I have to admit, I have a special affection for the old-fashioned stop-motion Rankin Bass specials. It does not compare to my love for the Muppet specials, but it is a special affection nonetheless. This one is not my favorite, but it is still a classic. I remember watching it when I was little, but I don't think I watched it as frequently or with as much reverence as some of the others.
We begin with the singing mailman voiced by Fred Astaire. Everyone remembers his rendition of the title song. Then we delve into Santa Claus's origin story. Orphaned baby, supposedly named Claus, ends up adopted by a family of elves, whose last name is Kringle. They all dress in the Santa suit we've come to know and love. When Kris Kringle grows to be a man, he sets out on a journey to deliver toys to the king. I think that's what he's doing. The Kringles used to be toymakers for the king, but since the Winter Warlock came to power, times have been rough. Anyway, Kris sets out on foot and befriends a penguin, which, let's face it, we all would do if we had the opportunity.
Meanwhile, there's a town called Somberville, ruled by an evil mayor named... wait for it... Burgermeister Meisterburger. He trips over a toy duck, and then bans toys from Somberville. Kris Kringle shows up in Somberville, and chides the children for being sad. Which is kind of a jerky thing to do. He tries to give them toys, and then their teacher (a pretty redhead named Jessica- this will become important) gets on his case, because he's breaking the law by giving them toys, and well, walking up to kids you don't know and giving them toys is kind of creepy. But Kris wins Jessica over by giving her a china doll. Well, that was easy. But then he gets caught by the mayor so he runs away.
This airing edited out the creepy-ass song that says "if you sit on my lap today, a kiss a toy is the price you'll pay." I am officially opposed to editing anything out of classics, but I completely understand why they edited that out.
Time for a confrontation with the Winter Warlock. Kris gives him a toy too, and just like Jessica, the Winter Warlock is easily swayed. His icy heart melts and his whole outlook changes from bad to good. Although he worries it won't last. Which brings on the classic song "Put One Foot in Front of the Other." I've heard many debates over the years over which Rankin-Bass special this song was actually in. So, you heard it here-- it's this one. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I tried to find a video on youtube to post here, but apparently Rankin-Bass isn't cool with their stuff being on youtube. Bah humbug to that.
Winter Warlock gives Kris the magic to spy on children, so when Jessica finds him to tell them the children are asking for more toys, he tells her to tell the children to behave themselves.
We see Kris Kringle come up with ideas for going down chimney and putting toys in stockings, all in effort to conceal the contraband toys from the evil mayor. Shortly thereafter, however, the mayor catches them all and puts them in the slammer, then burns all the toys in front of the children. Man. That's cold. Maybe that's why I didn't like this special as much when I was little.
The warlock teaches the reindeer to fly in order to break Kris Kringle out of jail. Then he grows a beard and changes his name to Claus in order to run from the law. He and Jessica get married in a small forest ceremony, where the warlock uses his magic to light up the trees, and then they flee to the North Pole to create the Santa workshop.
The internet tells me there's another song that was edited out. Something sung by Jessica called "My World is Beginning Today." I have no memory of that. Weird.
The mailman sings the title song again, and we see Santa as we know him-- old and white-haired. And I feel all warm and fuzzy, for reasons I can not explain. It's cheesy, yes, but it's old-fashioned and sweet.
Visuals: 3 out of 5
Spirit: 4 out of 5
Nostalgia: 3 out of 5
Humor: 2 out of 5
Music: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
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