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6 Degrees Entertainment

'The Year Without a Santa Claus' [Blu-ray]
(Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, George S. Irving, Bob McFadden, et al / 2-Disc Blu-ray+DVD / G / 2010 / Warner Bros.)

Overview: 'The Year Without a Santa Claus' is the beloved 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animation television special that tells the story of the year Santa Claus (voiced by Mickey Rooney) decides to skip gift-giving and take a holiday, because he feels the children of the world have forgotten about him. Eager to help, Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth) sends two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, to search the world and find people who still believe in old St. Nick.

DVD Verdict: Have you heard? Christmas has been cancelled! Santa Claus (voice of Mickey Rooney) believes that there is no Christmas spirit left in the world. Why deliver presents to children who don't even care? So old Saint Nicholas declares a sick day and decides to stay in bed. His elves Jingle Bells and Jangle Bells can't believe it.

Mrs. Claus (voice of Shirley Booth), however, is determined to keep her husband's gift-giving tradition alive (whether he likes it or not!). She sends Jingle and Jangle out into the world to find an example of good will so that Santa will change his mind. The elves, along with Vixen the reindeer, head for Southtown, USA - and head right into trouble!

First Vixen is snatched by the town dog catcher. When Jingle and Jangle appeal to the mayor to let her go, he laughs at them. The mayor won't release their reindeer unless they use "elf magic" to make it snow in Southtown (where it hasn't snowed in 100 years). There's only way to get it to snow, so Jingle and Jangle, Mrs. Claus, and a local boy named Iggy (who thinks believing in Santa is for "little kids") pay a visit to the Snow Miser.

Sorry, Santa, I've got to cheer for the "Bad Guys" here because the scenes with the tall, cool Snow Miser fighting with his short, hot-tempered step-brother Heat Miser are the best part of the show!

You can't help but sing along when the brothers introduce themselves ("I'm Mr. Heat Miser, I'm Mr. Sun ..."). And I love Snow Miser's chilly sense of humor:
Snow Miser: "How's your hubby, Mrs. Claus?"
Mrs. Claus: "He's got a bad cold, I'm afraid."
Snow Miser: "He should've come to me. I would've given him a good one!"

My family and I watch this show every year and it never gets old. [MM] This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.33:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:

* Rudolph’s Shiny New Year -- When the baby New Year named Happy goes missing, Father Time (voiced by Red Skelton) asks Rudolph to find him before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
* Nestor the Long-eared Christmas Donkey -- Back in the days of the Roman Empire, a small donkey named Nestor who is teased mercilessly about his abnormally long ears, becomes a hero when he is chosen by Mary and Joseph to take them to Bethlehem where Mary gives birth to baby Jesus.
* We are Santa’s Elves – A documentary focusing on the legacy of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. the production company known for creating several, memorable seasonal television specials.
* School of Stop Motion – Presents the Chiodo Brothers, modern day masters of stop motion animation as they introduce viewers to their studio and also to their craft via a by-step demonstration aimed at young people.

www.WarnerVideo.com





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