Santa Claus is Coming to Town 1970

 

Santa Claus is Coming to Town 1970

*Glasses to give a character Smarts

This  stop animation television special by Rankin- Bass shows how Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney) an orphan adopted by elves became Santa Claus. If you don't mind funny moving mouths, fishing wire and plot holes you will find this so delightful. If you are like me you find it rather funny.

The first Character we see wearing glasses is one of the elves.

 

 

 

 All the elves have funny names that rhyme with Kringle, I think the one with glasses is named "Dingle". All we know about him is that he is old, an elf, makes toy and helped raised Kris. I guess when you have four dads and one mother, you don't know much about all the dads?

 

These elves used to be the royal toymakers, they spent a lifetime developing this skill. Yet for unexplained reasons they don't make toys for the royal family anymore. They still waste time and money making toys just to throw them in a pile outside their house. Little Kris pointed out that they could sell the toys to the nearby town. However they are afraid of the Winter Warlock (Keenan Wynn), apparently he does not like elves. So when Kris becomes a grown up he ventures out through the Warlock dominated wilderness to the town to sell toys. You think because the Warlock doesn't like elves, Kris would be smart enough to not look like and elf. However he wear a red suit like they do, and gets caught.  He gives the warlock a gift and sing a song, and they become friends. It's amazing how a toy train engine can make a villain into a good guy.

 

When Kris Kringle finnaly gets to the town, Sombertown he is unaware of how bad it is there. The children do chores all the time and all it's people are forced to dress in greyscale.  Kris is unaware that their mayor; Burgermeister  outlawed toys, due to his slipping on one. The children he meets are overjoyed to see toys, and In comes their teacher;

 

I cannot find the scene on Youtube nor Vimeo. The Kids introduce her "that's Miss Jessica our Teacher". She comes in holding her glasses, whenever she has to see Kris Kringle, She tries to explain what he is doing is actually illegal in Sombertown.  They way she uses these spectacles, she clearly needs them. Then Kris gives her a doll. She always wanted a doll.

She falls in love with him.

We never see her use her glasses again. She doesn't need them, because she is in love.  It's almost like Kirs Kringle is the Freddy Prince Jr. of the Rankin-Bass animation world.

Then she really lets her hair down, BECAUSE she knows Just where she belongs, with Kris Kringle.

 

Her world is beginning today, even thought she has no plans, and it's out of her hands.

Just go with the flow Jessica