Eight Reasons Why 'Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town' RULES!!!
Top Eight Reasons Why Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is more fun to watch than any other Rankin Bass Special (in my opinion):
1. First and foremost, the totally out-of-nowhere non-sequitors. Happens at least twice in this classic. When baby Claus is left on the Kringle doorstep, after we learn that the Kringle brothers are named Dingle, Wingle, Bingle, Jingle and Fingle (or thereabouts) we hear, “Let’s call him Kris!”
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Later in the special Kris meets a penguin. After learning that the penguin is looking for the South Pole, Kris says, “Well, little fella, you’re on the other side of the world. You’re just about as lost as you can be. I’ll call ya Topper!”
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2. It has the Over the Rainbow of Rankin Bass songs in the catchy Put One Foot In Front of the Other
3. The Winter Warlock. Much like Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz, I laugh at almost everything this character says, whether it’s “ ‘Winter’, please.”, or “Alas, I’ve been disenchanted”. (Wow - two Wizard of Oz comparisons in a row!)
4. Most clever song writing. Go ahead, go through the other Rankin Bass specials (and I love ’em all) and find me rhymes as good and as funny as “Stuffed animals – unstuff ’em! When a child objects, rebuff ’em!” or “Any bouncing ball – deflate it! No, I don’t want to debate it!” I’ll wait.
5. The hilariously late 60s-70s psychedelic feel of the number that Jessica sings (My World Is Beginning Today). Classic!
6. This special cleverly has two villains, one of whom becomes a good guy (the Winter Warlock) and one of whom remains a bad guy – the Burgermeister Meisterburger, possibly the best bad guy in any of these specials.
7. A terrific narrating performance by Special Delivery Kluger, the great Fred Astaire.
8. It's given me a great line to use: when my wife occasionally comes into bed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, I get to say, in my best Santa Claus impersonation, “Clothes again?”
(sorry it that falls under the category of "too much information"!!!)
I have a feeling I'm missing some obvious great bits in this special, if some more come to mind I'll add them here! But if you haven't seen this special in years, do yourself a favor and watch it!!!
Stuffed animals – unstuff 'em!
When a child objects, rebuff 'em!