Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

How did Santa get his red suit? Where did his name come from? Why does he come down our chimney? These questions and more are answered as we explore Santa's history in this Rankin Bass special.

Long ago there was a small baby simply named Claus and is found by Grimbsy. The child is quickly brought fort to the man in charge of the town , the Burgermeister who sends the baby away. Grimbsy however, loses Claus when a strange wind carries him off to the woods where the animals take him to be taken in by the elves. It's almost like a scene out of Snow White, the lost child being befriended by animals and coming to live with a group of small people. However, unlike Snow White the animals teach Claus many things such as how to laugh, play and climb trees. The elves of course teach him how to make toys, follow the stars among other things.

As time passes Claus is given the name Kris and tells the elves (whose last name is Kringle) that he will take their unused toys they make to the children in the nearby town. While travelling through he befriends a small penguin named Topper and makes a temporary enemy out of the Winter Warlock. As he arrives, Kris finds out from the school children and their teacher, Jessica, that the Burgermeister has outlawed toys.

What follows is Kris becoming a wanted man for bringing toys to the children and breaking the silly law that was put into place. He tries many times over the next while to bring them the toys in various fashions and explains why Santa comes down the chimney and puts toys in our stockings. Through all this he even befriends the Winter Warlock whose icy heart melts away and marries Jessica who becomes Mrs. Claus.

Santa Claus is Coming To Town is a great Rankin Bass short and a staple to any Christmas viewing log. It's rather enjoyable getting to see how Santa became who he is and why he does things the way that he does. The short though does have a couple odd spots here and there such as Jessica's rather trippy song and the lack of explanation on how Kris and the other Kringles escape from behind bars. Despite these it is still a great show to watch and the pros far outweigh the cons.