Favorite Rankin-Bass Christmas Special

[Auggie Doggie]

You know them, they air every year on CBS and Fox/ABC Family.

Classic stop-motion puppetry (or drawings in some cases, like Frosty) telling stories involving Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty, the Snowman or the Naitivity. The four most signifigant ones (on video and DVD from Golden Books Family Entertainment) are Santa Claus is Coming to Town (based on the song and told by dancing postman Fred Astire, which is supposed to answer some questions about him, but inadvertingly rewrites his origin story), Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (also based on a holiday song, [promise not to laugh?] I can't exactly remember what happened [it has been a while since I watched it], but it involves the same thing as in the song, misfit toys and a snowman narrator), Frosty, the Snowman (told by Johnathon Winters[?] and based on the holiday song, word for word, about his origin and how they saved him, the only one of the three animated with drawings, not puppets, plus not only taking place at Christmas), and The Little Drummer Boy (the only one relating to Jesus's Birth and tells the story of the title character and the Naitivity) half of them (the first and last) airing on Fox/ABC Family (with the lesser ones specials) and the others on CBS, THE ONLY ONES ON NETWORK TV.

Here are the four and some Fox/ABC Family ones. Choose which one you like (vote other if your fav. isn't listed [of course] or if it a recent one [like Frosty Returns or Santa, Baby!]).

[Mek]

Even though I am a religious person, and I love seeing religious-themed holiday specials, 'The Little Drummer Boy' drives me up the wall. And I don't mean that in a nice way. X_x;;; It's annoying.

However, I like 'A Year Without a Santa Claus'. I may despise Christimas specials in general, but the Mizers (esp. the Snow Mizer ^^) keep me glued to the screen whenever it's on. =)

[RockItShipper]

It's a toss-up between Year W/O a Santa Claus, and Rudolph. I actually picked them both up on DVD last year while writing a slash ficcie with some characters from them both.

The worst I've seen has to be Nestor the long-eared Christmas donkey.

[Anthonynotes]

"Frosty the Snowman" was narrated by Jimmy Durante (Jonathan Winters narrated the wretched sequel "Frosty Returns").

I voted for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which in our house growing up was considered all but mandatory annual viewing by my mother (and still is, despite my giving her the video for Christmas a few years ago).

Runners-up:
Frosty the Snowman
The Frosty sequel (w/Jack Frost)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (Snow Miser and Heat Miser rocked :-) )

The Frosty/Rudolph crossover one might qualify as a runner-up as well (just for the sheer fanboyish pleasure of seeing a reunion of all their Christmas special-related characters in one special), though it gets points knocked off it for Ethel Merman's singing...

"Frosty Returns"... ick. Don't consider that as a "sequel" at all---where's his hat and pipe?! And the animation's apparently done by the "Peanuts" special animators (rather than in the Rakin-Bass cartoon house style)... and the preachy message...


-B.

[rabidrednek]

Jack Frost was one of my favorites as a kid, and the original Rudolph was a close second.

There were two versions of the life and adventures of santa clause, the stop motion original, and the animated remake. The stop motion version is infinetly better. Better written, better drama, etc. The animated remake Threw out a lot of the dramatic stuff to make it more "kid friendly" ie, goofy bad guys and odius comic relief.

One special that isn't mentiond is one I believe is called "the leprechauns christmas gold" It had a couple of good songs and a pretty good story.

[mobo85]

Rankin-Bass did make a sequel to Frosty, Frosty's Winter Wonderland. This involved Frosty gaining a wife.

My favorite? Rudolph. The quintessential secular Christmas special (A Charlie Brown Christmas being the quintessential religious special).

[Chris Wood]

Originally posted by mobo85
(A Charlie Brown Christmas being the quintessential religious special).

Charlie Brown was religious?

[Mad Mary Kidd]

Originally posted by Desslar
Charlie Brown was religious?

Yeah. Remember the end? Linus quotes the nativity story from the Gospels of the New Testament.

My favorite Rankin-Bass special is definitely Rudolph. Honestly, I've never seen a lot of these or only saw them once. And I've always hated Frosty, if only because snowmen give me nightmares.

[anime fan]

frostys winter wonderland
twas the night before christmas i love em their on boomerang uk every year.

[Boy Wonder]

For me, nothing is more nostalgic or heart-warming than the annual CBS showing of Ruldolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

[CookieS]

I chose Roudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, simply because its the most classic and loved. Its just more epic-feeling than the other comedic offerings. My runner up is Fosty the Snowman, and then Rudolph's Shiney New Year.

[Kolbar]

"Santa Clause is Comin' to Town" is my favorite. I loved the scenes with the mayor of the town and the Mrs. Kringle's house. Rankin & Bass did really great Christmas specials and I liked all of them but that one was my favorite.

My other top favorites are "The Year Without a Santa Clause" and "Frosty the Snowman," and my least two favorites are "The Life and Adventures of Santa Clause" and "Frosty Returns."

[Chris Wood]

Er, which is the one with Baby New Year? And wasn't there an Easter special?

[Bakasama]

The one where Rudolph got sent on a mission to find Baby New Year? I think the name of that one is, "Rudolph's Shiny New Year".

[Mark McNeil]

I vote for "Twas The Night Before Christmas". Great songs in that special.

[Skeeter]

I voted for Jack Frost. I loved the storyline, and the fact that it didn't really have a "happy" ending to it. Plus I prefer Robert Morse's Jack Frost to Paul Frees'.

Second place would have to go to Pinnochio's Christmas and Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July for stop-motion specials. For 2-D animation second place is awarded to The Stingiest Man in Town, one of my favorite adaptations of Christmas Carol.

[Roaming Tigress]

"A Year Without Santa Claus" and "Rudolph" tied. I simply can't choose a favorite among those two.

[Peter Paltridge]

The original Rudolph was the first, the best and the king of them all. I love the Snow Misers, but they're not the Bumble.

And I like Frosty Returns. *dodges weapon fire*

[Jeff Harris]

'Twas The Night Before Christmas had the best song (Even A Miracle Needs A Hand), but I'm torn between Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the original Frosty the Snowman as my favorite (Frosty's Winter Wonderland and Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas In July were okay, but not Christmasy [and Frosty Returns wasn't made by Rankin-Bass]). Rudolph taught me that freaks and weirdos like myself will always make things better in the end, and Frosty told me how evil school administrations could be by keeping kids in school on December 24. Seriously, that's as bad as having year-long schools.

Rankin-Bass were imaginative folks too. They produced two Santa Claus origin stories (Santa Claus is Coming To Town and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus). two occasions in which Santa felt that nobody cared about him (A Year Without Santa Claus and 'Twas The Night Before Christmas), two Little Drummer Boy episodes, and created two different Jack Frosts (I think the one in Frosty's Winter Wonderland and the one in Jack Frost might be two different guys).

It's a damned shame they don't make Christmas specials like they used to.