Santa Claus is Comin To Town was a Christmas special produced by Rankin/Bass after the likes of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Little Drummer Boy. Like the previous films, it was filmed using stop motion animation which is a style that Rankin/Bass is both famous and infamous for and has been parodied in other shows like South Park and Fairly OddParents.
The film stars Mickey Rooney as Santa and tells the origin story of Santa Claus and answers a lot of common questions kids had about him like why he’s called Chris Kringle, or why he has a big beard, or why he goes down chimneys. Fred Astaire plays the narrator SD Kluger and guides the viewer through the story.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoy the creative ways that the film chooses to explain Santa’s origins. I liked how he was raised by toy making elves who taught him everything he knows. I also love the connection they created between Santa and the creatures of the forest even explaining that they were the ones who taught him his iconic laugh. I also admire the choice to have Santa be shown as a young man with no beard or big belly throughout most of the film. I love the idea of slowly putting the pieces together of what would become Santa.
I agree that the Rankin/Bass style has not aged very well. There are too many moments where the characters have these creepy expressionless faces that scared me as a child. The first moment that comes to mind is when Santa gets captured by the Winter Warlock and he makes this very creepy face that, combined with the scary musical score, would always scared me.
However, despite the scary imagery, I do still find a unique charm to the Rankin/Bass style. Yes it is very cheap looking but I do appreciate how much they were able to make with what they had and their characters were all unique and memorable looking, especially the designs in Rudolph.
I also do like some of the musical numbers in this film particularly “One Foot in Front of the Other” and “The Toymakers to the King.” Having watched the film again for this review, I found myself remembering and humming along to these numbers. They’re fun and whimsical which was always a quality that I thought the Rankin/Bass films had. Although the one song number that hasn’t aged well for me personally is the song “If You Sit on my Lap Today,” as it just comes off creepier to me now than charming.
The characters are the most charming part of the film and I believe they are what carry it through the film’s flaws to make for a charming experience. Mickey Rooney is a charming and likable Santa Claus. Fred Astaire is also a charming and reliable narrator and SD left a mark as an iconic Christmas character even being parodied on South Park. I even enjoyed the Winter Warlock and the Burgermeister Meisterburger as memorable villains. The Winter Warlock scared me at first but I loved watching him turn good after Santa shows him kindness. Burgermeister was a funny, albeit at times stereotypical villain who served as a good foil to the kind Santa.
Conclusion:
I find that although this film is far from perfect, I still see it as a beloved Christmas classic and it does hold a place in my heart. I admire the creative choices it makes in telling Santa’s origins and believe that its charming cast of characters carries it through to tell a charming and whimsical story about Christmas’ most iconic figure.
Although it has aged, I do still believe that it is worth checking out and that it is something that is harmless enough to show to kids (although maybe fast forward through the “If You Sit on my Lap Today” song number.) and will give them a fun origin story for everyone’s favorite Christmas icon.
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