By Michael Lyons
Some classic TV Christmas specials seemingly fly by when watching
them, after repeated viewings, year-after-year, the familiarity and quotable
lines are fleeting. One turns the
special on and without time to even settle down, the special’s ending credits
seem to roll.
Some other specials unfurl like a movie, even though their
length is much shorter. These specials
contain so much in such a short amount of time, they have the feeling of
watching something much more epic.
Rankin/Bass’ Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is just such a
special. Fifty years ago this Holiday Season,
long before live-action films like Disney’s The Santa Clause (1994) or the
recent Netflix hits, The Christmas Chronicles series, Rankin/Bass used the
familiar Christmas Carol (a trope that the Studio would excel at) as the basis
for a super hero-like “origin story” of Santa Claus.
In the special, a mythology that attempts to answers many
questions about St. Nick, unfurls. We
are told the tale, as narrated by mailman Special Delivery (S.D.) Kluger, of
a young baby, with no identification other than a name tag that reads “Claus” who is left at the doorstep of the evil head of Sombertown, Burgermeister
Meisterburger, who orders the baby sent to an orphanage. On the way there, the baby is lost and winds
up at the cottage of an elf-like family named Kringle.
The Kringles are toymakers and they name the baby Kris, raising him as
their own. As Kris grows up, and learns,
through a series of entanglements and adventures, that thanks to the
Burgermeister, toys are banned in Sombertown, so Kris
begins sneaking in overnight to deliver the toys. And thus begins his life as Santa Claus.
The story takes place over the course of time, with different obstacles, characters and adversaries thrown in along the
way. Additionally, there are very
creative plot points that answer questions about Santa: his red suit is given
to him by his adopted mother, Tanta Kringle; his “Ho! Ho! Ho!’ laugh comes from
imitating seals; and gifts in stockings come after leaving them in children’s
laundered socks that are left by the fireplace to dry.
The story, based on the 1934 song by J. Fred Coots and Haven
Gillespie, was penned by Rankin/Bass stalwart writer Romeo Mueller, who became
the studio’s master at expanding familiar Christmas Carols into full-fledged
stories (he is also responsible for the Studio’s classics Rudolph and Frosty). With Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,
Mueller does a wonderful job of creating fantasy that has been
accepted by generations of children as the actual history of Santa.
Adding to this is an all-star cast of voices who bring solid
performances. Mickey Rooney is such a
warm, kind Santa, that Rankin/Bass brought him back again for The Year Without
a Santa Claus four years later. Keenan
Wynn is both imposing and hysterical as the Winter Warlock, who transitions
from adversary to friend throughout the special. Fred Astaire is his usual debonair persona as
S.D. Kluger and, as both the Burgermeister and his lackey Grimsby, another
Rankin/Bass favorite (and voice acting legend) Paul Frees does such outstanding
work that, at one point in the special, he manages to sing a duet…with himself!
His song “No More Toymakers to the King” is one of six by another
“R/B regular” Maury Laws. These are
catchy and memorable numbers, most notably, “Put One Foot in Front of the
Other,” which can be sung verbatim by those who make Santa Claus is Comin’ to
Town part of their Holiday viewing rotation.
And, this all comes together with the Rankin/Bass stop-motion
animation technique, “AniMagic,” creating such detail to the scenes that it adds
an extra layer of “otherworldy magic” to the proceedings.
Originally broadcast on ABC on December 14, 1970, Santa Claus is
Comin’ to Town was rerun for a number of years each season. It disappeared from regular network showings
in the ‘80’s, but was made available on home video and has since been a staple
as part of the Freeform network’s “25 Days of Christmas.” However, the current versions and versions
through the years have been edited from the original.
In any form, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town has endured for fifty
years thanks to it’s movie-like feel, but also its message as summed up
by S.D. Kluger in the special’s final scene:
“Lots of unhappiness? Maybe so. But doesn't Santa take a little bit of that unhappiness away? Doesn't a smile on Christmas morning scratch out a tear cried on a sadder day? Not much, maybe. But what would happen if we all tried to be like Santa and learned to give as only he can give: of ourselves, our talents, our love and our hearts? Maybe we could all learn Santa's beautiful lesson and maybe there would finally be peace on Earth and good will toward men.”
Wise words from 50 years ago that mean even more this year.
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