Why I Love The Rankin/Bass Cinematic Universe
December: the apex of consumerist joy, the holy grail of awkward family interactions, the pinnacle of overindulgence. No matter how long or hard a year has felt, I anxiously await December not for the good food, gifts, or holiday break, but because of the movies. To me, nothing says ‘tis the season like the claymation Christmas specials from Rankin/Bass Productions. With their big eyes, full hearts, and intricate backstories, every holiday icon is made lovably relatable in the RBCU (Rankin/Bass Cinematic Universe, which I will soon be trademarking). What gives it the lofty and coveted Cinematic Universe label? Rankin/Bass took massive liberties with holiday characters, a practice that peaked with the release of Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas In July (1979), and no, I couldn’t make that up if I tried. Crossovers galore. From aspiring elf dentists to big eared baby personifications of the New Year, Rankin/Bass strikes the perfect balance of wacky, sweet, and inspiring. Corniness and all, these movies never fail to get me in the holiday spirit.
Perhaps the most iconic Christmas special of all time and certainly the definitive version of Rudolph’s story is their version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph was their holiday icon that started it all—the Iron Man of the RBCU, if you will. You might be clouded by the title song-induced nostalgia and have forgotten the signature brand of Rankin/Bass weirdness in the movie. Rudolph makes friends with a miner and an elf who wants to be a dentist, visits an island ruled by a dictatorial winged lion, kills an Abominable Snowman, and, of course, saves Christmas.
The songs are complete and total bops, from Rudolph and Hermey the dentist elf’s “I want” duet We’re A Couple Of Misfits to Christmas anthem The Most Wonderful Day of the Year, sung by toys deemed defective and exiled to the Island of Misfit Toys. The “outcasts are cool” message is a delightful and uncommon one in the canon of Christmas movies which usually center on believing, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, etc. It’s refreshing to see another spin on the “true meaning of Christmas” cliche. Misfit toys forever!
Physically unable to leave well enough alone, the Rankin/Bass team sought to extend the holiday spirit for just five days longer and tap as much as possible out of the Rudolph gold mine, and thank God they did! Their overreaching gave us the only Christmas special I can’t go without seeing during the holiday season, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year. What didn't it have? The baby New Year, named Happy, runs away because people make fun of his huge ears, Father Time sends Rudolph to the Archipelago of Last Years to save him from Eon the evil vulture who will die at the end of the year and has thus kidnapped the Baby New Year to keep the year from ending. Along the way he befriends a whale, a caveman, the three bears from the Goldilocks tale, and Ben Franklin. It is positively insane and endlessly endearing.
While less iconic than its predecessor, my humble opinion is that the songs are superior. Father Time explains the unstoppable passage of time with The Moving Finger Writes, a sweet montage of a baby new year growing old that makes me inexplicably emotional? But my absolute favorite part of this movie is the awfully animated and beamingly optimistic It’s Raining Sunshine, sung by Rudolph’s caveman companion. Watch this painfully low quality video of it and tell me you didn’t smile.
The other major hero of the RBCU is the jolly man himself, Kris Kringle. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town is hands down the best origin story I’ve ever seen, telling the story of how Santa Claus came to be. He evolves from boy to legend, making him the comparable Captain America of the RBCU. This special hits the ground sprinting with a stop-motion animated Fred Astaire (!) as the narrating mailman. Kris Kringle is an orphan adopted by toy-making elves, there’s a grumpy Winter Warlock who gets a redemption arc, and the mayor of a place called Sombertown, where toys are banned, is named Burgermeister Meisterburger. Priceless. This is perhaps the apex of Rankin/Bass magic, with a deeply lovable lead, fun side characters and so much plot.
The songs don’t measure up to Rudolph standards, as they mostly serve as plot devices, but Fred Astaire’s rendition of the title song is cute and Santa’s inspirational song encouraging the Winter Warlock to finally leave his ice hideout is exceedingly wholesome. A solid addition to the canon, overall.
The continuity of the RBCU continues seamlessly with the release of The Year Without a Santa Claus in which Santa gets sick, has an identity crisis, and cancels Christmas. But Santa is nearly irrelevant in this special, as campy side characters Snow Miser and Heat Miser completely steal the show. Mrs. Claus and Co. need the diametrically opposed Misers to compromise on the weather so that Christmas can happen, or something, but their characters are so creatively conceptualized that the rest of the movie honestly falls away. The Misers are snarky, fun, unique, and deserved more time in the franchise!
Frosty the Snowman receives only an honorable mention—it’s the Ed Norton Incredible Hulk of the RBCU (replaceable, unlike the others, and drastically different from the sequels). Frosty inexplicably got the hand-drawn animation treatment rather than stop motion, which loses points in my book, but it gets credit as the definitive version of Frosty.
TL;DR—skip the overplayed and dubiously moral Charlie Brown specials this year in favor of the creativity, joy, inspiration and overall superiority of Rankin/Bass Christmas fare.
Feature image via.
