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The Year Without a Santa Claus

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This article is about the 1974 television special. For the live-action remake, see The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006 film).
"Heat Miser" redirects here. For the American alternative rock band, see Heatmiser.

The Year Without a Santa Claus
Title page
Based onThe Year Without a Santa Claus
by Phyllis McGinley
Written byWilliam Keenan
Directed byJules Bass
Arthur Rankin Jr.
Voices ofShirley Booth
Mickey Rooney
Dick Shawn
George S. Irving
Narrated byShirley Booth
ComposerMaury Laws
Country of originUnited States
Japan
Production
ProducersJules Bass
Arthur Rankin Jr.
CinematographyAkikazu Kono
Ichiro Komuro
Running time51 minutes
Production companyRankin/Bass Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 10, 1974 (1974-12-10)
Related

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 stop-motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final acting credit before her retirement from acting) and stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn and George S. Irving.[1] It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974, on ABC.[2]

Plot

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Santa Claus awakens with a cold in early December. When a Christmas elf doctor sarcastically says that nobody cares about Christmas like they used to, Santa decides to forego his annual Christmas Eve journey. Hoping to change Santa's mind, Mrs. Claus instructs two elves named Jingle and Jangle to seek evidence of Christmas spirit.

Jingle and Jangle leave with Santa's youngest reindeer Vixen and land in a small town in the Southern United States called Southtown. Unfortunately, their efforts to find Christmas spirit are fruitless, and Vixen is detained by a dog catcher and taken to the local pound.

After learning that Vixen is missing, Santa travels to Southtown, disguised as a civilian named "Klaus". There, he meets a boy named Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite and his family. After Santa leaves to rescue Vixen, Iggy realizes Santa's true identity and resolves to help the elves. Jingle, Jangle and Iggy visit the town's mayor, who agrees to release Vixen if they make it snow in Southtown.

Mrs. Claus collects the trio, and they ask Snow Miser, the keeper of cold weather, to dispatch snow to Southtown for a day. He says that he cannot oblige because Southtown is situated within his brother Heat Miser's domain. They approach Heat Miser, and he offers to cooperate if Snow Miser hands over the North Pole. When neither brother proves willing to cede to the other's wishes, Mrs. Claus tells them that she is going to have to "go over their heads". As Mrs. Claus leaves, Snow Miser and Heat Miser blame each other as Mrs. Claus is going to speak to their mother. When Iggy asks what Mrs. Claus means by that comment, Jingle and Jangle tell Iggy that they are going to go see Mother Nature.

Mrs. Claus' narration stated that she never interacted with Mother Nature before and noted how she did not want to be disturbed. At Mother Nature's house, Mrs. Claus consults with her about the situation. Summoning Snow Miser and Heat Miser to her, Mother Nature persuades her sons to reach a compromise or two where Snow Miser will let it snow in South Town and Heat Miser will allow one warm day at the North Pole.

As Christmas approaches, the children of the world send presents to Santa, generating international headlines. Touched by the outpouring of generosity, Santa decides to embark on his yuletide journey after all. Mrs. Claus remarks that "yearly, newly, faithfully and truly, somehow Santa Claus always comes".

Voice cast

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Songs

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  1. "Sleigh Ride" (instrumental)
  2. "The Year Without a Santa Claus"
  3. "I Could Be Santa Claus"
  4. "I Believe in Santa Claus"
  5. "It's Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie"
  6. "The Snow Miser Song"
  7. "The Heat Miser Song"
  8. "Blue Christmas"
  9. "Sleigh Ride" (instrumental)
  10. "Here Comes Santa Claus"
  11. "The Year Without a Santa Claus (reprise)"

Release

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An advertisement for a rerun of the special in 1998.

The special premiered in 1974 on ABC and aired annually on Freeform during its 25 Days of Christmas programming block until 2017. As of 2018, American Movie Classics airs the uncut special as part of the Best Christmas Ever block.[3] The special also airs on Warner Bros.-owned TNT and TBS as part of the All I Watch for Christmas block, the only Rankin/Bass special that TNT and TBS air.[4][5]

Warner Bros. Entertainment currently distributes the special through their ownership of the post-1974 Rankin/Bass Productions library.

Home video

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The special was released on VHS by Vestron Video on September 5, 1991, as part of their Christmas Classics Series, which is distributed by Family Home Entertainment. Warner Home Video released the special on VHS on September 2, 1992, and re-released it on VHS on September 28, 1999. The special was released on DVD on October 31, 2000, and re-released on the Deluxe Edition DVD on October 2, 2007. Warner Home Video released the special on Blu-ray on October 5, 2010, making it the first Rankin/Bass production to be released on that format.

DVD details

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  • Release date: October 31, 2000 (Original DVD), January 17, 2004 (30th Anniversary Edition DVD), October 2, 2007 (Deluxe Edition DVD), October 5, 2010 (Blu-ray)
  • Full Screen Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Region: 1
  • Audio tracks: English
  • Special Features:

Remake and sequel

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A live-action remake of The Year Without a Santa Claus premiered on NBC on December 11, 2006, and was released on DVD the following day.[6] It follows largely the same plot as the original special.

A sequel titled A Miser Brothers' Christmas was released in 2008, produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Cuppa Coffee Studios, and it also uses stop-motion animation. Mickey Rooney reprised his role as Santa Claus, and George S. Irving reprised his role as Heat Miser. Dick Shawn and Shirley Booth, both of whom died prior to the film's production, were replaced by Juan Chioran and Catherine Disher as Snow Miser and Mrs. Claus, respectively.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards), Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis), and Mrs. Claus (voiced by Peg Dixon) in this special. Various actors portray the other reindeer.
  2. ^ Recurring characters include Frosty the Snowman (voiced by Jackie Vernon), Santa (voiced by Paul Frees), and Professor Hinkle Tinkerton (voiced by Billy De Wolfe) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
  3. ^ Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Mickey Rooney), Mrs. Jessica Claus (voiced by Robie Lester), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Fred Astaire) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
  4. ^ Recurring characters include the Easter Bunny (voiced by Casey Kasem), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
  5. ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Allen Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
  6. ^ Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth), Snow Miser (voiced by Dick Shawn), Heat Miser (voiced by George S. Irving), and Mother Nature (voiced by Rhoda Mann) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
  7. ^ Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Robert Morse and Burl Ives), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
  8. ^ Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Mrs. Crystal Frosty (voiced by Shelley Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special.
  9. ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards) and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
  10. ^ Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Skip Hinnant), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Astaire) in this special.
  11. ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Frees), alongside Rudolph and his other featured reindeer.
  12. ^ Recurring characters in this special include Santa Claus during a scene which compares the Ghost of Christmas Present to him (both characters were voiced by Frees).
  13. ^ The recurring character is Jack Frost (voiced by Robert Morse) in this special.
  14. ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards), Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Darlene Conley), Crystal (voiced by Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
  15. ^ The recurring characters in the special include Santa (voiced by Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
  16. ^ The recurring character is Frosty (voiced by John Goodman) in this special. Mother Nature is also referenced in the short.
  17. ^ Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Kathleen Barr), Santa (voiced by Garry Chalk), and Mrs. Claus (also voiced by Barr) in this film. Santa's other reindeer, and various other characters from the 1964 original also feature.
  18. ^ Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke), and Professor Tinkerton (voiced by Kath Soucie) in this special.
  19. ^ Recurring characters include Snow Miser (voiced by Juan Chioran), Heat Miser (voiced by Irving), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Catherine Disher), and Mother Earth (voiced by Patricia Hamilton) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.

References

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  1. ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 348–349. ISBN 9781476672939.
  2. ^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 461–463. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "AMC PRESENTS ITS LARGEST SLATE OF HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING WITH 'AMC BEST CHRISTMAS EVER'" (Press release). AMC. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Meredith (October 26, 2023). "TBS & TNT Holiday Schedule 2023: 'A Christmas Story,' 'Elf,' 'Friends' Episodes & More". TV Insider. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "TBS 'All I Watch for Christmas' and TNT 'Christmas Maximus' Kick Off Holiday Programming on Saturday, November 2" (Press release). Warner Bros. Discovery. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  6. ^ The Year Without a Santa Claus starring John Goodman, Chris Kattan, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Griffin, Carol Kane from Warner Home Video on DVD – Widescreen, Original Aspect Ratio – 1.78 Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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