The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus

I thought this was a beautiful and surreal stop motion animated film. It's certainly superior to the cell animation version. I thought it was beautifully done by the Rankin / Bass people- who brought us such classics as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the snow man, among many other holiday specials. I don't think this has been released to DVD yet and it's a shame that it hasn't been.

It's a true classic. It's based on the short story by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. In fact, though neither movie tells you this, the immortal fairies in this story are the ones who enchanted The Land of Oz to begin with.

If you love beautifully done fantasies and stop motion animation I highly recommend this movie. I read another review that called this film pagan and frightening- I think this person was looking for reasons to hate it and simply didn't understand the fantastical creatures portrayed. It's not scary at all, it's quite beautiful, just not what you'd expect. You should keep an open mind when viewing it, it's quite beautiful.

I would just like to comment on the last posting. This is NOT claymation! This was made with stop-motion puppets not clay. Yes there is a difference. Each puppet is painstakingly made by hand,First pre-production drawings of each puppet are made,an armature is created,Someone has to sculpt a character,molds are made,foam latex is put into molds then puppets are baked in an oven,Artists paint the details,clothing has to be made...so on. I want to educate people on this so there will not be any confusion in the future. Sorry if I am preaching...I take this seriously. In conclusion, I do agree this movie is quite enjoyable! Happy Holidays!

This was one of my favorite Rankin-Bass productions. This particular telling of the Santa story is based on L. Frank Baum book of the same title: "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." The immortals are gathered by the Great Ak to decide whether or not the mortal Santa deserves the honor of becoming immortal (something the immortals can only grant once). The story is narrated by Ak and recounts how he found the young babe and watched over him as he was raised by some of the nymphs and animals that fell under Ak's jurisdiction.

As with any Rankin-Bass stop animation production the creature concepts can be wildly imaginative (and scary... the Nooks tend creep me out, but I wouldn't mind a plush version of one) and be sure that there are numerous musical outbursts as the story progresses.

This Baum story has also recently received an animated retelling. I am saddened that this particular version does not receive as much airing time, but I am very grateful that we always recorded Christmas specials when I was younger.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Rankin-Bass holidays escapism and has an imagination that enjoys being stimulated.

I have watched this movie since i was little, and for all i do admit the subject and the themes used in the movie are slightly darker then the average kids movie, it is one of the best i have seen. I've always loved the entire premiose of the story, and the characters are brilliant, especially the Commander of the Wind Daemons (The Bat like Creature) and Blinky the Cat.

I've never heard the "raised by faerie folk" story of Santa before. It was refreshing to see fantasy wood elves instead of the usual fat bearded ones. The council around the table looked as if they were drinking Wassail and celebrating the Winter Solstice. If you grew up playing D&D, you'll most likely enjoy this!