Santa Claus Comin' To Town

One of the weakest parts of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is Santa Claus. We can do a film to focus on him particular, but Stan Francis died in 1966, thus there were delays in any plan for Santa Claus. Best option was to kinda reboot their Santa to be played by a different actor. Paul Frees is the right part for Santa as he first starts in Frosty, but they needed to focus on Santa when he was young, and it’ll save me from mentioning his name when he plays the villains instead. So who would be the voice of Santa and happened to be around the same age as Frees? Fortunately, there’s a perfect Santa Claus right here.

“Jiminy Jillikers, Jiminy Jillikers, Jiminy Jillikers!”

-Mick Rooney as Fallout Boy in the Simpsons.

Yes he’ll do. This is Santa Claus Comin To Town.

Postman Fred Astaire tells the Life and Adventure of Santa Claus. (Not to be confused by the story of the same name of L. Frank Baum and we’ll get there close to the end.)

Baby Claus was founded by to bring to the Burgermeister, but was rejected to be put into the orphanage, but lost the baby to the storm. The animals protect Baby Claus from the dread Winter Warlock (voiced by Keenan Wynn), as they took the baby was adapted by the Kringles Elves, with their elf queen, Tanta Kringle and she named him Kris Kringle. They raised him through the essential requirement, including being a toymaker. Kris grew up to be a man, as he sets out to deliver the toys to Somber Town with a lost penguin named Topper. However, Burgermeister had an accident from a toy that has him to outlaw toys in Somber Town, or else the owner will be thrown to the dungeon. Kris has won the heart of the children of Somber Town (assuming Germany) and their teacher, Jessica (voiced by Robie Lester).

After Kris escaped from Burgermeister, he got captured by the Winter Warlock, but with his kindness and a toy warms Mr. Warlock’s heart to become Winter. Later, Jessica warned Kris that the Burgermeister has made the laws stricter for the toys that Kris has found many ways to give toys to the children in Somber Town.

Fred Astaire is an interesting choice as a narrator. He’s mostly famous as a tap dancing actor, but it’s done under stop-motion animation and he’s not the focus, so the tap dancing isn’t as good as his films prior. You can argue they could have him dance for reference as Danny Kaye’s acting was captured to be animated. However, as we seen him in Finian’s Rainbow and That’ Entertainment part 2 in his age, he can’t do much dancing anymore. So having him speak and sing is the best they can work with.

Mick Rooney is one of the perfect Santa Claus, and the rare times we see him as a young man. Energized, positive, and wise enough work out any situations. His kindness is as contagious as Santa’s should, as he cemented Santa Claus for Rankin Bass. Burgermeister is a funny stick in the mud that we enjoy his misery, and I like it when Paul Frees voices two different range of voices are together, as he had experiences in a Universal cartoon before. Jessica is the best yet probably the only young Ms. Claus. She has a trippy music number that probably paint the image to be expected in 1970, and that beautiful voice. A singing voice so good, she had to sing for Ava Gabor, twice in films you may know. Speaking of which, the music is mostly memorable. The song "One Foot and than the Other" isn't much to some, but I'll take this than the Randy Newman version.

"Left foot, Right foot! Left foot, Right foot! Left foot, Right Fo-"

- Randy Newman singing in Family Guy, until he was knocked out by an apple from Lois. 

Somber Town is a bleak big town that’s perfect enough to be reused twice in Peter Cottontail and Emperor’s New Clothing, even some of the instrumental music. The town can work as a Hammer Film with Kris being the only Red and Jessica in blue that pop out. 

This is one of my favorite Christmas films on par with Rudolph and Frosty. Rooney became the best Santa Rankin Bass ever made, and his story will continue with Santa in bed half of the time.