The Best Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass Christmas Shows Of All Time!

Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass were men of genius. The stories they devised and cultivated or adapted and created into their own have made generations of children and adults find the true meaning of Christmas right in their own living rooms. The holidays are just not the holidays until you see Rudolph on the screen. Now with streaming services so prevalent, you can watch old Rudy and his buddies on the Island Of Misfit Toys any day, any time of the year!

The key to the success of the Rankin/Bass animated holiday classics was twofold, really. First, the stop-action animation from Japan was fantastic. Rankin/Bass was one of the first Western to outsource this low-budget technology from a Japanese studio, Moshi Productions. That's why they stand out so much because here in the United States, there weren't that many children's shows using that type of technology. Funny thing is, the reason that Rankin/Bass chose to use Moshi Productions' stop animation, was because it was cheap! So low budget turned into high ratings.

The second key to success for the Rankin/Bass team was the voice actors they used. Since the early days of their studios, they employed their own stable voice-over talent. Names you may not have ever heard of, but if you are a Rankin'/Bass fan, you know the sounds of! Names like Paul Soles, Larry Mann, Paul Klingman, and Paul Frees to name a few. They were in many many Rankin/Bass shows. Furthermore, legendary celebrities were hired to lend their voices to key characters in many of the most popular shows. Fred Astaire, Vincent Price, Berl Ives, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, and Shirley Booth all had major voice roles in the most famous of Rankin/Bass holiday classic shows.

Here are the best from Rankin/Bass.

The original classic. The G.O.A.T.  if you will. If you haven't seen it, you are on an island unto yourself. Oh and BUMBLES BOUNCE!

So wait, Santa was adopted? By the Kringles? Hmm makes sense. The Santa Clause origin story told and sung by Fred Astaire as Special Delivery Kluger, the North Pole Mailman.

No stop animation in this one. Just a pure heart melting (no pun intended) story of a girl, a rabbit, and evil villain, and of course, the snowman. Jimmy Durante narrated this classic.

You know you cry every year you see Baba the lamb get run over by that chariot. Don't lie!

This one's got it all! A sick and tired Santa. A pain in the ass Mrs. Claus. Two well meaning, bumbling elves. A reindeer with the flu, and of course The Miser Brothers!!!

Best Rankin/Bass song ever!

A parallel is drawn between a human father and a mouse father with one common goal. Get Santa to not fly over and ignore their town. I still love the song "Even a miracle needs a hand."

Sequels are usually crap, but how could you not love that kid with the ears! This one is great, yet always reminded me of having to go back to school after Christmas break.