Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

This is my favorite of all the Rankin/Bass specials (and they are all excellent). Many people get all the "Animagic" cartoons confused...so I'll try to pinpoint this one. This is not the one with Rudolph ("...the Red-Nosed Reindeer") and not the one with the Heat Miser and Snow Miser ("Year Without A Santa Claus"). This is the one with the toy-hating Burgermeister Meisterburger and.....the Winter Warlock!!

We get to see Santa Claus go from an orphaned baby raised by elves to a groovy, red-haired hip young adult who is outlawed for delivering toys to finally becoming the toy making/giving king of Christmas! We also get to see Mrs Claus as a groovilicious babe in her own right and she finally gets a name, Jessica.

Some charmingly dated scenes only add to the warm innocence of this show: like when Jessica realizes "her own town has turned against her" and begins singing of her love for and desire to be with Kris Kringle....transcending into a cornucopia of hippy-trippy flowers, swirls and polka-dots and finally catching a glimpse of her paper cutout reflection in the water fountain in the center of town. Remarkable!!

But, the show's main message is one of love and the courage to follow your heart and do what you know is right regardless of the obstacles that come in your way. A wonderful Christmas special that no holiday season is complete without.