The Year Without a Santa Claus

1974

51m

Animation

Fantasy

Holiday

Kids & Family

List

90%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Sidelined by a nasty cold and feeling unneeded, Santa decides not to make his annual Christmas journey. Elves Jingle and Jangle scour the world to find people who still believe, hoping to convince the jolly old elf to make his trip anyway. They run into trouble in Southtown, however, and the only way they can get out of their predicament is to make it snow in the warm climate. Meanwhile, Santa sees evidence that people do still believe, and a little girl's touching letter prompts him to pack up the sleigh and head out on his annual trek, making a special stop in the now-snowy Southtown.

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Critics Consensus

Have no fear! Mrs Claus spreads holiday cheer in The Year Without Santa, a holiday classic full of unforgettable songs and characters that stays true to the Christmas spirit.

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mad m

Snow miser eats frfr

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

Michael V

Simply the BEST! Heat/Snow Miser Brothers? 💎

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 out of 5 stars

11/29/23

Full Review

Jeff

Absolute masterpiece. Sends me every time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/23

Full Review

Hannah M

The chokehold that those icyhot bitches had on everyone holds up to this DAY. They're such freaks I love them. Also love the tiny baby reindeer

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

jacob b

It might not be, in my eyes at least, one of the best Rankin-Bass specials, the voice acting, songs, scene-stealing Miser Brothers and charmingly sincere storytelling make The Year Without A Santa Claus another heartwarming Christmas television classic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Jules Bass

Director

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Director

Mickey Rooney

Santa Claus

Shirley Booth

Mrs. Santa

Dick Shawn

Snow Miser

George S. Irving

Heat Miser

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Chris Nashawaty

Entertainment Weekly

It's up to a pair of elves (Jingle Bells and Jangle Bells) to save the day. But first they have to get past Heat Miser and Snow Miser - the best Christmas baddies since the Grinch.

Nov 29, 2018

Full Review

Andrew Ryan

Globe and Mail

Truly terrible.

Nov 28, 2018

Full Review

Charles Bramesco

New York Times

The breakout stars were Heat Miser and Snow Miser, bitter rivals and brothers with control over the elements. Their jaunty tune ranks among the catchiest original songs that a Rankin-Bass production ever yielded.

Nov 26, 2018

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

It's certainly one of my favorite of the Rankin/Bass specials.

Rated: 9/10

Apr 17, 2019

Full Review

Refinery29 Editors

Refinery29

What's more fun than stop-motion animated holiday movies? Absolutely nothing... It also features a badass Mrs. Claus basically trying to save Christmas.

Nov 28, 2018

Full Review

Molly Freeman

Hollywood.com

The best one of all - and surely we can all agree on this one - is The Year Without A Santa Claus. On top of being an animated Christmas special, it's also a musical with songs like I Could Be Santa Claus and Blue Christmas.

Nov 26, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

Sidelined by a nasty cold and feeling unneeded, Santa decides not to make his annual Christmas journey. Elves Jingle and Jangle scour the world to find people who still believe, hoping to convince the jolly old elf to make his trip anyway. They run into trouble in Southtown, however, and the only way they can get out of their predicament is to make it snow in the warm climate. Meanwhile, Santa sees evidence that people do still believe, and a little girl's touching letter prompts him to pack up the sleigh and head out on his annual trek, making a special stop in the now-snowy Southtown.

Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Holiday, Kids & Family
Original Language: English
Runtime: 51m