The Year Without a Santa Claus

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David C Let's be honest... To a whole generation this animated special is as classic a must see Christmas special as It's a Wonderful Life. If you are feeling stressed and need to find the Christmas spirit, this is a great place to start. Excellent voice acting and a great combination of traditional characters like Santa, Mrs. Claus, the reindeer, and even mother nature along with original characters the Meiser brothers. I watched it every year as a child and now watch it every year with my children. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/14/24 Full Review Audience Member Based on the book by Phylis McGinley it’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since another one of the Rankin/Bass stop motion holiday specials made it’s way to tv screens For this one it’s specifically about the absence of St. Nicholas himself narrated by Shirley Booth as Mrs. Claus The late Mickey Rooney voices Santa Claus who decides to take a year off from doing his Christmas duties with the kids rallying around him But he feels tired and unappreciated believing the world lacks spirit The elves Jingle and Jangle decide to search for a way to save the holiday but run into trouble when Snow Miser and Heat Miser get wind of the news; basically both of them are always at war with each other making it snowy cold or blazing hot Many colorful characters abound in this special with this one subverting the stereotypes of being treacly and cliche Both Heat Miser and Snow Miser steal the show with their respective song numbers as well as their polar opposite specialties in weather Even Mrs. Claus gets to be a proactive player here This special is all about finding the Christmas spirit, asking whether or not if you’re too old to believe in Santa Claus, finding balance between hot and cold, we need a reminder that kindness exists in people’s hearts This is truly one of the best, most memorable holiday specials from the masters Rankin & Bass themselves Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/11/24 Full Review Mike P Fun Christmas classic...That came out hot on the heels of Watergate...And the country, which was knee deep in cynicism and post 60s Culture Shock, was jonesing for a big pep talk...And this was that...A big Pollyannish throwback to Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer days...And most of it is great...I'm not sure why Santa and Mrs. Claus kept rapping though. But love that Heat Miser and Snow Miser. And love Shirley Booth as the Mrs. Claus and Mickey Rooney as Santa! Great fun! One of the best of the Rankin and Bass holiday canon. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review mad m Snow miser eats frfr Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/02/24 Full Review Michael V Simply the BEST! Heat/Snow Miser Brothers? 💎 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/12/23 Full Review Joel H I didn't really watch The Year Without a Santa Claus when I was growing up, so I'm not looking at it through the nostalgia glasses that I wear for other Rankin/Bass Productions. In fact, the only thing I really knew about this animated TV special before seeing it was the Snow Miser song, and that's because of its brief appearance in Batman & Robin (1997). Nevertheless, I can see why kids would enjoy it. It's a simple story with amusing animation and a few good songs. I don't think this will become regular Christmas viewing in my family, but I'm glad I finally watched The Year Without a Santa Claus. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Year Without a Santa Claus

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