The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus

I caught this film on Sky Premier and was glad I did. The characters were appealing, especially Nicholas, Blinky and Whist. The Argawal were good villains. The story was filled with the joy of giving and caring for others which is what Christmas is all about. The songs were pleasant to listen to and the ending was touching. 7/10

I watched this on YTV every year I could since they started airing it. I love it and so does my sister. My mom likes to watch it too. It gives that very Christmas-y feel to our home and when it came on the TV, we knew it was Christmas. I haven't seen the original stop motion one and I'm sure I wouldn't like it as much if I did considering that I think all of those movies are very dark and not filled with as much cheer as the animated ones. I know that this version is excellent for both adults and children and that its a very good movie for the Christmas season.

Watch it! =P

I have written an adaptation of this book and directed it three times for my theater group, and while this is a very nice version, it strays from the original story a little too much. For example, Queen Zurline, who is one of Claus' guardians is completely left out of the story, and there a characters such as Wisk, who are not part of the book. The animation is fine, and they really captured Blinkie, whom I made into a more important and vocal character. The thing I think disappoints me is that Baum's language is so beautiful and it's not part of this version.

By the way, my play is available for production, so please contact me if you would be interested in a production. It can be done as a full production, with a large cast, or with about 7 or 8 actors as a Reader's Theater. Both versions were successful, and it's a pleasant alternative to A Christmas Carol.

This version is better for little ones. The original version has a bit of darkness, so it's better to stick to the lighter version without having to worry about a little one's reactions to it.

The characters are still enchanting, and it's a very touching, light movie.

It's also an excellent way to open up a child's mind to the best part of Christmas... To bring happiness to the lives of others. It's a lot like the Pagan holiday Yule, so it's not as focused on religion but the Spirit of the Holiday... TO spend time with those you love in celebration and bring happiness to all, making winter a little brighter.

This is definitely a great movie to get to the heart of Christmas spirit.

(If you love this one, be sure to check out 1985 version.)

This version of The Life and adventures of Santa Claus is a pale, saccharine sweet sham when compared to the supurbly done stop motion animation of the 1985 version of this same story done by Rankin / Bass. This felt cheesy and half-hearted whereas the stop motion animated one has the distinct feel of a classic and was more true to the heart and feel of the old story by L. Frank Baum.

The story is good but it feels dumbed down compared to the stop motion version. A seldom known fact, Baum connected this story to his loved The Wizard of Oz by saying the immortal faeries of this story are the ones who enchanted the land of Oz to begin with.