#rankin bass christmas specials

[zndr315-blog]

I want to hear you say “I like all of them!”

You told us about your favorite folkloric Christmas monsters, but what are your favorite Rankin Bass Christmas monsters and why?

I think I included at least one of them in my list, actually, but I'd have to double check to be sure.

Anyway, it's the Winter Warlock, because I love his design and redemption arc and the fact that he makes the (first) Rankin Bass origin story for Santa into "Santa Claus was a counter culture rebel who teamed up with a black-magic using Pagan wizard to fight the status quo and then had said black magic user preside as the officiant of his outdoors-by-necessity wedding, because while no town would accept them, they were all valid in the natural world, which is explicitly the domain of God."

I'm also very fond of the Miser brothers, and since I'm answering this late at night I'm gonna go ahead and say the Banshee was a total baddie in her human guise.

Especially when she let the disguise drop a tad.

She can Rankin my bass any-wait, what were we talking about?

[fibula-rasa]

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)  

[letterboxd | imdb]

Director: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Studio: Rankin/Bass Productions & Pacific Animation Corporation

[helloparkerrose]

[wishywashysmoshy]

Why does Tommy doing a British accent sound like an elf????? 😭😭😭

[deebrisbyfish]

Merry Whatever you Celebrate IF you do so! Here's an extra holiday-themed strip for the season! Now, for all the talk about the Mandela effect and if it was Berenstain or Berenstein, etc., here's a case where a beloved childhood memory actually HAS been manipulated and changed with multiple, wildly different versions out there that is rarely discussed. Seriously, look it up. The Rankin Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has about as many different edits and versions as the Star Wars Special Editions. It's kind of wild. When this eventually gets colored for the book collections, I am SO gonna make my sweater blue and then change it to green mid-way through. IYKYK. ;)

[stone-cold-groove]

Let’s roll.

[thelovelydoggycatmadi]

GET RANKIN BASSED!!!!

Alright chat, real question, do y'all wanna see more of this art style this month?

if there interest I might take request for me to draw other aphverse characters in this style.

[princesssarisa]

I was going to wait till December to share this poll, but so many Christmas decorations are popping up everywhere that I already have the spirit and can't wait anymore.

If you grew up with the classic Rankin/Bass animated Christmas specials – both stop-motion and traditional animation – which one is your favorite?

[thehappyspaceman]

Ranking All the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Specials

So, I’m in the process of finishing the script for a review of all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer specials. However, I don’t know if I will realistically be able to complete my video before Christmas, so here is my ranking of every Rudolph special, from best to worst.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964): Despite all the memes (“Deviation from the norm will be punished unless it is exploitable!”), the original Rankin/Bass Rudolph special holds up much better than most of the internet gives it credit for. It has memorable characters and songs, it is well-paced and does not try to cram too many subplots into its runtime, its stop-motion animation was quite good for the time (and has a unique charm nowadays), and it actually fixes most of the issues with the original song and story. It’s a classic. 9.5/10

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976): The follow-up to the Rankin/Bass special is not as good as the first one, and the lesson of “If people laugh at you, it’s because you bring them joy and that’s a good thing!” is kind of reprehensible, but it’s still pretty alright. It certainly has some nice songs and creative ideas, and Red Skelton is charming as Father Time, although I can see why it didn’t become a holiday staple like the first one. For one thing, it’s less well-paced, and doubling it as a New Year’s special and as a celebration of America’s Bicentennial felt stranger. Still pretty good. 7/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948): This Max Fleischer short aired a year before the song’s release and thus is more closely based on the original Rudolph story. The animation is kind of janky (as a lot of Max Fleischer’s shorts are in hindsight, even though he was an animation pioneer) and the story is a bit standard, but it’s still a decent short film and a noble enough screen debut for the character. 6/10

Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979): Rankin/Bass pulled out all of the stops for this big epic crossover film between Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, their own Avengers: Endgame that also doubled as a sendoff for Rudolph and Frosty, who would never star in a Rankin/Bass project after this. However, despite some creative ideas, the plot felt all over the place, with far too many subplots and too much lore to keep track of, plus we did not need a explanation for Rudolph’s nose powers. We could have accepted it as simply being “magic,” and making him a chosen one poses more questions than it answers. Still, at least it was imaginative, which is more than I can say for the post-Rankin/Bass specials. 5.5/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998): GoodTimes Entertainment’s attempt at rebooting the franchise has diminishing returns, and reeks of the usual GoodTimes stench. The plot beats and characters felt very derivative of the original Rankin/Bass special, as a lot of GoodTimes movies feel derivative of other films, but this one felt even more obvious since even the songs themselves felt derivative of songs from the first Rankin/Bass one. And the $10 million budget clearly didn’t go to the writing or animation, so I have to wonder where it went. Presumably to the voice cast, and while it does bring in some well-known voice actors (including John Goodman, Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Reynolds, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle), they cannot save this special from mediocrity. 4/10

Rudolph’s Lessons for Life (1996): There’s a reason this special has been forgotten and isn’t even mentioned on Wikipedia. I only found out about it thanks to TV Tropes. Rudolph’s Lessons for Life feels like a remake of Max Fleischer’s Rudolph short, but a lot worse. At least the Fleischer short was good for the time. This special’s framerate feels like a PowerPoint presentation at points. The only copies that exist of this special are 240p VHS rips, so don’t bother watching unless you are a serious Rudolph completionist. 2/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (2001): GoodTimes Entertainment’s second attempt at a Rudolph movie, this one continues from the original Rankin/Bass special and ignores the two sequels. This movie easily has the worst animation of all of them, summoning memories of Foodfight! to mind, and even if you look past the animation, it’s seriously uninspired. The plot lifts beats from the original Rankin/Bass special, and the villain is ripped from Toy Story 2. Perhaps the only decent plot element is a subplot about an island where toys can get plastic surgery? But even then, it’s wasted because they do nothing with it. And the celebrity voice cast--including Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Rick Moranis--do nothing to help. This is bad. Awful. Burn it. Purge it with fire. 1/10

And that’s my ranking! What do you guys think? Leave your own rankings in the comments below, feel free to discuss if you have any questions, and look out for my review sometime next month!

[darkwingismycity]

Attention stop motion lovers, Christmas enjoyers, and animagic enthusiasts!

If you love classic Christmas Specials, Mad Monster Party, The last Unicorn, or any movie under the RB name, this server is for you!

We invite you to the Rankin Bass Discord server! Here, you can chat, interact, roleplay, and so much more. With a tight and active moderater team, you can expect nothing more than a safe welcome, as security and keeping their members safe is their top priority. There are plenty of channels constantly buzzing with new art, oc’s, and headcanons. Not to mention game nights as well as movie nights of Rankin Bass classics, ya can’t miss out! Feel free to explore the community and make new friends within this niche fanbase. Whether you’re into the old content, or new content, there’s always something for everyone.

So what are you waiting for? Join today and see what excitements wait ahead!

(We by the way HIGHLY encourage new members to read the rules before introducing themselves please!!!)

[fibula-rasa]

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)  

[letterboxd | imdb]

Director: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Studio: Rankin/Bass Productions & Pacific Animation Corporation

[tryhoney-moved]

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974) dir. Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass

[punster-2319]

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Specials/Movies, because of boredom:

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TV special)

2. Rankin/Bass specials

3. Mickey’s Christmas Carol

4. A Christmas Plotz/The Little Drummer Warners (Animaniacs)

5. Wakko’s Wish

6. The Nightmare Before Christmas

7. Arthur’s Perfect Christmas (based on the PBS show)

8. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas

9. Holiday Knights (The New Batman Adventures)

10. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

WHAT ARE SOME YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SPECIALS/MOVIES?

[ghostsofwintersnight]

Pick one from a small list of my personal favorite Rankin Bass Christmas movies! I’ll be including a “choose your own” option too. Reblog for larger sample size

[christmas-with-kbug]

On the first stop of the movie list, is a real classic for my family and maybe yours too. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) done by Rankin Bass. This movie is one I’ve watched since I was small. My parents had to hide the VHS tapes in fear that my brother and I would ruin the tapes watching them all year. I love that this movie started a stop motion legacy of quirky, fun, and sometimes awkward holiday movies that we watch every year. If you’ve somehow never seen it, but I doubt it, give it a go.

[male1971]

I am preparing to watch all 18 Rankin/Bass Christmas specials in chronological order.

This boxed set isn’t making it easy on me.

Do I have to do everything myself?