Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970)
A postman, S.D. Kluger, decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a baby named Kris who is raised by a family of elf toymakers named Kringle. When Kris grows up, he wants to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown. But its Mayor is too mean to let that happen. And to make things worse, the Winter Warlock lives between the Kringles and Sombertown.
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Good start, but then it gets ruined
Am I Missing Something?
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
This is the story of Chris Kringle became Santa Claus. From his infancy into his fame - this movie will answer all the questions the kids have about the holly jolly man himself. A very good Christmas family classic. Even if you don't believe in Santa Claus the story is still good with a great message at the end of if we could all learn to be like the character then there might be peace on earth and happiness in the world. The film explains in the end how if we could give of ourselves and each of us learn to be happy then we would have a happy planet - it's not about money, stores, toys and consumerism but about love, joy and giving of your time and self.I remember this one from my childhood, watched it again recently and find this to be a joyous and exceptionally good movie.10/10
Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass are known for their classic Christmas special musicals so it didn't surprise me when I discovered that they made a film on the origins of Santa as well. Neither did I find it any less entertaining. Even if the story is fiction, the possibilities to why Santa Claus climbs down chimneys and puts toys in stockings is rather interesting to know about.The teleplay, written by Romeo Muller, includes a lot of nice trivia that the usual Christmas celebrator won't know of about, for example why we say Santa does all these different actions on Christmas Eve. Narrating this story is actor Fred Astaire who tells us how Santa came to be. Voicing Santa Claus is Mickey Rooney who if you didn't know who he was, you'd almost never guess he was the funny looking security guard from Night at the Museum (2006).Maybe one of the goofiest characters in this film is the villain named Burgermeister Meisterburger. A grumpy town mayor with the ego the size of the Mt. Everest. And let's not forget The Winter Warlock, the evil wizard who lives high up in the hills. All these characters, no matter what role they play are fun to watch and listen too. The animation recalls that of Rankin and Bass' other Christmas special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). The songs are still catchy even though Johnny Marks did not write them. Altogether, it's a good eye-opener to the background of Santa Claus.Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town has catchy music and good cast of voice actors. Plus, its informative background on Santa Claus is a cool history lesson.
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 characters, 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.
Like many who have posted, I too remember this annual jewel broad casted every year on TV. Many read too much into "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" with claims that its about capitalism, communism, post Woodstock hippie values, etc, etc, etc....the fact of the matter is that it is wonderful little story built around a favorite holiday song. I understand that it is somewhat dated, but I believe it is no longer being broad-casted because of some of the strong religious overtones and clear declaration of good values in this oh so politically correct world of ours....yes, innocence has been long lost for most younger children.