Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)
Director: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Studio: Rankin/Bass Productions
Starring: Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn
Synopsis:
A foundling raised by toymakers tries to spread cheer to children in an oppressive town and becomes Santa Claus.
Impressions:
This is one of those classic Christmas specials that has a bit of resonance with my generation and the ones preceding it and is one of the main works that people think of when they hear "Rankin/Bass". One of the big draws is the narration by Fred Astaire and a couple musical numbers by him, particularly the eponymous "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" as is Mickey Rooney's leading role as Kris Kringle. I didn't realize that Rankin/Bass outsourced all their productions, which is why the production values are rather different from the earlier Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Honestly, I prefer Rudolph to this, but there's still a fair bit of nostalgic value. Besides the title song, "The First Toymakers to the King" and its villainous reprise, "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" are the stand-outs in the soundtrack. (I may actually be remembering the 1986 broadcast that cut "My World is Beginning Today" and "What Better Way to Tell You", which I found significantly weaker.) It's definitely worth a watch, but probably for most people who don't already have an emotional attachment, it falls just short of being a must-have.
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