Editorial Review:Description:At the North Pole, the Christmas rush is on. Everyone from elves to reindeer are merrily preparing for Santa Claus’ yearly sleigh ride. Everyone…except Santa! Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Eager to help, Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves set out to see where all the season’s cheer has disappeared to. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children’s hearts – and put Santa back in action. Shirley Booth and Mickey Rooney (as Mrs. And Mr. Claus) are the starring voices in this wonderful Yuletide favorite. Year: 1974
Amazon.com:This DVD contains three holiday titles from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.
The Year Without a Santa Claus Even Santa can suffer a case of the holiday blues. In this 1974 stop-motion holiday family favorite, a sparkly eyed Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth) sings and tells about the year her hubby felt too weary and too unappreciated to prepare for his annual Christmas rounds. Mickey Rooney stars as the voice of Santa, a rosy-nosed puppet who travels incognito to Southtown in search of his tiniest reindeer, Vixen, and two well-meaning elves. Seems Mrs. Santa sent them to find proof of Christmas spirit--but all they've discovered is ambivalence about Santa's year off. Luckily, when Santa arrives and befriends a buck-toothed lad named Ignatius Thistlewhite, spirits begin to lift rapidly. Adult fans of this cousin to the 1970 television special
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town will remember it as the Heat and Snow Miser movie. Their vaudevillian theme songs, complete with trombone and piano riffs, are hard to forget, but other treasured musical moments include 'I Believe in Santa Claus,' 'I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without You,' and 'Here Comes Santa Claus.'
--Liane Thomas Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey The wondrous story of Christ's birth is told by an unlikely source: Nestor, a gentle donkey with incredibly long ears and a first-hand knowledge of life in a stable. This simple tale, which takes place in the days of the Roman Empire, is about a humble couple about to take a long journey to Bethlehem and a small, insignificant donkey that is destined to help them along. By all outward appearances, Nestor does not deserve such a privilege. Stable animals tease him incessantly for his long appendages until, finally, he is cast out of the barn into the winter cold. Snow and ice bring about even greater calamity for Nestor until he receives a dose of divine goodness. Nestor meets Tilly, a heavenly cherub (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro) who imparts guidance to the despairing burro and tells him that soon he will be chosen to participate in a miracle involving a star, a baby, a lowly stable, and some travelers named Mary and Joseph. Short and sweet, this stop-motion Christmas gem from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass is narrated by Roger Miller. Get out the hanky for an understated holiday classic that will appeal to families of all ages.
--Lynn Gibson Rudolph's Shiny New Year Rudolph is legendary for saving Christmas, but did you know he saved the New Year as well? While Santa Claus is recuperating from his December sleigh ride, he receives a letter from an old friend, Father Time. Seems that Baby New Year is missing, and if the little tyke isn't found, Old Year will continue forever--a catastrophe for Father Time, whose job it is to keep things moving forward. A search party is essential, yet with such thick fog, there's only one reindeer fit for the job. 'Rudolph with your nose so bright, you've six days left to set things right,' says Santa. Trouble hits immediately when Rudolph discovers that Aeon the Terrible, a big-beaked monster bird, is also searching for the missing baby. Rudolph gets help from a giant whale and a good-natured caveman, who dish up plenty of song and dance in between narrow escapes in their race against the end of the calendar year. Sound far-fetched? Perhaps, but it contains as much magic as its predecessors,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, all produced and directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., and written by the esteemed Romeo Muller. The same stop-motion animation we've grown to love is here as well, and narrator Red Skelton has as trusted a voice as Burl Ives and Fred Astaire. While the New Year holiday will never be as celebrated as Christmas, this title is a welcome addition to any Rankin and Bass collection of holiday films.
--Lynn Gibson
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Keeping the spirit alive!!!
Let me first say that i do not own this DVD, YET.
I have seen this movie many times, on cable. It is my favorite (Christmas) movie.
I only gave it three stars because i just have seen this movie, i do not own this DVD.
I will give it a better review, when i get it during Christmas time.
Rating: -
DVD Quality lacking
My review is not about the content of the programs on this DVD (Although I like them all very much). This review is about the DVD quality. I bought this DVD knowing full well it wasn't remastered, however, based on other customers' reviews, I was under the impression that the picture quality was very good. However, I was disappointed. The only improvement in this edition is that the color is more vibrant, other than that, it's not that much better than what you see on TV. So I suggest that if you want really great picture quality, you should get the remastered edition.
Rating: -
Old School
Christmas gift for a friend's sister... she loves the old school cartoon... brings back memories!
Rating: -
christmas past
I was looking for this movie for a while and am glad to share it with my family and friends for years to come. It happens to be my daughter's favorite and she thinks the original christmas shows are the best.
Rating: -
What's not to like?
Glad to find this on DVD and at such a great price! A family tradition for me and my son! Certainly recommend!