On to one of the most popular specials! 1974, in addition to 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, Rankin-Bass also released The Year Without A Santa Claus, the second "animagic" special to feature Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus, based on the book by Phyllis McGinley, adapted by William Keenan. The story of the original book is present, but there are many new characters and subplots added in.
Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth in her final role before retirement) narrates the special, opening by teasing that there was a year when Santa Claus took a holiday. She teases it was long ago "before you were born," after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas, that Santa woke up with a cold. His doctor tells him that a lot of people don't believe in Santa Claus, so he should be fine taking some time off. Santa decides he'll take Christmas off this year, shocking the elves.
Mrs. Claus contemplates taking over delivery duties herself, but then decides to send elves Jingle and Jangle with young reindeer Vixen to find someone who still believes in Santa. Unfortunately, they get caught in the crossfire of the feuding Heat Miser (George S. Irving) and Snow Miser (Dick Shawn) and are stuck in Southtown, a warm city in the southern United States.
Jingle and Jangle disguise Vixen as a dog by covering her antlers so they look like long ears and ask some children, led by one Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite if they believe in Santa. The kids are skeptical about Santa, but then Vixen is caught by a dogcatcher. Already in over their heads, they call Mrs. Claus.
Santa discovers Vixen is missing and goes to Southtown to find her. Using just the name "Claus," he runs into Iggy, whose mother invites him inside. During their encounter, Ignatius asks his father and "Claus" if they believe in Santa Claus. His father says he does, and both he and Santa tell when Mr. Thistlewhite was a boy and didn't believe in Santa, but Santa came to his room and talked things over. They compare believing in Santa Claus with believing in love. Claus goes to retrieve Vixen from the pound and take her home, and Iggy realizes who he ran into.
Iggy meets with Mrs. Claus and Jingle and Jangle, who got a promise from the mayor to give Santa Claus a holiday of his own if they could make it snow in Southtown. They go to Snow Miser, who says he can't make it snow there because it's in Heat Miser's territory. Going to Heat Miser, he says he'll agree if he can warm up the North Pole for a day. Snow Miser doesn't want to give up the North Pole. So Mrs. Claus goes to their mother, Mother Nature, who makes the two agree to a truce: one day of snow in Southtown and one day of warmth in the North Pole.
Southtown's mayor holds up his end to get other mayors to declare a national Santa Claus day and children from all over the world send presents and letters to Santa, encouraging him to take a Christmas off if he needs it. However, one little girl writes him saying she'll miss him, the letter being presented with a performance of the song "Blue Christmas."
Touched by the love and kindness of the children, Santa decides to go make his deliveries after all.
This is probably the most entertaining Rankin-Bass Christmas special in the lineup so far. It has a very good story and great songs. In addition to the title song, "Blue Christmas" and "Here Comes Santa Claus," there's the touching "I Believe In Santa Claus," Mrs. Claus' "I Could Be Santa Claus," and the iconic songs for Heat Miser and Snow Miser.
The original Phyllis McGinley story is more or less represented: it was just Santa feeling exhausted and deciding to take a holiday, and when word gets out, Ignatius Thistlewhite is the one who says that Santa does a lot for the world, it's time to let him have something. Santa is touched by the gifts and letters he receives and heads out to make his deliveries anyway.
Another McGinley book, How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, gets some tribute in "I Could Be Santa Claus." In that book, Mrs. Claus fills in for Santa when he falls asleep on Christmas Eve. As seen in the song sequence, Mrs. Claus puts on one of Santa's outfits and uses a pillow to plump up her belly.
As said, this is the second special to feature Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus. Is it the same continuity? The only issue I can find is the switch from the Kringles to the more standard elves. Maybe these are other elves who've come over the years.
The special got a live action remake in 2006, generally negatively compared to this one. In 2008, Heat Miser and Snow Miser were given their own special in A Miser Brothers Christmas. However, it was a Warner Brothers production without Rankin-Bass.
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