Yes, Virginia

This short (only a 1/2 hour with commercials) telling of the now-well-known letter to the editor of the New York Sun written by 8 yr old Virginia is a well-told and touching special. The animation is great, it is almost claymation-like (similar to a Tim Burton movie). The characters are voiced by entertaining actors, including Neil Patrick Harris and Alfred Molina, as well as Jennifer Love Hewitt and Mike Buscemi (Steve Buscemi's brother). The writing is spectacular (newcomer Chris Plehal delivers a wonderful holiday tale). This was produced and supported by Macy's, but other than a very subtle "RH Macy's" sign in the background of a few scenes, it does not feel forced nor does it scream "product placement." Everyone should add this to their yearly Christmas traditions!

I assume most who praised this thing never seen the Emmy winning classic Bill Melendez special "Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus" The Bill Melendez take on the story is more enjoyable than this as it felt believable with the response portrayed with more respect then the Macy's adaptation

the 2009 Macy's adaptation (of which saddens me that this rubbish made the Bill Melendez special fell into obscurity) is bad

Key points 1. It's dated Commercial for Macy's: When the (now obsolete/no longer used) Believeometer is a plot device of the special more so than Virginia's faith in Santa's existence and her letter to Mr. Church, You know we got problems

2. It's a Lifetime Film for Kids: Virginia through the special suffers misery as she's been tormented for her belief in Santa Her friend believe some stuck up little bitch and turn their back on her, same bitch mock her when she sees her letter trashed by Mr. Church - all that to the point of Virginia brought to the point of depression and all it took was a hobo in a Santa suit to restore her faith in Santa by confronting Church and motivate him to make that response

Again, Why this rubbish stuck around and the more enjoyable one ("Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus") fell into obscurity as well as Dollar Store DVD fodder is beyond me

If you like this, To each his own but honestly, If you want your kids to know the legacy of "Yes, Virginia" and the moral it brings - You're better off hunting down Bill Melendez's "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus"

When this would make its premiere a couple years back, I wanted to see it, but wasn't able to do so. I was hoping this would air again this year too so that I could finally catch it (and it would, and did), but I tried searching for any video copies of the full special on Google (after finding that Youtube once again only has clips), and I managed to come across it on Veoh. It was there I saw it at last for the first time either the last weekend of last month or the first weekend of this month (I'm not sure). I'd watch it a second time on t.v.

And it is another fantastic holiday special. It has since become a favorite CGI featurette of mine. It's just great and very well done, I love it. To anyone who hasn't already seen it and is reading my review, you won't be disappointed at all.

I just found out that this (and another version in 2D, which I haven't seen yet, but will eventually) is actually inspired by a true story. Basically, it's about a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon who asks whether Santa Claus is factual or fictional. She sets off to getting to the bottom of finding proof by writing a letter of the inquiry and attempting to send it to the presses. After getting through unsuccessfully at first due to the head of the local gazette company refusing to accept this as more than simply a mere fantasy (which he believes would damage the company's reputation if he allowed the letter to appear in print), Virginia begins having doubts that maybe Santa being non-existent is true after all and that has been right all along. But thanks to some convincing from the scraggly, street Santa, the gazette's head has a change of mind and heart, having second thoughts.

The lesson is having belief in the evidence of something (or someone) isn't necessarily always by sight but by feeling. And if one hangs in there, is persistent and holds out on the belief and hope long enough, that something (or someone) will show up and come to them, all in good time.

A few years ago, I reviewed Bill Melendez' animated version of "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" with narration by Jim Backus that I thought was excellent. This one is a new computer animated version partly produced by the Macy's company that differs from the previous one but is no less touching. In fact, making the New York Sun editor, Francis Church-the author of the actual editorial that became famous, express some cynicism before penning his piece brings somewhat of a more dramatic tone that made the thing a little more believable to me. And it was also interesting that the person that made him change his mind was a former employee reduced to being a Santa ringer in order to make money. And Virginia also is more touching as she experiences some self-doubt based on the way an especially snotty girl gets to her. So on that note, I highly recommend "Yes, Virginia".

Based on an 1897 editorial in The New York Sun, eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon believes in Santa Claus but it seems few others do. Her little brother suggests the skinny vagrant in the dirty Santa suit as the real Santa Claus. Her friends don't believe. She can't find any definitive answer in any book. Her father suggests writing to the newspaper. The editor is dismissive at first but eventually, with the vagrant Santa's urging, writes the iconic editorial.

The animation is second tier even for a TV special. It's a little dirty and grim. The story is really simple. The editorial is where the heart is and a larger portion of it has to be read. Like Linus reciting the biblical passage, the words have great power. This is a lesser level Christmas special but it's very sincere in its sentiment.