Ah, says who? This third of the Rankin and Bass TV animated holiday specials has a lot to recommend, particularly the presence of Shirley Booth as Mrs Claus who becomes the heroin here, taking over when Santa is too ill to travel. The presence of Dick Shawn and George S. Irving as the Meiser brothers, Freeze and Heat, added quite a bit of camp especially with a musical number that is one of the most delightful in the series of four holiday movies that started off with Rudolph, moved on to the early years of Santa, continued with the liberated Mrs. Claus and ended disastrously with an over long theatrical entry that united Rudolph and Santa with Frosty and a bunch of other bizarre characters.
Like Angela Lansbury years ago in the TV musical "Mrs. Santa Claus" with songs by Jerry Herman, this focuses on the stay at home wife who must take over out of the blue. But both TV specials are quite different, the one thing they have in common being that Booth and Lansbury had proven their musical talent on Broadway, having been known more for non-singing characters prior to proving that they knew how to sell a song. Mickey Rooney, in the second of three appearances as Santa in a Rankin and Bass special, is basically in support, and yet makes the most of the limited voice over time he gets.
Shawn and Irving (who had a lengthy career as a Broadway musical character actor) take over quite well with Irving definitely unaware that his appearance would later be copied by a real estate mogul turned TV show host turned controversial politician, even unintentionally. Their big musical number was the only highlight of a live action TV remake, and if this had ever been done on stage, it certainly would have been a crowd-pleasing moment. It's still a bit bizarre but fun, maybe not as good as the original "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", but filled with great songs, delightful comedy that will appeal to all ages and a huge heart.
Like Angela Lansbury years ago in the TV musical "Mrs. Santa Claus" with songs by Jerry Herman, this focuses on the stay at home wife who must take over out of the blue. But both TV specials are quite different, the one thing they have in common being that Booth and Lansbury had proven their musical talent on Broadway, having been known more for non-singing characters prior to proving that they knew how to sell a song. Mickey Rooney, in the second of three appearances as Santa in a Rankin and Bass special, is basically in support, and yet makes the most of the limited voice over time he gets.
Shawn and Irving (who had a lengthy career as a Broadway musical character actor) take over quite well with Irving definitely unaware that his appearance would later be copied by a real estate mogul turned TV show host turned controversial politician, even unintentionally. Their big musical number was the only highlight of a live action TV remake, and if this had ever been done on stage, it certainly would have been a crowd-pleasing moment. It's still a bit bizarre but fun, maybe not as good as the original "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", but filled with great songs, delightful comedy that will appeal to all ages and a huge heart.