Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motionChristmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York, New York. The film stars the voices of Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Robie Lester, Joan Gardner and Paul Frees, as well as an assistant song performance by the Westminster Children's Choir. The film tells the story of how Santa Claus and several Claus-related Christmas traditions came to be. It is based on the hit Christmas song "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", which was introduced on radio by Eddie Cantor in 1934, and the story of Saint Nicholas. The special was created using Japanese stop motion animation called "Animagic", in which all the characters are made out of wood and plastic and animated via stop-motion photography. The special was originally telecast December 14, 1970 by ABC and continues to air every year on sibling channel ABC Family though both channels have at times edited the special to make room for commercials, Winter Warlock knowing Kris will return and telling him he will never escape, and the scene where the Burgermeister torches the seized toys in front of the children of Sombertown. The DVD releases include these deleted scenes given that they are vital to the story's plot. In 2019, Freeform's print of the special included the 2012 Universal Pictures logo preceding the film, due to their purchase of DreamWorks Animation, the current owner of the pre-1974 Rankin/Bass library, in 2016 and the scenes that were originally cut were added as well.
Plot
Special Delivery "S.D." Kluger is introduced after a newsreel prologue, telling the viewer how children around the world are preparing for the arrival of Santa Claus. When his snowmobile/mail truck breaks down, he tells the story of Santa Claus, answering the children's letters to Santa. The story begins in the gloomy city of Sombertown, ruled by the ill-tempered Burgermeister Meisterburger. A baby arrives on his doorstep with a name tag reading "Claus" and note requesting that the Burgermeister raise the child. He then orders his lawkeeper Grimsby to take the baby to the "Orphan Asylum". On the way there, a gust of wind blows both sled and baby to the mountain of the Whispering Winds, where the animals hide him from the Winter Warlock and convey him to an Elvish family by the name of Kringle. Led by Tanta Kringle, the elf queen, they adopt the baby and name him “Kris”. A few years later, Kris hopes to restore the Kringle family as "The First Toymakers to the King". When Kris is old enough, he volunteers to deliver the elves' toys to Sombertown. Meanwhile, the Burgermeister has banned all toys in the town, and declares that anyone found possessing a toy will be arrested. On his way to Sombertown, Kris meets a lost penguin whom he names Topper. In the town, he offers toys to two children washing their stockings by a water fountain. He is stopped by Miss Jessica, their lovely school teacher; but she softens toward Kris when he offers her a china doll as a "peace offering". As Kris gives more toys, the Burgermeister arrives, and Kris gives him a yo-yo. The Burgermeister at first happily plays with it; but when Grimsby reminds him of breaking his own law, the Burgermeister orders Kris' capture. As Kris and Topper return to the Kringles, the Winter Warlock captures them; but when Kris gives him a toy train as a present, the Warlock befriends Kris. To repay him, he re-unites Kris with Jessica, who informs him that the Burgermeister has destroyed all the toys and the children now request new ones. When the Burgomaster hears that Kris means to bring more toys, he orders all doors to be locked, before their houses are searched; but Kris enters by the chimneys, and the children hang their stockings by the fireplace to conceal the toys therein. Thereafter the Burgermeister sets a trap for Kris as he makes another delivery, and thus captures the Kringles, Topper, and Winter. Jessica pleads with the Burgermeister to release her friends, but he refuses, and Jessica requests Winter Warlock to break everyone out; but Winter refuses, on grounds of having little magic except some feed corn enabling reindeer to fly. With the reindeer's help, the Kringles, Kris, Topper, and Winter escape. After months as an outlaw and discovery that their home was destroyed by the Burgermeister's guards, Kris returns to the woods, where he grows a beard as a disguise. After Tanta suggests that he return to his birth name of "Claus" for safety, Kris marries Jessica. After the ceremony, the group travels to the North Pole to build their own castle and workshop. As the years pass and Kris and Jessica grow older, Kris travels only at night to evade the Burgomaster's enforcers, until the laws against him are abolished and Kris' legend goes worldwide. Having become Santa Claus, he is unable to fulfill all the toy requests throughout the year, and reserves his efforts for Christmas Eve. At the end, S.D. Kluger remembers that he still has to deliver letters to Santa and leaves in his newly-repaired truck for the North Pole during the credits. Santa steps out of his castle and waves to the viewers.
Cast
Fred Astaire as Special Delivery "S.D." Kluger
Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa Claus
Keenan Wynn as Winter Warlock
Robie Lester as Miss Jessica/Mrs. Claus
Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger, Grimsley, Topper, Doctor, Guards, Townspeople
Joan Gardner as Tanta Kringle, Townspeople
Dina Lynn, Greg Thomas, Gary White, and Andrea Sacino as the children
Musical numbers
"The First Toymakers to the King" sung by Tanta and the Kringles featuring the Mike Sammes Singers
"No More Toymakers to the King" sung by Burgermeister Meisterburger and Grimsley
"Be Prepared to Pay" a.k.a. "If You Sit On My Lap Today" sung by Kris and the Westminster Children's Choir
"Wedding Song" a.k.a. "What Better Way To Tell You" sung by S. D. Kluger and The Mike Sammes Singers
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" sung by S. D. Kluger and the Westminster Children's Choir
Released by Rhino on October 1, 2002, the soundtrack for Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is available along with that of Frosty the Snowman, the Rankin-Bass special produced the previous year in 1969. This edition contains the full dialogue and all songs for both specials.
Home media
Beginning in 1989, the special has been released numerous times on VHS and DVD. The 2005 DVD release included a CD single of Mariah Carey performing the title song. The special is also available as part of a DVD box set with other Rankin/Bass Christmas titles including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, and Bill Melendez's Frosty Returns. In 2010, the special was released in the same box set on Blu-ray Disc. In 2015, both the special and Frosty the Snowman were released on Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo packs in the 45th Anniversary Collector's Edition.
Novelization
A novelization of the special was published by Running Press Book Publishers in 2008. The script was adapted by Sierra Harimann with watercolor illustrations based on the original show by Mike Koelsch. There are some additional details in the book, although it is unknown if they are from the imagination of the author or were based on the original script. The Dismal Forest is at the foot of the Mountain of the Whispering Winds. The little girl and boy Kris meets when he arrives are named Annette and Andy. The Sombertown Dungeon was built like a fort with a courtyard in the center, and it is there that the reindeer land to rescue everyone.
