It's been a few years since I reviewed a Christmas
Rankin/Bass special, which is a shame since there are so many of them that I haven't
touched upon yet. So to make up for it, I'm going to review two this year starting
with one that I've been meaning to review for a long period of time...
This is a Rankin/Bass special that I remember having fond
memories about as a kid. And though I remember the premise, characters, and
songs, I don't remember them as fondly as I do with the famous Miser Brothers,
who were the highlight of the film. That's not to say that the rest of the film
is bad or mediocre when compared to them, but it started to make me wonder if
the rest of the film is worth remembering outside of them. Tell me truthfully,
when you get into a casual conversation about this film, isn't the first thing
that everyone talks about is the Miser Brothers, because that's usually the
case whenever I talk to people about this film. Come to think of it, I don't
hear many people talk about this film either when compared to Rankin/Bass
Christmas classics like Rudolph, Frosty, and "Santa Clause Is Comin' to Town", that is with the exception of the two characters. Does the special really hold-up and should get more recognition outside of the two characters
that make it popular, or is it just a generic special that just happened to have two memorable characters? ON WITH THE REVIEW!
A sick, tired, and overworked Santa (voiced again by Mickey
Rooney) feels that he should take a year off from making toys and delivering
presents to the little ones on Christmas after when his grumpy Elf doctor tells
him that no one cares about Christmas anymore. When Mrs. Claus (voiced by
Shirley Booth) discovers about her husband taking the year off, she sends two
elves out into the world to find people who believe in Santa and still have the
Christmas spirit. The two elves go to a small town in the south to interview a
few people, but they have little to no luck in finding someone who believes in
Santa, and lose their sick reindeer to a dog catcher after disguising her as a
dog to blend in. To get their reindeer released from the pound, they go to the
mayor of the town who obviously doesn't believe in their story, but promises that
if the elves can make it snow in the south on Christmas day, he'll believe
everything he tells them and not only will set free their reindeer, but will
contact all the mayors across the country to give Santa a national holiday off.
The elves with the help of Mrs. Claus and a boy named Iggy set-off on a
journey to talk the Miser Brothers who are in charge of cold and warm weather
to settle their differences for once to help Santa out.
For a change of pace, the person who narrates the story
isn't a random celebrity that's practically playing themselves who somehow
knows about the events that they never experienced, but from an actual
character from the story itself, who is Mrs. Claus. This isn't the first time
where a character from the story of a Rankin/Bass stop-motion special gets to
narrate, because before this special we had Danny Kaye in "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" who gave Peter the Yestermorrow mobile to help him
become the chief Easter Bunny against Iron Tail. But here's the difference,
Danny Kaye had one scene with him interacting with the stories’ protagonist; with
Mrs. Claus on the other hand, she has multiple encounters with the characters
during the story as she helps her husband out. Shirley Booth (in her last
performance before retiring) does just as nice a job of narrating the story as
the previous narrators in the Rankin/Bass specials that we know and love, who brings plenty of charisma to the character of Mrs. Claus. And that's another treat
about this special. In most Christmas movies and TV specials, Mrs. Claus is
usually overlooked or downplayed in the story, but here she's one of the main
characters, part of what makes this one of the best portrayals of Mrs. Claus that I've ever seen
in a Christmas film or TV special. She's humble, sweet, and Motherly who cares
about her husband, but she also cares about Christmas as much as her husband
does, and when he seems to lose hope in Christmas, she takes action herself to
keep Christmas alive by trying to find ways to prove to Santa that there are
people who care about him, and is even willing to play the role of Santa
herself with a well thought out plan. When the going gets tough for her,
she still stays determined to help both her husband and Christmas. She's not
the typical Mrs. Claus who just smiles, comforts Santa, and does some
housework, she's a tough and ambitious Mrs. Claus who proves to be just as
strong as her husband is, without the special feeling the need to distant the
character from her humble nature, or by making her too perfect because she does
make mistakes by not thinking things through that put the elves and the baby
reindeer Vixen at risk.
Mickey Rooney did a phenomenal job voicing the young Santa
Claus in "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" by giving his character tons
of heart and spirit. But apart from a few lines of dialogue towards the ending,
we never got to see how Rooney can play-up the old Santa that we're familiar
with. In this special Rooney gets his chance to show what he can do with voicing jolly
old Saint Nick, except that he's not fully jolly, he's mainly playing the
overworked and discouraged Santa, the complete opposite of the Santa that he
previously voiced. But much like how Rooney can naturally pull off voicing the
young eccentric Santa; the same applies for this version of the character. The
sad and exhausting animated expressions mashed with Rooney's old and hazy voice
creates a Santa that you can tell was once jolly, is now being reduced to one
who's lost so much of his spirit and energy that you sympathize with him,
resulting with one of the most underrated overworked Santa's out there.
However, the special doesn't keep him in bed for the remainder of the special;
he does push himself to leave his comfort zone to find the elves that his wife
sent away, as he too gets some answers on people's belief in him, and feelings
towards Christmas. I very much admire how Mister and Misses Claus both equally
share their strengths and weakness, rather than having one being better than
the other. The special's theme about good will and believing (without giving
any spoilers for newcomer) is quite touching, especially when in the last
couple of scenes of the special that take place after Mrs.Claus' meeting Mother
Nature. With that said, I will admit that I do find the whole part of
people not believing in Santa to be logically confusing. If the world doesn't
believe in Santa, then why did Santa make the front page headlines with his
picture attached to it of him taking off for the year (as seen in the opening
song)? Also why would Santa listen to an elf Doctor who obviously just hates
everything? HE'S SANTA! He "sees you when you are sleeping, he knows when
you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good". He can obviously see
for himself what people are really thinking about him and Christmas? I know
it's the emotion in these kinds of Christmas specials that's the focus as
opposed to the logic, and that many films and specials involving Santa always
have tons of plot-holes that we are just willing to overlook. And granted the
same applies in this special, because the emotions here are strong and
sentimental, so I can't be too hard on the confusing logic since that's always
expected in these types of movies. It's just a tad bit hard to digest the
fact that people don’t believe in Santa, when he obviously is exposed to the
world, and that he doesn’t even try to see for himself what people’s current outlook
on Christmas is.
The supporting cast of characters that we encounter is just
as enjoyable and charming as the main leads. The two elves Jingle and Jangle are a fun pair that manage to provide a few good laughs for how they interact with
one another, and accidentally get into trouble. After not seeing this in so
long, I forgot how funny these two are. As well as forgetting how adorably helpless the
baby reindeer Vixen is. The boy Iggy who I remember finding the least
interesting when I watched this special at a young age, while definitely the
least fun and fascinating out of the supporting characters in the film, is still
as likable and innocent as the character of Karen from "Frosty the
Snowman" was. He's bright and helpful, but what makes him a little more
interesting when comparing him to Karen is he's a little more stubborn when it
comes to believing in Santa. It's not a constant struggle that Iggy has with
his beliefs like say Aaron in "The Little Drummer Boy" since he does
start to believe in Santa in 10 minutes after we are first introduced to him,
but it’s still nice to have a child character start out skeptical over his
beliefs in the magical elements of Christmas in a Rankin/Bass Christmas
special, as well as fitting nicely with the special's theme. Other characters
like the jolly Mayor, the cranky elf Doctor, and Mother Nature, though these
characters get very little screen-time, their colorful personalities and
designs are more than enough for them to leave an impression on you.
But let's be honest, as delightfully memorable as all these
characters are, they don't at all compare with leaving the same impact on you
as the two characters who steal the movie so much that it makes you wish that
they were the focus instead, and those are THE MISER BROTHERS! What Rankin/Bass
fan or anyone who enjoys watching this special doesn't love or so much as get a
kick out of these characters?! Everything from their colorful and inventive
designs, to their fun over the top polar opposite personalities as they bicker
and fight against each other is unforgettable. Outside of how comical and
visual distinctive these two are, what makes these two characters so fascinating
is that Snow Miser controls cold weather, while Heat Miser controls hot
weather, and that the two have been fighting against each-other for pieces of
territory that the other won't be allowed to touch since the dawn of time. We
know enough about the characters to form a connection with them, and have a
blast watching them interact with one another and show off their powers, but
given that there's so much history to the characters that we know so
little about, it makes you crave to learn more about them when it’s over.
What did exactly start their division to control the weather climate? How
exactly does their system work (considering that the brutal cold and intense
heat can occur at the same place during different seasons)? What is their relationship
with their Mother like? Is Heat Miser really as unloved as he claims he is? Why
do the Miser Brothers assistants resemble them? Do the two brothers actually
care for each other? There's just so much to explore about these characters,
which I feel is why they're so popular with people who watch this special.
Let's also not forget the song that these two elementals
sing about themselves, that just so happens to be by many the most popular song
(or should I say songs) in the special. And it's easy to understand why, given how
catchy and bouncy both songs are as we learn a little about them, and get to
see them sing and dance with their assistants and show-off some of their powers
in their lair that beautifully reflects them. Almost anyone who loves the Miser
Brothers will say without a moment of thought that these two song sequences are
their best scenes in the movie. However, that's not to say the rest of the
songs in the specials aren't good. They obviously don't top the song that the
Miser Brothers sing, but they are far from bad. The special's theme song perfectly
sets the tone and story by providing an upbeat melody, with depressing lyrics
and visuals. The song "It's Gonna Snow Right Here In Dixie" that the
Mayor sings to the residents in this turn of the century southern town (with
Charlie Chaplin present) has a gay 90s Dixieland beat that's uplifting and
toe-tapping with cartoony visuals that express the town's excitement for
another snowfall after 10 years. Earlier in the review, I talked a little about
how touching the special is with its moral and emotions surrounding the
characters, and two of the best examples that help make the special so deep are
the songs "I Believe in Santa Claus" that's sung by a disguised Santa
and Iggy's Father after when Iggy tells the two that he's too old to believe in
such a fairy tale; and "Blue Christmas" sung by a sad little girl.
Both songs help challenge and change the characters' perspective on everything,
and given that we've grown so attached the characters to understand what they
are feeling and going through, we connect to how their feelings and change of
heart as we listen and watch these sentimental songs that come across as
emotional. If I had to say what the special's weakest song is (after talking so
highly about the Miser Brothers) I would say that it's the song that Mrs. Claus
sings titled "I Could be Santa Claus". It's not forgettable, and in
many ways it shows how clever and passionate the character of Mrs. Claus is.
It's just the song just comes across as kind of bland, with an idea that's
interesting and could've been the premise for the special, but it doesn't go
anywhere given that's it there to obviously fill-up the special’s run-time and
provide a poor excuse of why Mrs. Claus can't do it (which I'm not even sure if
it really counts as one). There's one other song that the special has, but I'd
rather not give away or give away its title, since it would spoil the ending
for like 3 of you who haven't seen it yet. But to give you a short and brief
summary of what I thought, it’s a joyful rendition of a classic Christmas tune
that has visuals that are reminiscent to a Christmas painting by Currier and
Ives, just in stop-motion.
I suppose the last thing for me to talk about is of course the stop-motion,
but since I've reviewed so many Rankin/Bass specials already I have nothing
that new to say about it. It's clunky, the movements are odd and limited, the
lips movements half of the time don't synchronized with that they're saying,
but it's style of stop-motion gives it all a unique charm that people will
either love or hate, and can't mistake it for anything else. What is there for
me to really talk about? I've pretty much already talked about how imaginative,
eye-poping colorful, and Christmas induced the designs for the characters and
locations are, and for me to go on any further would be quite redundant. Well
if I have any new things that I can say that I haven't already said yet, much like how I
felt about the stop-motion in "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" it wasn't
nearly as awkward and creepy as some of their other specials. I can't think of
a character that had a creepy looking design. Are there any technical flaws
that stood out as weird and distracting? The only major one I can think of is
the scene with Mother Nature where she says the opposite of what she's supposed
to say to each of her boys that surprised me how no one when putting this movie
together caught on to this incredibly obvious mistake to such an important part
of the movie. Otherwise, the animation, visuals, and typical flaws it has is
the kind of stuff that you'd expect to see in a stop-motion Rankin/Bass
production that's either give or take.
It's true that the scenes with the Miser Brothers are the
best parts of the special and are remembered for many good reasons, but it
upsets me that almost everything else about is overlooked. Mrs. Claus is a
lovable and strong character. Mickey Rooney does an outstanding job voicing the
down and out Santa. The supporting characters are likable and fun. The songs
are enjoyably catchy and at times deep. And the messages that the special ties everything
together are executed beautifully. The only flaws I can think of is its clunky
stop-motion, but that's not uncommon in these Rankin/Bass productions, and is a
style that will always have audiences mixed. And some plot holes that are
questionable, but not as distracting as you think they are. It's one of the
great Rankin/Bass specials that needs a little more attention outside of the two
characters that people constantly talk about when discussing it.
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