The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus

My son loves this and it is beautifully animated. Unlike the 1985 version of this same story, the angel of death is beautifully unthreatening. Let your kids try it out and you might not mind watching either. To quote my son, "It's kind of cheery watching these Christmas shows."

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.)

In today's market where the flashiest commercials are used to optimize profits at Christmas time, this movie takes us back to the early days of Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. It's a relief to see the joy of giving. Although L. Frank Baum is known, justifiably, for his other classic, his style shines through in this movie, inspired by Baum's book. Clearly, Nicholas is the main character. But his mother, his carvings, which became the first toy gifts to children, the lion, the fairies, especially Winky add substantially to the plot. The youngest child will enjoy this movie. However, don't think it's just for young child. Our teenage children also like the playfulness and innocence that shine through in a good versus evil plot within the movie.

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 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.