MOVIE OF THE MONTH

Few films transport me back to my youth as strongly as Rankin Bass stop-motion Christmas specials, namely Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970), and The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974). They are so thoroughly embedded in my memory that I don’t even remember the first time I watched them (it was probably as an infant in December 2001). Each year of my childhood, I eagerly awaited the release of ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas TV schedule, so that I could note the evenings these specials would play and then consume them with rapt attention. 

My favorite of these specials is the iconic Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. The story follows the young man Kris Kringle, who was raised by a toymaking family of elves, as he regularly ventures into nearby Sombertown and delivers toys to children. Sombertown’s irritable mayor, the Burgermeister Meisterburger, notices the influx of toys and bans them. (It is suggested that the Burgermeister has some form of toy-related childhood trauma). Kris defies the Burgermeister’s orders and continues to covertly smuggle toys into town while under threat of arrest, befriending the North Pole penguin Topper, the Winter Warlock, and the Sombertown schoolteacher Miss Jessica along the way. Eventually, Kris Kringle goes on to become who we now know as Santa Claus, and Miss Jessica becomes Mrs. Claus.

This special is unique in that it depicts Santa as a charismatic, daring, even criminal young man. He is not shown as the typical old, safe, grandfatherly figure which audiences are accustomed to (at least not until the very end of the film). Kris Kringle’s youth makes him appear aspirational and heroic to children. The viewer is challenged to discover the youthful, spontaneous, exuberant joy and diminish the somber grayness in himself or herself. This message is an especially useful one in our era of safetyism and parental surveillance. Far fewer kids adventure through the streets now than in 1970. Even if most parents are not totalitarian like the Burgermeister, driving through contemporary suburban sprawl often feels like Sombertown.

As a child in the 2000s with a keen visual eye, I could detect when entertainment was “old” (pre-1990s) and, for some reason, usually rejected it. But I never did this with Rankin Bass specials. They existed in a different category. They seemed completely timeless. (Christmas has a way of doing that; December is the one month a year where normal Americans play 1940s crooners on their car radios). 

Today, I could not be more different. One of my core personality traits is being a pop culture history enthusiast, with a particular interest in the 1960s and 70s. As such, Rankin Bass Christmas specials now seem to me just as brilliant (if not more), and yet also less “timeless.” I can detect the 1970s Carpenters-esque orchestral folk sound in the soundtrack. I can detect the choppy motion of the mid-century stop-motion characters. And I can detect the stark hues of early color television. The full flowering of all of these qualities is evident during the song “My World is Beginning Today.” During this song, Miss Jessica unleashes her long, silky hair from out of its staid, tight, bun, and spins in front of a psychedelic melange of flowers, birds, and abstract shapes. It’s straight out of Woodstock and Warhol. I was completely oblivious to this as a child. The song is a beautiful reflection on new beginnings and a renewed appreciation for life.

Miss Jessica sings:

“All the little cares picked along the way
Suddenly have disappeared with yesterday
Tossed above the fields and lost among the winds
My world is beginning today

Oh, so many times have I walked this way
And never seen the little things I see today
Never had my head so high above the clouds
My world is beginning today

I know something's gonna happen
But it's out of my hands
Things are gonna start snappin'
Without any plan [...]”

This song exemplifies the greatness of Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. It is mature and fully human. The special doesn’t talk down to children or overwhelm them with noise and explosions. It shows a simple narrative and aesthetic world crafted with care. Every iPad kid should watch Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town to repair the brain damage they incurred from short-form video. This special has brought joy to the world for the past five decades, and I hope it continues to do so for another five decades and beyond.  

-AJ