Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is a 1970 animated Christmas special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It is narrated by Fred Astaire and stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Robie Lester, Joan Gardner, and Paul Frees. The film tells the story of how Santa Claus and several Claus-related Christmas traditions came to be, and is based on the Christmas song of the same name, which was introduced by Eddie Cantor in 1934.
Plot[]
After a newsreel prologue showing children preparing for the annual arrival of Santa Claus, we are introduced to the narrator, Special Delivery “S. D.” Kluger. When his snowmobile/mail truck breaks down, he decides to tell the story of Santa in response to several letters sent from children.
The story begins in a gloomy village called Sombertown, which is ruled by the grouchy, ill-tempered mayor Burgermeister Meisterburger. One day, Grimsley, Burgermeister’s right-hand man, finds a baby with a name tag reading “Claus” on his front doorstep, and a note requesting that he raise the child as his own. But Burgermeister refuses to care for the child and, instead, angrily orders Grimsley to take the baby to the local orphan asylum. On the way over, however, a gust of wind blows the baby far away to the Mountain of the Whispering Winds. There, a group of animals hide him from the wicked Winter Warlock, a powerful wizard who dislikes anyone trespassing on his land.
The animals then bring the baby to Rainbow River Valley, where is found by a family of elves by the name of Kringle. Their queen, Tanta Kringle, resolves to adopt him and gives him the name “Kris.” The Kringles give Kris a good education, a loving home, and most importantly, they teach him the practice of making toys, having been “the first toymakers to the king” long ago. When Kris is old enough, he volunteers to deliver the toys to Sombertown, joined along the way by a lost penguin whom he names Topper. Meanwhile, the Burgermeister, after tripping on a toy duck and breaking his funny bone, declares all toys unlawful and enacts a new law stating that anyone with a toy in their possession will be will be arrested and thrown in the dungeon.
After avoiding an encounter with the Winter Warlock, Kris arrives in Sombertown, where he bestows toys on the children, even giving one to Miss Jessica, the local schoolteacher who initially halts him, as she like everyone else follows the toy ban, but then quickly warms up to him when he gives her a China doll as a “peace offering.” Afterwards, Burgermeister arrives and nearly arrests the children for playing with the toys. Kris gives him a yo-yo, which he initially enjoys (admitting that he loved playing with yo-yos when he was a kid), only for Grimsley to remind him that he is breaking his own law. Enraged, Burgemeister orders his men to arrest Kris, but he and Topper barely manage to escape and flee into the woods.
The duo are not so lucky on the trip back over the mountain, as they are captured by the Winter Warlock’s tree monster minions and the Warlock confronts them. However, after Kris gives him a toy train, touched by this act of kindness, the Warlock’s icy heart (and exterior) melts away and he befriends Kris, whom he asks to call him “Winter.” To repay him, Winter agrees to help Kris with some magic in return for some toys. He teaches him how to make a magic crystal snowball, one in which they see that Jessica is looking for Kris. Kris meets Jessica in the woods, and she tells him that the Burgermeister destroyed all of the toys he delivered and the children want new ones. The Kringles move onto Winter’s mountain and build a new workshop there, where Kris starts delivering more toys at night.
To prevent further toy deliveries, Burgermeister orders all doors and windows locked. But this attempt to thwart Kris is in vain, as Kris enters by the chimneys. Next, Burgermeister then begins searching houses outright, so Kris resolves to hide the toy is the children’s stockings, which they hang routinely in front of the fireplace. Frustrated with his inability to stop Kris, the Burgermeister sets a trap for him when he makes another delivery. Jessica tries to warn Kris, but she is too late. Grimsley and the Burgermeister’s troops arrest Winter and the Kringles, while Burgermeister personally captures Kris, who has no choice but to surrender when he sees Topper being taken hostage outside. With the Kringles and most of their allies now in the dungeon, the Burgermeister personally sets fire to the toys as the crying children look on, declaring that they will never play with toys again.
Jessica implores the Burgermeister to release Kris and the Kringle family, but he pleas fall on deaf ears. That night, she visits the prison and converses with Winter, who has no magic left, except for some corn that makes reindeer fly. This inspires Jessica to give some of the corn to Kris’ reindeer friends—Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen—who then use their new flying ability to help Kris and his friends escape. The enraged Burgermeister vows that he and his men will hunt them down eventually. After some time, Kris grows a beard as a disguise, and Tanta suggests that he return to his birth name “Claus” for safety. Kris asks Jessica to share the name of Claus with him, as his wife. After they are married under a fully decorated pine tree, the group travels to the North Pole, where they build a new workshop and make more toys for the children of Sombertown. Eventually, with the death of Burgermeister, the toy ban is nullified and Kris’ legend goes worldwide, with he himself deemed a saintly figure. Now known as Santa Claus, due to the demand for toys, Santa realizes that he cannot keep up with all the toy requests, leading to his decision to go out just once a year; that being Christmas Eve, the holiest night of the year, and the perfect time for giving.
The special ends as S. D. Kluger reflects on what Christmas is truly about, even though there are still a few misguided folks who do not understand the meaning of Christmas or Santa. Having by now fixed his mail truck, he remembers that he still has to deliver the letters to Santa. Joined by Topper, Winter and the Kringle Brothers, S. D. drives to Santa’s castle with a parade of children while singing the title song as the credits roll.
Cast[]
- Fred Astaire as Special Delivery “S. D.” Kluger
- Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa Claus (adult)
- Keenan Wynn as The Winter Warlock
- Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger, Grimsley, the Kringle Brothers (Dingle, Wingle, Zingle, Tingle, Bingle), Sombertown guardsmen, townsfolk, Ebenezer Scrooge, businessman, newsreel announcer, additional voices
- Joan Gardner as Tanta Kringle, cashier, townsfolk
- Robie Lester as Miss Jessica/Mrs. Claus
Songs[]
- “The First Toymakers to the King”
- "No More Toymakers to the King:
- “If You Sit On My Lap Today (Be Prepared to Pay)”
- "Put One Foot in Front of the Other"
- “My World is Beginning Today”
- “The Wedding Song”
- "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"
Gallery[]
