Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Can someone point me to a link to order the restored Rudolph and/or box sets?

Eric

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

I notice deepdiscountdvd.com has at least 3 separate sets. Here's the one that has the most value.....

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=SON056739

This isn't the one I have though. Mine doesn't have CRICKET ON THE HEARTH (1967) which I don't even remember seeing.

At about $24 that seems like the best deal.

Hope this helps.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Cricket on the Hearth is a lovely cel-animated special featuring the voices of Danny and Marlo Thomas and Ed Ames. It has grown on me. The best Rudolph dvd is actually the 2000 release. Yes the video and audio is the same as the current version but I prefer the "Rankin/Bass Present" on the cover. This was the only time that they were credited with Rudolph on the front of a packaging.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Interesting. I've always wondered why Santa Claus is Comin' to Town has been sort of forgotten, but maybe ABC is trying to bring it back. Hopefully they'll show it again this year (unedited, of course) because it's been a holiday staple for myself since I was a kid. It'd be nice to see it get that kind of universal recognition.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

I know that they showed it last year in honor of its 35th Anniversary. I compared it to the ABC FAMILY version, and while both are heavily edited the AF version preserves more of the story by making smaller cuts in more places rather than taking out entire scenes! ABC presented it on a Friday night last year. I believe it did well in the ratings, so who knows. I remember the good ol' days when you could find Rankin/Bass shows on all three networks the same night! Santa Claus on ABC, Rudolph on CBS, and Little Drummer Boy on NBC. Ok, maybe not those exact three, but you get the idea!!

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

The DVD for Santa Claus is Comin' to Town isn't edited in any way, is it?

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

I agree. For a good long time in the 80s and early 90s, I feel like the show wasn't aired at all (it could have been and I missed it) but it definitely didn't get the marketing push that Rudolph got (and still gets) every year. 'Santa' was my favorite of these specials as a kid, and I still think it is the best and most clever among them.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

FYI, here is this year's schedule of holiday specials:
http://holidaypages4u.tripod.com/chr...s_tv_print.htm

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

No, the Santa Claus dvd is not edited.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

I just noticed Cricket is available separately. I'll add it to my list. I need to get The Year Without a Santa Claus as well. I always thought it was weird.

I got the feeling Santa is coming to town was complete when I watched it last year. That one really was well thought out; the way it explains everything. Me and sis loved it as kids.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Thanks for that. It looks like ABC Family is showing a lot of my favorites at a time that's good for me this year.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

I know this one isn't Rankin/Bass, and it has been mentioned before, but I would really like to see them release "The Night Before Christmas".

This one I saw long ago, is a version of it true to the story of the father writing the poem, not the one with the mice, (which personally, I can't stand, though to each his own).

Does any else remember this one? Can we get that one on DVD? Anyone hear of any news on that title?

(I thought there was a separate thread regarding this title, but I can't find it)

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

***Please see first post for update on October 23,2008.***

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Wow, "Pinocchio's Christmas". I'd not seen.........nor thought of that special in at least 25 years. I'll buy this set for that alone. Great to see more Rankin/Bass specials becoming available.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Does Warner own these:
The First Christmas (1975)
The Little Drummer Boy, Book II (1976)
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)

If so, I wonder what, if any, their plans are for them if not in this new set..

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

FYI, I've seen some of these at Big Lots for $5 each.

Re: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

Actually, I answered my own question from here:
Rankin/Bass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"All Rankin/Bass material from 1974-1989 (except The Last Unicorn) are now owned by Warner Bros. (through the studio's 1988 acquisition of Lorimar-Telepictures)."

And, if anyone's interested, here's all of the Rankin/Bass productions, from the same link:

Feature films
Willy McBean and his Magic Machine (1965)
The Daydreamer (1966)
The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1966)
Mad Monster Party? (1967)
King Kong Escapes (1968)
Marco (1973)
The Last Dinosaur (1977)
The Bermuda Depths (1977)
The Bushido Blade (1979)
The Ivory Ape (1980)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983)

Animated TV specials
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964, Burl Ives)
Return to Oz (1964)
The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show (1965)
The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966)
The Cricket on the Hearth (1967, Danny Thomas)
The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968, Tennessee Ernie Ford)
The Little Drummer Boy (1968, Greer Garson)
Frosty the Snowman (1969, Jimmy Durante)
The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970)
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (1970, Fred Astaire)
Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971, Danny Kaye)
The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972)
Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters (1972)
Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid (1972)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1972)
Red Baron (1972)
That Girl in Wonderland (1974)
'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974, Joel Grey & George Gobel)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974, Shirley Booth)
The First Christmas (1975, Angela Lansbury)
The First Easter Rabbit (1976, Burl Ives)
Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976, Andy Griffith)
Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976, Red Skelton)
The Little Drummer Boy, Book II (1976, Greer Garson)
The Easter Bunny is Comin' To Town (1977, Fred Astaire)
The Hobbit (1977)
Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977, Roger Miller)
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978, Tom Bosley) - Animated by Top Craft, this special was also broadcast in Japan in 1978 under the title Machi Ichiban no Kechinbo (The Number One Miser of the City), directed by Katsuhisa Yamada. Because of this, some sources consider The Stingiest Man in Town to be anime (by the American definition of the word which refers exclusively to Japanese animation).
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979, Mickey Rooney)
Jack Frost (TV special) (1979, Buddy Hackett)
The Return of the King (1980)
Pinocchio's Christmas (1980)
The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold (1981, Art Carney)
The Coneheads (1983)
Wind in the Willows (1985)
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)
The Flight of Dragons (1986)
Santa Baby! (2001, Patti LaBelle)
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas (2008, in production)

Animated series
The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1960)
Tales of the Wizard of Oz (1961)
The King Kong Show (1966-1969)
The Smokey Bear Show (1969)
Tomfoolery (1970)
The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show (1970)
The Jackson 5ive (1971)
The Osmonds (1972)
Kid Power (1972)
Festival of Family Classics (1972)
ThunderCats (1985-1987)
SilverHawks (1986)
The Comic Strip (featuring TigerSharks, Street Frogs, Mini Monsters and Karate Kat) (1987)