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I hate toys! And toys hate me. Either they are going or I am going! And I am certainly not going, Grimsley.

— Burgermeister Meisterburger

Burgermeister Meisterburger (German: town mayor, master citizen) is the main antagonist of the Rankin/Bass special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. He is the grouchy, fun-loathing mayor and essential dictator of Sombertown, a mountainous Germanic town located near Tanta Kringle's home. He hates toys (although he did enjoy the yo-yo Kris gave him for a short time) and, after he trips on a toy duck while walking out of city hall, he passes a law declaring toys "illegal, immoral, unlawful, and anyone found with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon. No kidding!" This makes the children of Sombertown even more miserable than ever and are forced to do chores instead of playing.

When Burgermeister finds out that Kris Kringle is still delivering toys to Sombertown, he stops at nothing to capture Kris and stop him from bringing fun and play into his town. After several failed attempts to prevent his toy deliveries, Burgermeister arrests Kris along with the Kringles and the Winter Warlock, but the local schoolteacher, Miss Jessica, who has fallen in love with Kris, sets them free with the help of the reindeer. Burgermeister Meisterburger vows that he and his descendants will hunt Kris down throughout the land, and labels the toy-maker an outlaw. However, Kris is able to evade the Burgermeister and his heirs and goes on to start his life as Santa Claus.

As time goes by, things change. By the end of the special, it is revealed that the Meisterburgers eventually died off and fell out of power over Sombertown. By then, the people have realized how silly the Meisterburgers' laws are, and that Kris and Santa Claus are one and the same. It is only after the Meisterburger name sinks into obscurity that Santa Claus is no longer seen as an outlaw.

Notes[]

  • The character of Burgermeister Meisterburger is likely a caricature of militaristic German society and has some basis in real German leaders, such as Adolf Hitler or Wilhelm II, German Emperor the Kaiser.
  • Along with Ben Haramed and Winterbolt, Burgermeister Meisterburger is one of the few Rankin-Bass holiday special villains not to be redeemed. He is also one of the few Rankin-Bass villains not to receive any comeuppance (other than quietly dying offscreen as stated by the narrator, S.D. Kluger).
    • It is unknown how the Burgermeister died as his death wasn't shown on screen, but it can be implied that he simply died of old age and that most of his heirs (if he had any) were presumably arrested.
  • Burgermeister Meisterburger seemed to be one of the ruthless holiday special villains as he burned down the toys as well as Kris Kringle's house.

External links[]

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