The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 stop-motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final acting credit before her retirement from acting) and stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn and George S. Irving.[1] It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974, on ABC.[2]
Plot
[edit]Santa Claus awakens with a cold in early December. When a Christmas elf doctor sarcastically says that nobody cares about Christmas anymore, Santa decides to forego his annual Christmas Eve journey. Hoping to change Santa's mind, Mrs. Claus instructs two elf brothers named Jingle and Jangle to seek evidence of Christmas spirit. Jingle and Jangle leave with Santa's youngest reindeer Vixen and land in a small town in the Southern United States called Southtown. Unfortunately, their efforts to find Christmas spirit are fruitless, and Vixen is detained by a dog catcher and taken to the local pound.
After learning that Vixen is missing, Santa travels to Southtown, disguised as a civilian named "Klaus". There, he meets a boy named Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite and his family. After Santa leaves to rescue Vixen, Iggy realizes Santa's true identity and resolves to help the elves. Jingle, Jangle and Iggy visit the town's mayor, who agrees to release Vixen if they make it snow in Southtown.
Mrs. Claus collects the trio, and they ask Snow Miser, the keeper of cold weather, to dispatch snow to Southtown for a day. He says that he cannot oblige because Southtown is situated within his brother Heat Miser's domain. They approach Heat Miser, and he offers to cooperate if Snow Miser hands over the North Pole. When neither brother proves willing to cede to the other's wishes, Mrs. Claus consults Mother Nature, who persuades her sons to reach a compromise.
As Christmas approaches, the children of the world send presents to Santa, generating international headlines. Touched by the outpouring of generosity, Santa decides to embark on his yuletide journey after all. Mrs. Claus remarks that "yearly, newly, faithfully and truly, somehow Santa Claus always comes".
Voice cast
[edit]- Shirley Booth as Mrs. Claus
- Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus
- Dick Shawn as Snow Miser
- George S. Irving as Heat Miser
- Bob McFadden as Jingle Bells and Elf Doctor
- Bradley Bolke as Jangle Bells and Police Officer
- Rhoda Mann as Mother Nature and Mrs. Thistlewhite
- Ron Marshall as Mr. Thistlewhite and Mayor of Southtown
- Colin Duffy as Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite
- Christine Winter as the Blue Christmas Girl
- The Wee Winter Singers as the Children Choir
Songs
[edit]- "Sleigh Ride" (instrumental)
- "The Year Without a Santa Claus"
- "I Could Be Santa Claus"
- "I Believe in Santa Claus"
- "It's Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie"
- "The Snow Miser Song"
- "The Heat Miser Song"
- "Blue Christmas"
- "Sleigh Ride" (instrumental)
- "Here Comes Santa Claus"
- "The Year Without a Santa Claus (reprise)"
Television rights
[edit]Warner Bros. Entertainment currently distributes the special through their ownership of the post-1974 Rankin/Bass Productions library.
The special premiered in 1974 on ABC and aired annually on Freeform during its 25 Days of Christmas programming block until 2017. As of 2018, American Movie Classics airs the uncut special as part of the Best Christmas Ever block.[3] The special also airs on Warner Bros.-owned TNT and TBS as part of the All I Watch for Christmas block, the only Rankin/Bass special that TNT and TBS air.[4][5]
Home video
[edit]The special was released on VHS by Vestron Video on September 5, 1991, as part of their Christmas Classics Series, which is distributed by Family Home Entertainment. Warner Home Video released the special on VHS on September 2, 1992, and re-released it on VHS on September 28, 1999. The special was released on DVD on October 31, 2000, and re-released on the Deluxe Edition DVD on October 2, 2007. Warner Home Video released the special on Blu-ray on October 5, 2010, making it the first Rankin/Bass production to be released on that format.
DVD details
[edit]- Release date: October 31, 2000 (Original DVD), January 17, 2004 (30th Anniversary Edition DVD), October 2, 2007 (Deluxe Edition DVD), October 5, 2010 (Blu-ray)
- Full Screen Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Region: 1
- Audio tracks: English
- Special Features:
- Rudolph's Shiny New Year
- Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
- Stop Motion 101 (Deluxe Edition Exclusive)
- We Are Santa's Elves: Profiling Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass (Deluxe Edition Exclusive)
Live-action remake
[edit]A live-action remake of The Year Without a Santa Claus premiered on NBC on December 11, 2006, and was released on DVD the following day.[6] It follows largely the same plot as the original special.
Paul Mavis of Drunk TV wrote, "A live-action remake from The Wolper Company and Warner Bros. of the 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animated classic, The Year Without a Santa Claus is a nauseating, angry, joyless little holiday confection sure to poison any child unlucky enough to chance upon it. This hate-filled stocking stuffer has nothing but contempt for its intended audience, promoting the worst possible beliefs about people, while cloaking itself, incredibly, in the fake guise of a meaningful lesson about the holidays: the gall that the cretinous makers of this film have is really quite audacious."[7]
Cast
[edit]- John Goodman as Santa Claus
- Delta Burke as Mrs. Claus
- Michael McKean as Snow Miser
- Harvey Fierstein as Heat Miser
- Ethan Suplee as Jingle Bells
- Eddie Griffin as Jangle Bells
- Chris Kattan as Sparky
- Dylan Minnette as Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite
- Billy Slaughter as Nerd Elf
- Carol Kane as Mother Nature
- Carson Kressley as the elf costumer
- Laura Schlessinger, "Dr. Laura", as herself
- Jack LaLanne as Hercules
Sequel
[edit]A sequel titled A Miser Brothers' Christmas was produced in 2008 by Warner Bros. Animation and Cuppa Coffee Studios, and it also uses stop-motion animation. Mickey Rooney reprises his role as Santa Claus, and George S. Irving reprises his role as Heat Miser. Dick Shawn and Shirley Booth, both of whom died prior to the film's production, were replaced by Juan Chioran and Catherine Disher as Snow Miser and Mrs. Claus, respectively.
See also
[edit]- List of Christmas films
- Santa Claus in film
- List of animated feature films
- List of stop-motion films
- List of Rankin/Bass Productions films
References
[edit]- ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 348–349. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 461–463. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ "AMC PRESENTS ITS LARGEST SLATE OF HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING WITH 'AMC BEST CHRISTMAS EVER'". November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ Jacobs, Meredith (October 26, 2023). "TBS & TNT Holiday Schedule 2023: 'A Christmas Story,' 'Elf,' 'Friends' Episodes & More". TV Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "TBS "All I Watch for Christmas" and TNT "Christmas Maximus" Kick Off Holiday Programming on Saturday, November 2". Pressroom. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ The Year Without a Santa Claus starring John Goodman, Chris Kattan, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Griffin, Carol Kane from Warner Home Video on DVD – Widescreen, Original Aspect Ratio – 1.78 Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Year Without a Santa Claus: Drunk TV Review of the DVD Video https://drunktv.net/2017/12/22/the-year-without-a-santa-claus-2006-nominee-for-worst-ever-christmas-movie/
Notes
[edit]- ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards), Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis), and Mrs. Claus (voiced by Peg Dixon) in this special. Various actors portray the other reindeer.
- ^ Recurring characters include Frosty the Snowman (voiced by Jackie Vernon), Santa (voiced by Paul Frees), and Professor Hinkle Tinkerton (voiced by Billy De Wolfe) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Mickey Rooney), Mrs. Jessica Claus (voiced by Robie Lester), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Fred Astaire) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include the Easter Bunny (voiced by Casey Kasem), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Allen Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
- ^ Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth), Snow Miser (voiced by Dick Shawn), Heat Miser (voiced by George S. Irving), and Mother Nature (voiced by Rhoda Mann) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Robert Morse and Burl Ives), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Mrs. Crystal Frosty (voiced by Shelley Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special.
- ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards) and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Skip Hinnant), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Astaire) in this special.
- ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Frees), alongside Rudolph and his other featured reindeer.
- ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa Claus during a scene which compares the Ghost of Christmas Present to him (both characters were voiced by Frees).
- ^ The recurring character is Jack Frost (voiced by Robert Morse) in this special.
- ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards), Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Darlene Conley), Crystal (voiced by Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
- ^ The recurring characters in the special include Santa (voiced by Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
- ^ The recurring character is Frosty (voiced by John Goodman) in this special. Mother Nature is also referenced in the short.
- ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Kathleen Barr), Santa (voiced by Garry Chalk), and Mrs. Claus (also voiced by Barr) in this film. Santa's other reindeer, and various other characters from the 1964 original also feature.
- ^ Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke), and Professor Tinkerton (voiced by Kath Soucie) in this special.
- ^ Recurring characters include Snow Miser (voiced by Juan Chioran), Heat Miser (voiced by Irving), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Catherine Disher), and Mother Earth (voiced by Patricia Hamilton) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
External links
[edit]- 1974 in American television
- 1974 television specials
- 1970s American television specials
- 1970s animated television specials
- American Broadcasting Company television specials
- Christmas television specials
- Films scored by Maury Laws
- Animated Christmas television specials
- Television shows directed by Jules Bass
- Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr.
- Santa Claus in television
- Rankin/Bass Productions television specials
- Stop-motion animated television shows
- Musical theatre television specials
- American Christmas television specials