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Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

Play trailer Poster for Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town TV-G,  1970,  51m,  Kids & Family/ Animation/ Holiday/ Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Stream Now Watchlist 93% 14 Reviews Tomatometer 82% 1,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A lanky mailman (voiced by Fred Astaire) tells the story of Santa Claus. Adopted by an elf family named Kringle, young Kris longs to restore the Kringle reputation as toymakers to the king, but the evil Burgermeister Meisterburger has outlawed toys in Sombertown. Overcoming the opposition of both the Burgermeister and the Winter Warlock, Kris begins delivering toys not only to the children on Sombertown, but all around the world as well.
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Critics Consensus

Arriving with light-hearted cheeriness and the best musical numbers, Santa Claus Is Comin To Town is a magical story told by charming wood-figure animation.

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Critics Reviews

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Emily St. James Vox Nov 26, 2018
Everything Rankin/Bass did works perfectly here. The guest voice (Fred Astaire) is dead on. The filling in of mythology around a holiday figure is just great. And even the song the special builds toward is one of the better Santa Claus songs out there. Go to Full Review
Virginia Heffernan New York Times Nov 26, 2018
Two of these, ''Santa Claus is Comin' to Town'' and ''The Year Without a Santa Claus,'' [are] both giddy and delightful. Go to Full Review
Charles Bramesco New York Times Nov 26, 2018
This origin story for Santa Claus has all the elements that have made their productions perennial favorites every holiday season, including Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney as the kindly narrator and a young Kris Kringle. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net Apr 18, 2019
8/10
So overall it is an odd trippy little film but I enjoyed watching it. Go to Full Review
Mark Hughes Forbes Nov 29, 2018
With terrific set designs and the best musical numbers of any of the old Rankin-Bass animated specials, it really holds up well even to this day. The story of how Santa Claus came to be, it's a must-see if you've got little kids in the household. Go to Full Review
David Kobylanski Collider Nov 28, 2018
Rather than a pure retelling, it became a unique modern version amongst other historical folklore. A modern fairytale of sorts. Go to Full Review
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Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

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Cast & Crew

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Jules Bass

Director

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Director

Fred Astaire

Narrator

Mickey Rooney

Kris

Keenan Wynn

Winter Warlock

Paul Frees

Burgermeister Meisterburger

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Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

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Movie Info

Synopsis A lanky mailman (voiced by Fred Astaire) tells the story of Santa Claus. Adopted by an elf family named Kringle, young Kris longs to restore the Kringle reputation as toymakers to the king, but the evil Burgermeister Meisterburger has outlawed toys in Sombertown. Overcoming the opposition of both the Burgermeister and the Winter Warlock, Kris begins delivering toys not only to the children on Sombertown, but all around the world as well.
Director
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Producer
Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Screenwriter
Romeo Muller
Rating
TV-G
Genre
Kids & Family, Animation, Holiday, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (TV)
Dec 14, 1970
Runtime
51m
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