The Year Without a Santa Claus

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated television special. The story is loosely based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same title, illustrated by Kurt Werth.

Synopsis
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a story told by Mrs. Claus, of the year that there almost wasn't a Christmas. Santa had fallen ill, and under the recommendation of his doctor, decided to issue a press release that Christmas was canceled so that he may take a holiday.

Humoring her husband for the time being, Mrs. Claus assigns two elves with a task. She orders Jingle and Jangle to leave the North Pole in the weeks leading up to Christmas, to find a town where they could rally up some Christmas cheer. Riding the reindeer Vixen, the dim-witted elves set off to the south, when they're immediately attacked by Heat Miser as his half-brother Snow Miser looks on. Although they escape, their troubles are far from over as they receive a court summons from a a cop in the first town they stop in.

After they encounter a grouchy woman on the street and fail to produce the results they seek, Jingle and Jangle approach a group of nonchalant schoolchildren, including one Ignatius Thistlewhite. Disheartened that no one seems to care that Christmas is cancelled, the elves fail to notice that their reindeer, disguised as a dog, has been captured by the dog catcher. Back at the North Pole, Santa learns of his wife's plot to resurrect Christmas and sets off to assist the helpless elves in a dangerous world they know nothing of. He meets Ignatius, who tells him of the elves he met earlier inthe day, just as the boy's mother invites the disguised jolly man into her home. As he drinks in some tea to help with his cold, the family discusses the existence of Santa Claus, never the wiser for having been in his company. Mr. Thistlewhite sings a song about when he was a boy and learned that Santa was in fact real.

Spirits lifted, Santa takes off on his flying reindeer to bail Vixen out of the dog pound. And not a moment too soon, as the little doe has fallen ill in the warm weather. Ignatius witnesses this event and decides that there's got to be something he can do to help. So he tracks down Jingle and Jangle - who had been unable to make Vixen's bail at the pound -- and brings them to the Southtown Mayor's office where they plead their case. The Mayor will only believe their story, if the elves can use their magic to make it snow in Southtown. As Santa returns to the North Pole with a sick Vixen, the elves place a call in to Mrs. Claus for help. Figuring that the mayor's request could help boost the spirits of the town, and in turn her husband, the woman carts off in a sleigh with Jingle, Jangle and Ignatius to see Snow Miser. After a rousing dance number with his minions, the wizard agrees to make it snow in Southtown only if his half-brother, who controls the weather in that part of the world, will allow it.

The group heads south again to visit the lair of Heat Miser and his minions to present the situation to the demonic giant. Appalled at the very idea of letting his brother allow snow to fall in his territory, Heat Miser agrees to the deal only if his half-brother will allow him to arrange a warm day at the North Pole in return. Unwilling to give in on either side after a video phone conference, Mrs. Claus goes over their heads and straight to the source - Mother Nature. The kindly woman, and mother to the elements, serves tea as she coerces her sons to cooperate for the greater good.

After it begins to snow in Southtown, the mayor dedicates Santa Claus Lane just in time for a rejuvenated Santa to parade down the streets of town when he decides that Christmas is on again.

Songs

 * "The Year Without a Santa Claus"
 * "I Could Be Santa Claus"
 * "I Believe in Santa Claus"
 * "It's Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie"
 * "The Snow Miser Song"
 * "The Heat Miser Song"
 * "Blue Christmas"
 * "Here Comes Santa Claus"

Broadcast Rights
Currently, the rights for this special, as with much of the post-1973 Rankin Bass programs, are held by TimeWarner's Warner Brothers Domestic TV Distribution, and airs on ABC Family, owned by The Walt Disney Company as part of the "25 Days of Christmas" programming block. The show has been on over-the-air TV in the USA on both ABC and CBS.

Availability
This special has been released on VHS and DVD. Also, it will be released on Blu-ray on October 5, 2010, making it the first Rankin/Bass production to be on BluRay.

Sequel
A sequel produced by Warner Brothers and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Animation, A Miser Brothers Christmas, premiered on December 13th, 2008 on ABC Family. Rooney and Irving reprised their original roles as Santa Claus and the Heat Miser, while Catherine Disher portrayed Mrs. Claus and Juan Chioron played the voice of the Snow Miser.