Rankin Bass

When I was a kid, because of the religious beliefs of my parents, I didn't have Christmas. But everyone else around me did, including other members of my extended family. I had a love hate feeling for the Holiday Season.

I hated Christmas because I couldn't participate in the fun at school. Or know the thrill of waking up Christmas morning with new toys under the tree. But I liked getting out of class to hear my class mates murder Christmas songs in some horribly presented assembly. I liked the 2 weeks vacation we used to get. I loved seeing Christmas lights at night. I loved the overall feeling that seemed to be in the air during the Christmas time of year.

What little Christmas tradition I did get when I was a kid was in the form of Rankin Bass animated Christmas specials. Back in the 70's and 80's before EVERYTHING was available on home video, the only time to watch Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and the like was during the month of December. Before the days of 100 plus cable channels, the Rankin Bass Christmas specials were a true event because you often only had one night or two to see them. Since my parents didn't celebrate, it wasn't like I could record them and watch them at my leisure through out the year.

So for one night or two a year I was pulled into Christmas bliss. The RB specials served to influence my love for animation early on. Especially since they used props that looked more like toys and dolls rather than drawn or clay. They would influence me, as the original King Kong and Sinbad movies did, to later produce my own movies. Model/toy animation being my favorite animated genre to produce.

For reasons beyond my understanding, not all the RB specials have made it to DVD. One in particular is The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus. Based LOOSELY on L Frank Baum's 1902 book of the same name. With the creator of the Wizard Of Oz writing, it's only natural that his take on Claus would be even more fantasy than previous takes on the red suited fat guy. I have to admit, I didn't come across this one until I was in my adult life. It was produced in 1985 and I was in High School at that time. So the RB specials had lost their magic for awhile, for me anyway.

The premise of The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus is that the world needs Santa Claus. But how can his work continue if he is mortal. So a council is formed by characters looking like those out of a Tolkien novel to decide why Claus deserves the gift of immortality. I think its an interesting story executed very well, even though it is a loose adaption.

When watching this movie, you have to keep in mind this story, as do the Oz books, predate Tolkien Middle Earth. BUT, The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus came after Rankin Bass' The Hobbit and Return Of The King animated movies. Which obviously influenced their designs.

Every couple of years you MIGHT come across The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus on the ABC Family Channel. Problem is that ABC Family Channel has no respect or love for these specials and edit the crap out of them. Sometimes even omitting entire songs. For ABC these specials serve as the glue between commercial breaks.

The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus is a landmark film in that its Rankin Bass' last Animagic movie and the end of an era. Why would studios produce new animated films of this nature, since all they had to do was air these every year. Then CGI came and now they could produce a bastardized version of the model/toy animation of Rankin Bass classics.

The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus is also a landmark in that it's a much darker Claus movie than previous Rankin Bass toons. It has an almost Lord Of The Rings feel to it. It has some great character designs and one of the best model/toy fairy animation puppets ever made. It is also the first RB movie to have no celebrity voice narration.

If you hit eBay looking for this lost classic, you can find the original VHS release for $30 to $100. Ouch! Personally, I wouldn't pay that unless you plan on transferring it to DVD. Remember, VHS degrades if it is played or not, so just because it's a new copy that doesn't mean it won't look a little washed out. That is just the way the VHS format is. There has been an online push for a DVD release of The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus and ABC Family Channel only aired it once this year. So who knows, maybe they are going to finally release it next year on DVD.

A lot of people forget that purchasing a DVD is like casting a vote. If enough people purchase a type of DVD, the suits see that and want to cash in on that market and produce more like it. If we go out and purchased the Rankin Bass classics, rather than just watching the cut versions with commercials on cable , the numbers would justify them releasing The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus on DVD.

So far, one of the best Rankin Bass DVD releases has been another seasonal gem called the Mad Monster Party from 1967. Its a Halloween Animagic classic that Tim Burton would rip off for years to come. The Anchor Bay release is not only a great transfer, but it comes with a great 23 page behind the scenes book inside.

Cast your vote for the release of The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus DVD and buy a Rankin Bass DVD this holiday season.

A Side Note:
As you know, TNFS' purpose is to create new interest in film by looking to its forgotten past. I didn't make it clear, but Rankin Bass films are a perfect case for that. Since their movies serve as the model for every Tim Burton animated film. 'Nuf said.