Review of Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) by Kendall I — 14 Dec 2011

My very favorite of the Rankin-Bass Christmas stories.

PLOT:Letters of questions are pouring in the mail for Santa this Christmas, and the local mailman (Fred Astaire) has the answers to all of them in the story of Kris Kringle. Kris (Mickey Rooney) is raised by the Kringle elf family when kicked out of town by the heartless mayor, Herr Burgermiester, and attempts to bring the elves' unused toys to the good children of the town, but he has to cross the paths of the wicked Winter Warlock (Keenan Wynn), getting caught by Burgermiester, and getting around the law of toys being banned! It's a unique tale on the popular legend of Santa Claus and is executed charmingly.

VOICES:With this being a Rankin-Bass Christmas feature, you can expect that voices aren't the main concern-and that's the truth! The minor actors' voices are punctual and bland much like a badly acted play, but I believe the main voices pick it up. Astaire is a wonderful storyteller and does a great job voicing. Rooney steals the show as the voice of Kris and puts the some of the charm of the special in.

SCORE:The score, or soundtrack, includes many specially written songs that are semi-good. Some are toe-tappingly great and others are touching and sentimental. It's definitely not the best movie soundtrack, but it's worth it.

ANIMATION:The Rankin-Bass animation is very distinctive and nostalgic. In here, it shines. Since Rudolph, things have definitely improved and the realism is improved as well as the nostaligic stop-motion and punctual style of the 60s and 70s. The most magically animated sequence would have to be the "Things Are Changing" musical sequence. It combines stop-motion with mezmerizing and psychadelic backgrounds.

OTHER CONTENT:Even though this movie is a little childlike, punctual, and primitive; its nostalgic value and family likeableness give it a certain holiday charm that overwelms its flaws into a warm, adorable Christmas special.

OVERALL,a great Christmas special with a charming plot, punctual acting aside from the main performances, enjoyable soundtrack, nostalgic animation, and a special holiday charm that holds a special place in many families' hearts.