The Year Without a Santa Claus: “Anyone can be Santa!”
Of all Rankin/Bass specials, none of them, in my opinion, have the exact charm and rewatchability as The Year Without a Santa Claus. Though not as popular as other specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus has gained a cult following of both young and old since it first aired on ABC over 45 years ago on December 10th, 1974. This holiday treasure is not only my favorite Rankin/Bass animated special and piece of Christmas media, but it is one of my favorite pieces of animation of all time (I’m talking high up on my Top-10 list). The Year Without a Santa Claus, or as some may know as “that one movie with the Miser Brothers in it” is a sincere follow-up to the themes communicated in Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. It portrays Mrs. Claus in one of her most innovative appearances in media, and is a love letter to Santa Claus and the sentiment and devotion found in Christmas and the holiday season.
A TV promo for ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ from 2003
The Year Without a Santa Claus, surprisingly, was based off of a children’s story by the same name written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Phyllis McGinley in 1957 (whom we’ll discuss in further detail later). A few years after its first publication, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, who hadn’t worked on an Animagic Christmas special since their 1970 hit Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, chose McGinley's popular story to be the base for a follow-up about Santa Claus. It would align with the plot of McGinley’s story pretty closely and adapt some of her themes, as well as two characters: Santa and the young American boy Ignatious Thistlewhite. New creative elements that weren’t in the original story, such as the Miser Brothers, Mother Nature, Mrs. Claus, and the elves were added to expand the story (that’s right, Heat and Snow were crazy make-em-ups fabricated by Rankin/Bass).
Phyllis McGinley was a feminist American author who wrote many poetry collections and childrens stories. Two of which, The Year Without a Santa Claus and How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, were about Christmas, Santa Claus, and the children he visits every year. McGinley was known for having a playful and traditional writing style in the form of light verse from the ‘30s to ‘70s, when poetry became more avant-garde and advanced with its themes. McGinley and her work were heavily criticized by other feminists writers, including the iconic Sylvia Plath, for being too traditional and dated in ideology in the wake of Feminism’s new wave, but McGinley was still an inspiring writer for women. She was a traditional housewife with a husband and two daughters, and old-fashioned values, but was quite progressive through her authorship and attitude. She may not have created huge political change like other authors, but she showed power and skill through her simplicity, her dedication to work, her ability to bring others together in harmony, and her deep love for her family. Her sweet, feminine work looked facile and dainty, but actually required a lot of wit and nuance. Some could say that she was just like a real Mrs. Claus.
A sick Santa lies in bed while his two consciences, Mrs. Claus and the Doctor debate about Santa’s well-being. Santa decides to listen to the doctor and cancel all of his plans for Christmas.
In The Year Without a Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus (voiced by Broadway and television star Shirley Booth for her final performance) acts as both the narrator and a vital force that pushes and pulls the other characters in the story. She has a warm, wise, and loving spirit and reflects the womanly ideals of McGinley's domestic, yet progressive nature. Mrs. Claus’s exact job at the North Pole is never exactly brought up, but we see her perform many traditional “housewife” tasks such as doing the laundry, as well as watching over Santa Claus, who is now beginning to feel “a sort of kind of kink inside whenever [he thinks] of that Christmas ride”. When Mrs. Claus orders a lackadaisical doctor to help her bed-ridden husband, she acts as Santa’s good conscience, gently reminding Santa that he is an essential part of Christmas. Meanwhile the doctor acts as the devil on Santa’s shoulder, convincing him that his once-a-year job “gallivanting in his open sleigh” is why he has gotten so sick, and that nobody cares about him or Christmas anymore. Unfortunately, Santa admits that he believes that the doctor is right, and slips back into his bed, canceling all of his Christmas plans. It is apparent that Santa has grown old and burned out from the toy-giving job he once loved. He is no longer the young, chipper, and elvish fellow we were introduced to in Santa Claus is Comin’ Town. He has grown and humanized into a depressed old man with much more wisdom and caution about the “cruel world” he travels to every Christmas Eve. His “Kris Kringle” days seem to be long gone.
On the other hand, the exact opposite has happened to his wife. Mrs. Claus, who is never called anything else other than the Miser Brothers’ sweet nicknames, still has some “Jessica” within her, made apparent by some red streaks in her antiquated hair-do. She is like a confident and merry Grandmother we all wish we had in our lives. In The Year Without a Santa Claus, although Mrs. Claus loves, takes care of, and supports Santa, she has her own beliefs on how she thinks her husband should feel. Unlike other versions of Mrs. Claus, who would have just agreed with Santa’s questionable action without having a say in it and tucked him in, this Mrs. Claus takes on new risks to get Santa out of bed, rid him of his achy pessimism, and get him to rediscover the love and essence of his passion: delivering toys to children around the world. She is a progressive partner that uses tough love and dedication to help her husband feel happy again, which is a trait to be desired in all spouses.
In ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’, Mrs. Claus is both a loving and nurturing wife to Santa, and a peppy, open-minded feminist. She really knows what is the best for Santa and wants to see him be cheerful again.
Although Mrs. Claus never appeared in the original story by Phyllis McGinley, she was the star of another of McGinley’s stories called How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, released in 1963. This may have had some inspiration for Mrs. Claus’s character in the special. In the book, it is described that “Santa Claus couldn’t get on without [Mrs. Claus]”. When Santa Claus oversleeps one Christmas Eve, Mrs. Claus gets in his suit and takes over his job, going unspotted by the elves and children. She literally fits into his suit and shows that she is capable of doing anything her husband does. McGinley wrote Mrs. Claus to be an ordinary housewife that could also pull off surprising feats, while bringing positive energy to the world. She wanted readers to understand that anyone, even a character often trapped in the background can make a meaningful difference.
Mrs. Claus, however, does not take on Santa’s job in the special. She knows she can take on the task, but knows deep inside that it is his job to pull off. Mrs. Claus believes that work and Christmas spirit are the two driving forces that can put Santa in a jolly mood again. She loves Santa, but wants to get him off his ass. She pulls off the drastic and impulse move of sending two elves named Jingle and Jangle down to the world below with baby Vixen to “find some examples of Christmas spirit left over from last year and show him proof that somebody cares.” This brash move eventually leads to insane hijinks involving Santa flying after the elves in a panic (and snazzy magenta suit) and landing in Southtown U.S.A. Vixen gets captured by a dog catcher, stranger danger needs to be considered, a truce is made with a cynical mayor regarding snow in the south, and meetings are arranged with two singing and squabbling demigod brothers (voiced by Dick Shawn and George S. Irving) that control the world’s weather (both of whom will be discussed further in my essay on A Miser Brothers’ Christmas), as well as a chat with Mother Nature herself. The elves might have turned around home after getting ticketed by the police officer and chased up a tree by an angry cat lady, but they persist because they would “hate to let Mrs. C down”. Mrs. Claus handles both the elves’ anxiety and the fierce bickering between Snow Miser and Heat Miser like the immortal pro she is.
Mrs. Claus and Heat Miser contact Snow Miser via the “hot line” in this timeless, masterfully-written scene. Name another badass woman who confronts two weather gods, daringly breaks up their violence, and responds to it by contacting their even scarier Mother.
When the Clauses, elves, and reindeer finally return to the North Pole, Santa has finally found Christmas spirit, particularly from a boy named Ignatious Thistlewhite and his family, but he still doesn’t feel like making his journey. Thanks to Snow Miser’s special delivery of snow in the south (without Heat Miser melting it, obviously) every mayor in the United States declares a holiday for Santa Claus, leaving many children saddened. “Faster than a hurricane”, a group of It’s A Small World-esque children from all seven continents join together and bring Christmas to Santa. They haven’t only pulled a reverse Santa, but they became Santa. Like I mentioned in my previous essay, Santa Claus is not only a character and symbol of Christmas, he is an essence and voice that lives in anyone who chooses to believe. A conscience that reminds us that giving to others is better than waiting to take. A sense of karma, that if you bring happiness to another, you will earn some back. Santa is heartbroken when he finds a drawing of a crying girl that reads “I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you” (in a touching musical number that uses a love song in a platonic manner), and is affected by all of the brightly-colored, homemade gifts that pour into the North Pole. The Year Without a Santa Claus carries the morals from Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and enhances them with more emotion and empathy.
When Mrs. Claus sings, “Anyone Can be Santa”, she doesn’t mean you must physically resemble him and have his fame. She really means that you can give and bring joy just like him. Santa Claus may be a fairy tale, but his spirit is real. “Just like love, it’s always there, waiting to be missed.”
In the end, it is not a year without a Santa Claus. Thanks to Mrs. Claus, the elves, and Ignatious Thistlewhite, Santa sets off on his journey to deliver toys and cheer.
8 Fun Facts:
Rankin/Bass wasn’t actually the first company to transport McGinley’s festive tale off the page. In 1968, six years before the Animagic special charmed the screen, the story was adapted into an audio storybook record narrated by Boris Karloff, the same star who narrated Chuck Jones's How the Grinch Stole Christmas the previous year. Karloff’s narration was one of his final voice roles before his passing.
The original cover for the first edition of Phylis McGinley’s book, first published in 1957. It has gone in and out of print over the years, and each edition has had its own new illustrations.
Despite being on many home media cover designs, Rudolph does not appear in The Year Without a Santa Claus. The story takes place many years before he was born, and the procedure was likely done by Warner Bros. to attract sales. However, many DVD copies of the special often have Rudolph’s Shiny New Year as a bonus feature.
Bob McFadden, who voiced Jingle Bells, did plenty of voice work for Rankin/Bass. His most well-known voice role just happens to be what is considered to be one of the most despised characters in animation: Snarf, from their hit series Thundercats!
Both of the Miser brothers are inksuit characters of their respective voice actors. Snow Miser, with his icy hair, handsome smile, and bipolar energy was voiced by comedian and actor Dick Shawn, who was renowned for having an eccentric stage personality and comedic style. Other than Snow Miser, his most memorable and iconic performances on screen were as Sylvester Marcus in Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and as Lorenzo St. DuBois in Mel Brooks’ The Producers. In 1987, he infamously died from a heart attack in the middle of a stage show, which his excited audience believed was a part of his act. He was replaced by Juan Chioran for the 2008 sequel, A Miser Brothers’ Christmas.
Heat Miser, with his fiery hair, and nightmare-inducing faces, and short temper was played by award-winning Broadway star and voice actor, George S. Irving, who starred in many original play productions, including Oklahoma!, Me and My Girl, and many others. Besides Heat Miser, Irving’s most remembered voice credit was as the narrator in the animated series Underdog. Irving retired from voice acting in the ‘80s, but returned in 2008 at 86 years old to reprise his role as Heat Miser for A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, his final screen performance. He passed away in 2016.
Two similar “upgrade button” memes from Tumblr’s Rankin/Bass fanbase that uniquely criticize the redesigns of the Miser Brothers from both the live-action remake of ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ (bottom row, not recommended) and ‘A Miser Brothers’ Christmas’ (middle row, recommended). Since Dick Shawn wasn’t around to voice Snow Miser in ‘A Miser Brothers’ Christmas’, Snow Miser’s face and hair were altered to look less like Shawn and resemble his new voice actor a little more. Meanwhile, both animated Heat Misers look just like their voice actor, George. S. Irving.
Maury Laws, the special’s composer and music director, once stated in an interview many years after the special’s debut that “People knock on my door and ring me up about that song”. The song he is talking about is, of course, is the theme sung by the Miser Brothers. They are arguably the most recognized segments in The Year Without a Santa Claus, and are some of Rankin/Bass’s most memorable original songs. Their theme has also been heavily parodied by hundreds of creators on the internet thanks to popular meme culture.
In the musical number “It’s Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie”, Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp character makes a brief cameo in the background. This means that The Year Without a Santa Claus likely takes place in the 1910s-1920s.
Do you think Disney’s live-action remakes of their animated films are terrible? Well, in 2006, NBC produced a live-action remake of The Year Without a Santa Claus directed by Ron Underwood (The Adventures of Pluto Nash). It starred John Goodman as Santa Claus, Delta Burke as Mrs. Claus, Michal McKean as Snow Miser, and Harvey Fierstein as Heat Miser. The low-budget special drastically changed the plot, turned Mrs. Claus into a minor character, and was filled to the brim with dated pop culture references and crude adult jokes. It had so much negative reception and backlash that it hasn’t aired on television since, and is considered by many to be one of the worst Christmas films of all time. Meanwhile, the original 1974 still airs annually on various stations and remains a beloved classic.
External links:
Watch the full special here!: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4cfza7
The original story narrated by Boris Karloff- The Year Without A Santa Claus