Unfortunately, due to Warner Bros. not understanding Copyright and Fair Use, I had to trim out the segment detailing the debut of ThunderCats post-upload; please excuse the choppiness around 22:13
The fact that Jules Bass was solely responsible for Monte Carlo, which came out and was heavily advertised when I was a kid, of all movies absolutely blows my mind. When he passed away last year, my Dad and I were absolutely devastated. He grew up with Rankin/Bass’s Christmas specials like Rudolph, and I grew up with them in the early 00’s, along with some of the new sequels and spin-offs.
NBC gave us a gift the other night by mashing up BOTH versions of Rudolph! We got the peppermint mine scene AND Santa arriving on the Island of Misfit Toys! It really struck me watching that broadcast how ahead of its time the show was - its message was anti-bullying, pro-tolerance and seeing the worth in everyone, even if at first glance they might be “imperfect.” For the early ‘60s, that was pretty revolutionary. Oh, and the sweet, simple Rankin/Bass Hobbit eats Peter Jackson’s bloated trilogy for breakfast.
I watched their Return to Oz the other night, and really liked it despite the wild liberties it took with the source material. It's beautifully animated through, and I especially love the crazy, abstract backgrounds
I miss cell animation. I mean, I know with cell animation it's not used anymore because it takes too long and we've have more technology for animation but cell animation has so much more charm, I hope it comes back someday
So I'll be that jerk..it cel animation, short for the clear sheets of celluloid upon which the images are drawn. Initially I thought computer animation could never match cel, but I'm fine with high quality computer rendering. Done cheaply it's creepily soulless, a problem not found even in limited cel animation.
@pixiethevtuber, I 💯%agree! The only one of Rankin~Bass Productions I didn’t like was “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” (1985) because I, as a teenager, thought it was too scary.
@pixiethevtuber, I 💯%agree! The only two of Rankin~Bass Productions I didn’t like were “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” (1985) because I, as a teenager, thought it was too scary and “The Miser Brothers’ Christmas” had a long story line.
Cool thing is, they finally released a physical copy of Rudolph's Shiny New Year as part of a $50 mega set of Rankin-Bass Holiday specials. But, that is one of the big things I always remember, growing up. Around Christmas, getting to see the annual airing of the 2 Rudolph specials, the 2 Frosty specials, Charlie Brown Christmas & the Robby the Reindeer specials.
How the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer special came to be is a great story in itself. Arthur Rankin Jr happened to be Johnny Marks's neighbor. At first Marks was reluctant to risk his steady yearly income from the song, obviously Rankin prevailed. The original story was written by Robert May, Marks's brother-in-law, which Montgomery Ward first gave as a coloring book in 1939. A former MW employee happened to be GE's VP of Housewares, and saw it as a great opportunity to push their products. You can find ads online with the characters doing just that. Aside from putting $500K towards production, GE had developed the first red LED in 1962, which was used for Rudolph's nose.
You didn’t mention Festival of Family Classics 😢 I loved that series. I had this giant VHS tape box collection. It was ENORMOUS! For some reason, there was a Peter Pan tape by Burbank animation…from Australia in the mix 🤔
Interesting considering the Rudolph special and the Flintstones (first) Christmas episode/special are both having their 60th anniversary this year. (Also "Frosty" is 55, both "T'was the Night" and "The Year" are 50, and "Jack Frost" is 45.)
Also frosty the snowman was going to make a brief cameo in the movie “who framed Roger rabbit” but he was cut most likely due to licensing issues or its because the movie takes place in 1947 and the special was made in 1969
@ also pac man and Godzilla were also meant to appear I really wish I can see the concept art or storyboards with them as I find that really interesting
Very well done documentary about Rankin and Bass. I have fond memories of all the holiday specials but it wasn't until later I realized they were the ones behind ThunderCats and silver hawks and have other non-holiday specials learn so much from your documentary, thank you again.
Christmas nostalgia aside, the best thing Rankin Bass ever did was their production of The Hobbit. Should have got an Emmy. TBH its professionally finished art style designed by pre-Ghibli TopCraft made Bakshi's LOR look like the hot mess it really was.
Love Rankin Bass. Not only the Christmas specials but honestly probably a bit reason for my love of magic/fantasy genre with Hobbit/lotr, Last Unicorn and Flight of Dragons
I remember watching that special as a kid and thinking it was CRACKED. When I realized that the story was written by Baum as an adult, I thought, yeah that makes sense. Lol. Santa Claus is Coming to Town is THE Santa Claus lore in my home ❤
I miss, that they were once aired for free, then other companies greedily took these Rankin and Bass Christmas specials off the air, so everyone could nit enjoy them! They selfishly kept them, so the public would pay them for the streaming of this beloved videocraft marvel! When it was viewable to all those that had rabbit ears TV sets! As a kid, ny mom wrote on the calendar, when these came on, during the holiday season! As i grew older, I still wrote them down, even though, I could have video taped them! But theres something different about watching it, during a national airing of the show! Especially Rudolph, because, norelco had an Rankin and Bass animation of santa clause riding a shaver head as a powered sleigh! I looked forward to that litte ad paired with Rudolph! When I saw it, I knew skiing season was coming! And I got all excited!
Wonderful look behind the scenes of these beloved 😮 generation-bridging classics. Well done. But it still doesn't answer the question which has been (unsatisfactorally) debated for decades; What made the Dolly-for-Sue a "misfit toy?"
Amazing job on this project! What an incredible history! These holiday specials have always touched the hearts of people across the world! Truly amazing and inspiring! Thank you Rankin and Bass! For everything you’ve done! Very inspiring indeed! Truly a beautiful story too!
My neighbor's dog just died and all I can hear in my head is the Chad and Jeremy song " Yesterday's Gone" but I keep thinking that song was used in a Rankin Bass production---was it, or am I crazy
While the animation work was oursourced - Rankin-Bass must of had excellent directorial/production skills because studios like Topcraft did an absolutely amazing job of bringing those designs and concepts to life. While it might not of been in-house, even a good studio can make duds if there's no good directorship behind it. That and I'm sure the language barrier between the studios would of been difficult as well. A lot of Rankin Bass shows never aired in the UK surprisingly - so I wouldn't discover these specials till much later in life. But even as someone who experienced them first as an older person, I think a lot of them hold up very well.
Actually the first spinoff/sequel not made by Rankin Bass was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys in 2001. Also Here comes Peter Cottontail (2005) is a direct sequel and not a remake.
The Goes Wrong Show - it’s based on the stage play “The Play That Goes Wrong” and follows a fictional troupe of actors trying against all odds to produce a show while everything, well, goes wrong - actors not knowing their lines, issues with the set, etc. The original stage show followed the company’s performance of one specific show - a murder mystery - but the tv series expanded the format to take on a new trope every episode). This one was the nativity story. It’s very fun and pretty short - I think they only produced 12 20-minute episodes.
I friggin hated "Santa Claus Is Comin To Town" due to something that happened during the "Chris Kringle" musical number Edit: that musical number might have actually been in "A Year Without A Santa Claus" I'm actually not sure which one it was in
Nice video. Also I have a list of my top 10 favorite movies that were made by Rankin Bass and yes. This list includes non Rankin Bass movies. Get over it. 10. The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town (This movie’s just okay. Even though this movie has lots of stupidness in it, it’s still kinda good. 9. A Miser Bros Christmas: This is the first non Rankin Bass movie on this list. I might get hate for this but I don’t care. This movie’s good but the songs (Except The Snow Miser And Heat Miser Song) were forgettable. 8. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year: Rudolph saved both Christmas and the New Year. What more could you ask for? He even got some more new partners after his team up with Hermie and Yukon. Overall it’s a nice movie to watch around the new year. 7. Frosty Returns: This is the second and last non Rankin Bass movie on this list. So this movie was animated by one of the animators of the Peanuts movies and it’s a nice touch to it. What worked for Charlie Brown and Snoopy seemed to do justice for Frosty and I like it. 6. Jack Frost: What’s the difference between a groundhog’s shadow and a magical being’s shadow? Not sure but this movie’s good despite it being confused for a Groundhog Day movie or a Christmas movie for some viewers. 5. Santa Is Coming To Town: Great Santa origin story. Nuff said. 4. Here Comes Peter Cottontail (Like Zoinks Scoob! I’m a bunny!), 3. Frosty The Snowman: I think this is Rankin Bass’s 3rd 2d animated movie and it’s a huge step up from their 1st and 2nd 2d animated movies. Does it hold up well? Yes. However you can notice the animation errors when you watch this movie for the first time where in some scenes, Frosty talks despite his mouth not moving but you can just ignore them. 2. The Year Without A Santa Claus: This movie’s still a real banger though and it still is to this very day. 1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: WHY WEREN’T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE!!!!!!!!????????
Unfortunately, due to Warner Bros. not understanding Copyright and Fair Use, I had to trim out the segment detailing the debut of ThunderCats post-upload; please excuse the choppiness around 22:13
Rest in peace to both founders..thank you for bringing holiday cheer to generations of kids..
Arthur Rankin jr,1924-2014
Jules bass,1935-2022
😢
Holiday Cheer a love of Tolkien and of course, Thundercats.
The fact that Jules Bass was solely responsible for Monte Carlo, which came out and was heavily advertised when I was a kid, of all movies absolutely blows my mind.
When he passed away last year, my Dad and I were absolutely devastated. He grew up with Rankin/Bass’s Christmas specials like Rudolph, and I grew up with them in the early 00’s, along with some of the new sequels and spin-offs.
Man I cried when Frosty melted during Frosty the Snowman. That was a hard pill to swallow. Who else cried during that scene?
Me. When I was a kid, that scene was DEVASTATING.
@Sailormac2 same it didn't help you had the little girl crying too In the scene
NBC gave us a gift the other night by mashing up BOTH versions of Rudolph! We got the peppermint mine scene AND Santa arriving on the Island of Misfit Toys! It really struck me watching that broadcast how ahead of its time the show was - its message was anti-bullying, pro-tolerance and seeing the worth in everyone, even if at first glance they might be “imperfect.” For the early ‘60s, that was pretty revolutionary.
Oh, and the sweet, simple Rankin/Bass Hobbit eats Peter Jackson’s bloated trilogy for breakfast.
I watched their Return to Oz the other night, and really liked it despite the wild liberties it took with the source material. It's beautifully animated through, and I especially love the crazy, abstract backgrounds
I miss cell animation. I mean, I know with cell animation it's not used anymore because it takes too long and we've have more technology for animation but cell animation has so much more charm, I hope it comes back someday
THIS ONE gets it‼️ Yeah I miss cell animation badly. Somehow the characters felt more alive?? Can't explain it.
@bananaboba7129 yeah, animated characters these days feel dead :/ (I feel like a boomer saying that but idc lol)
So I'll be that jerk..it cel animation, short for the clear sheets of celluloid upon which the images are drawn. Initially I thought computer animation could never match cel, but I'm fine with high quality computer rendering. Done cheaply it's creepily soulless, a problem not found even in limited cel animation.
@pixiethevtuber, I 💯%agree! The only one of Rankin~Bass Productions I didn’t like was “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” (1985) because I, as a teenager, thought it was too scary.
@pixiethevtuber, I 💯%agree! The only two of Rankin~Bass Productions I didn’t like were “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” (1985) because I, as a teenager, thought it was too scary and “The Miser Brothers’ Christmas” had a long story line.
Cool thing is, they finally released a physical copy of Rudolph's Shiny New Year as part of a $50 mega set of Rankin-Bass Holiday specials. But, that is one of the big things I always remember, growing up. Around Christmas, getting to see the annual airing of the 2 Rudolph specials, the 2 Frosty specials, Charlie Brown Christmas & the Robby the Reindeer specials.
How the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer special came to be is a great story in itself. Arthur Rankin Jr happened to be Johnny Marks's neighbor. At first Marks was reluctant to risk his steady yearly income from the song, obviously Rankin prevailed. The original story was written by Robert May, Marks's brother-in-law, which Montgomery Ward first gave as a coloring book in 1939. A former MW employee happened to be GE's VP of Housewares, and saw it as a great opportunity to push their products. You can find ads online with the characters doing just that. Aside from putting $500K towards production, GE had developed the first red LED in 1962, which was used for Rudolph's nose.
I grew up with both the Pinocchio and Oz series and my Wife thinks it’s hilarious that I can still sing the theme songs word for word.
"Nobody likes a skinny Santa."
You didn’t mention Festival of Family Classics 😢 I loved that series. I had this giant VHS tape box collection. It was ENORMOUS! For some reason, there was a Peter Pan tape by Burbank animation…from Australia in the mix 🤔
The Hanna-Barbara of stop motion.
Great point love both especially rudolph and flintstones
Hanna-Barbera
Interesting considering the Rudolph special and the Flintstones (first) Christmas episode/special are both having their 60th anniversary this year. (Also "Frosty" is 55, both "T'was the Night" and "The Year" are 50, and "Jack Frost" is 45.)
What a wonderful examination of something that means a lot to people like myself (58)!
Man. How many childhoods did these guys enrich with their wonderful content?
Also frosty the snowman was going to make a brief cameo in the movie “who framed Roger rabbit” but he was cut most likely due to licensing issues or its because the movie takes place in 1947 and the special was made in 1969
NOOOOOO that would've been so amazing :((
Frosty needs more exposure, he's so underrated i feel
@ also pac man and Godzilla were also meant to appear I really wish I can see the concept art or storyboards with them as I find that really interesting
Truly a great legacy from a truly legendary animator, thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!
TheArcWielder, you presented a great video that is interesting, educating, has a great pace, and is exciting. Thank you.
Very well done documentary about Rankin and Bass. I have fond memories of all the holiday specials but it wasn't until later I realized they were the ones behind ThunderCats and silver hawks and have other non-holiday specials learn so much from your documentary, thank you again.
I loved most of their movies. I remember them fondly. I am 30 now and try to get in as many as possible each year.
My favorite cinematic universe
Wow, such an amazingly put together video! I learned so much
wow this is a great video! its not too long and not too short and gets all the points across. please make more content like this. i love rankin bass
Christmas nostalgia aside, the best thing Rankin Bass ever did was their production of The Hobbit. Should have got an Emmy.
TBH its professionally finished art style designed by pre-Ghibli TopCraft made Bakshi's LOR look like the hot mess it really was.
Hey, thanks for coming out with this video. My new favorite. And Merry Christmas!!!
This was a wonderful little Christmas video, thank you!
Love Rankin Bass.
Not only the Christmas specials but honestly probably a bit reason for my love of magic/fantasy genre with Hobbit/lotr, Last Unicorn and Flight of Dragons
Been awhile since a video made me tear up...
A very beloved Rankin Bass offering has been skipped here: 1985’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, from the book by Oz author L. Frank Baum.
That's one of my favorites of the Rankin/Bass Christmas movies.
"I wanna wake up to a big surprise, a wooden cat with yellow green eyes"
I remember watching that special as a kid and thinking it was CRACKED. When I realized that the story was written by Baum as an adult, I thought, yeah that makes sense. Lol.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town is THE Santa Claus lore in my home ❤
Love Rankin Bass.
This doesn't mention "The LIfe and Adventures of Santa Claus." I always thought that was their last stop-motion holiday special.
Happy 60th Anniversary of the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer TV special 📺 🦌
And 85th Anniversary of the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer story. Just around 10 years to go until it's in the public domain 🤞
I miss, that they were once aired for free, then other companies greedily took these Rankin and Bass Christmas specials off the air, so everyone could nit enjoy them!
They selfishly kept them, so the public would pay them for the streaming of this beloved videocraft marvel!
When it was viewable to all those that had rabbit ears TV sets!
As a kid, ny mom wrote on the calendar, when these came on, during the holiday season!
As i grew older, I still wrote them down, even though, I could have video taped them!
But theres something different about watching it, during a national airing of the show!
Especially Rudolph, because, norelco had an Rankin and Bass animation of santa clause riding a shaver head as a powered sleigh! I looked forward to that litte ad paired with Rudolph!
When I saw it, I knew skiing season was coming! And I got all excited!
Wonderful look behind the scenes of these beloved 😮 generation-bridging classics. Well done.
But it still doesn't answer the question which has been (unsatisfactorally) debated for decades; What made the Dolly-for-Sue a "misfit toy?"
Thank you for making this. It was very informative and a great tribute to the studio that really brought the Holidays to life.
You did an awesome job with this. Thank you so much!
Amazing job on this project! What an incredible history! These holiday specials have always touched the hearts of people across the world! Truly amazing and inspiring! Thank you Rankin and Bass! For everything you’ve done! Very inspiring indeed! Truly a beautiful story too!
What a great Video, I definitely enjoyed it.
My neighbor's dog just died and all I can hear in my head is the Chad and Jeremy song " Yesterday's Gone" but I keep thinking that song was used in a Rankin Bass production---was it, or am I crazy
While the animation work was oursourced - Rankin-Bass must of had excellent directorial/production skills because studios like Topcraft did an absolutely amazing job of bringing those designs and concepts to life. While it might not of been in-house, even a good studio can make duds if there's no good directorship behind it. That and I'm sure the language barrier between the studios would of been difficult as well.
A lot of Rankin Bass shows never aired in the UK surprisingly - so I wouldn't discover these specials till much later in life. But even as someone who experienced them first as an older person, I think a lot of them hold up very well.
cheers❤
Actually the first spinoff/sequel not made by Rankin Bass was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys in 2001. Also Here comes Peter Cottontail (2005) is a direct sequel and not a remake.
The Daydreamer
I love that colored people were in Santa baby
It will not last forever because of unbelief in the Son of God and of decay.
Anyone know the cartoon at 5:35? It’s so familiar!
r.i.p
You didn't mention the Halloween movie Mad Monster Party from 1967.
9:29
@ oh ok thank you you I guess I just totally missed it since they mentioned it so quick
What's the BBC show shown in the beginning?
The Goes Wrong Show - it’s based on the stage play “The Play That Goes Wrong” and follows a fictional troupe of actors trying against all odds to produce a show while everything, well, goes wrong - actors not knowing their lines, issues with the set, etc. The original stage show followed the company’s performance of one specific show - a murder mystery - but the tv series expanded the format to take on a new trope every episode). This one was the nativity story. It’s very fun and pretty short - I think they only produced 12 20-minute episodes.
RB made some all-time Christmas classics but they went back to the well (animated holiday specials) too many times.
I friggin hated "Santa Claus Is Comin To Town" due to something that happened during the "Chris Kringle" musical number
Edit: that musical number might have actually been in "A Year Without A Santa Claus" I'm actually not sure which one it was in
They left out the Dreamer.
Nice video. Also I have a list of my top 10 favorite movies that were made by Rankin Bass and yes. This list includes non Rankin Bass movies. Get over it. 10. The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town (This movie’s just okay. Even though this movie has lots of stupidness in it, it’s still kinda good. 9. A Miser Bros Christmas: This is the first non Rankin Bass movie on this list. I might get hate for this but I don’t care. This movie’s good but the songs (Except The Snow Miser And Heat Miser Song) were forgettable. 8. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year: Rudolph saved both Christmas and the New Year. What more could you ask for? He even got some more new partners after his team up with Hermie and Yukon. Overall it’s a nice movie to watch around the new year. 7. Frosty Returns: This is the second and last non Rankin Bass movie on this list. So this movie was animated by one of the animators of the Peanuts movies and it’s a nice touch to it. What worked for Charlie Brown and Snoopy seemed to do justice for Frosty and I like it. 6. Jack Frost: What’s the difference between a groundhog’s shadow and a magical being’s shadow? Not sure but this movie’s good despite it being confused for a Groundhog Day movie or a Christmas movie for some viewers. 5. Santa Is Coming To Town: Great Santa origin story. Nuff said. 4. Here Comes Peter Cottontail (Like Zoinks Scoob! I’m a bunny!), 3. Frosty The Snowman: I think this is Rankin Bass’s 3rd 2d animated movie and it’s a huge step up from their 1st and 2nd 2d animated movies. Does it hold up well? Yes. However you can notice the animation errors when you watch this movie for the first time where in some scenes, Frosty talks despite his mouth not moving but you can just ignore them. 2. The Year Without A Santa Claus: This movie’s still a real banger though and it still is to this very day. 1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: WHY WEREN’T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE!!!!!!!!????????
Fun fact, all the songs were written by Jewish songwriters.