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The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth. It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974 on ABC.

This could be a sequel to "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" and it is in a spiritual way. Their is however isn't. The animation is different and the elves in this special are not the same elves we see in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". It is however produced by the same company (Rankin/Bass) and Mickey Rooney voices "Santa" in this special as well.

Now in this film "Santa" decides to not deliver presents this year because he sees that people no longer have "Christmas Spirit" and no longer believe in Santa.

In an effort to save Christmas Mrs. Claus dispatches two elves out into the world to prove to Santa wrong.

Now this special has the now classic songs from "The Heatmiser" and "Mr Snow". There is however 2 other songs that should of been cut or re-worked. Then again that is just my opinion

This special is a true classic. To call it "One of the crown jewels of Holiday Programming" would not do it justice. It is one of the finest programs ever produced for TV.

This special really gained a huge following once it hit Home Video. ABC held the rights for TV broadcast for years but seldom aired the special. After it became obvious that this special was loved by millions ABC began running it again on "ABC FAMILY" and the "ABC Network". The same thing happened with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" that special was also returned to the ABC Network because of its huge following. That special was syndicated for years. ABC has now re- gained broadcasting rights.

There are 45 reviews detailing this show, mine won't make a lick of difference. If you have never seen this; Welcome To Earth!!

I grew up on this (I'm 54) and still watch it every year, more than once.

I eagerly awaited for it when the commercial announced its airing date. I was obsessed with Heat Miser's hair; that crazy poof of multicolored fuzzy fur with lights flickering in it to resemble flames. His minions also had it.

To this day, I can't wait for that scene and it's accompanying song.

I find this holiday made-for-T.V. movie to be one of the more charming of its kind, maybe because it's not as well known as "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and other holiday perennials.

In this one, Santa (voiced by Mickey Rooney, who also did Santa honors in "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town") decides he's had enough of Christmas and those who don't appreciate him and cancels the holiday. Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth) decides it's up to her to prove to Santa how much everyone still loves and admires him, so she sends off two elves on an around-the-world fact-finding mission to compile evidence of a belief in Santa and what he stands for. From there, the plot goes all over the place and nothing makes a whole lot of sense, but it's all harmless enough. The film's biggest selling point, of course, are the miser brothers, Heat and Snow, who each get a showstopping burlesque number complete with mini back up singers. I wish these two had been given a Christmas movie of their own.

Grade: A-

I admit it!!! I am one of those grown ups (a Generation Xer to be exact)who has never really fully grown up-at least not when it comes to watching Christmas Specials like this one. I have this on DVD now and plan to collect all the Rankin Bass Specials in addition to the Charlie Brown Holiday specials.

A Year Without a Santa Claus is just great. You can't beat it in my opinion. I agree with all the other comments that the Miser Brothers are the highlight of the special and should be mentioned whenever this special is marketed. But unlike some of the other comments, I liked the ENTIRE story. Another person who commented, Oldra, seems to hit the nail on the head about the song "So You Don't Believe in Santa Claus". Call me silly, but my eyes get just a "little wet" whenever Ignatious's Father and Mr. "Clouse" start singing to him about the existence of Santa Claus. Even though in real life, a man does not come down chimneys in a red suit to deliver presents, the symbolism of what Santa stands for what the song is trying to convey-and it does a very good job in my opinion!!! To quote the song, "Just believe in Santa Claus, like you believe in Love, and just believe in Santa Claus, and everything he does". Happy Holidays and beyond!

Rankin/Bass have been responsible for a fair number of Christmas classics, such as Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Frosty the Snowman and The Little Drummer Boy. The Year Without A Santa Claus is almost as good as them and definitely one of the better Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. The stop-motion animation is wonderful, very detailed and both enchanting and atmospheric. I also loved the music, the score is whimsical with some lovely themes that never take away from the story or the festive feel of Christmas. The songs are sweet and catchy, I happen to think that they are memorable too. The Miser Brothers songs are a lot of fun as is Blue Christmas, and I also want to give a shout out to I Believe in Santa Claus, which I have always found very touching with a beautiful and truthful meaning without beating the audience around the head with it. The writing is amusing with the Miser Brothers, and there is evidence of conflict and pathos, and the story while bizarre in places has a lovely subtly handled message and gets you into the Christmas spirit. The characters I also like very much. The Miser Brothers definitely steal the show, especially Heat, but I do also enjoy Mrs Claus' wit and sarcasm, Vixen's cuteness and Santa's benevolence. The voice acting is terrific. Overall, a lovely special that brings me great joy every time, when something gives you that feeling you know it's done something right. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The Year Without a Santa Claus is the sequel to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, but really, they're two separate stories, so it's not necessary to watch both of them back-to-back at Christmastime. They're both stop-action cartoons by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, and both feature Mickey Rooney as the voice of Santa Claus, but they both shine in different aspects.

In this one, Shirley Booth stars as Mrs. Claus, and she and Mickey are the perfect choices to voice the North Pole couple. Mickey is loving, humorous, jolly, and just tired-sounding enough to sound like he keeps busy throughout the year. Shirley is hilarious and sweet, and while I've always thought it a little weird for Santa Claus to be married, I couldn't have imagined a better, more fitting sounding wife than Shirley Booth. Dick Shawn, George S. Irving, Colin Duffy, Bob McFadden, and Bradley Bolke join the unforgettable cast, providing an endless supply of accents and deliveries to mimic. I can't count how many household phrases my family has acquired because of this delightful animated Christmas classic.

The jokes in William Keenan's script aren't just for kids. Some jokes are very fast-paced and might not be understood by the little ones, some poke fun at politics or issues kids won't yet understand, and some are geared for the kids but are so hilarious even the poutiest grown-up in the audience will burst out laughing. It's just delightful. Every year, my family and I curl up on the couch and look forward to Shirley Booth's adorable lilting, "Do you think you should, with your cold and all?", Mickey Rooney's sad, tired, famous line, "I dreamed unhappy things!", the toe-tapping Heat Miser and Cold Miser scenes, and the "I Believe in Santa Claus" song when everyone, young and old, even though we've watched it every year for thirty years, sheds a tear.

Why has THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS endured for so many years? I don't believe it's because of its scenario. The concept of an ailing Santa Claus, convinced the world doesn't care for him, deciding not to ride his sleigh one Christmas is promising. However, its execution is too low-key to provide conflict or pathos. There's a touching rendition of "Blue Christmas" by a child writing a letter to Santa, but the other characters' reactions to Santa's decision seem too mild to generate real drama. Most of the other songs are pleasant but unmemorable. The plot's resolution is too contrived to be affecting.

The two real reasons for THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS's popularity are Snow Miser and Heat Miser. They are minor characters with limited onscreen time, but they blow away the other characters. Those quarreling siblings provide the special with some much needed brio. As the voice of Snow Miser, Dick Shawn oozes with self-satisfied smarm. Yet he conveys such gleeful humor in his delivery that his oiliness endears viewers. As the voice of Heat Miser, George S. Irving is hilariously irascible, an overgrown brat who fumes over everything associated with snow. It is this very childishness that makes Heat Miser so amusing. Of course, their musical numbers stop the show not because of their lyrics, which are repetitive, but their snappy deliveries.

The Miser brothers are so delightful that their absence creates a void in THE YEAR WITHOUT SANTA CLAUS. One wishes that Rankin Bass, which produced this special, had produced a special focusing on them. It is too late now, at least with the voice of Dick Shawn, who has long passed on. One can still appreciate the fact these characters were devised at all. Without them, THE YEAR WITHOUT SANTA CLAUS would probably be forgotten by now.

I love Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, but no matter what, The Year Without A Santa Claus will always remain as my favorite Rankin/Bass Christmas special. The Miser Brothers are great, its extremely charming, and I'd argue the best animation out of the Rankin/Bass specials. If you love Christmas and the Rankin/Bass specials, like me, then I'd request to give this a watch.

Santa is sick from a lack of Christmas spirit in the people and he has to cancel Christmas. Mrs Claus refuses to give up. She sends elves Jingle and Jangle with reindeer Vixen to find Christmas cheers and goodwill. Santa follows them into town. Ignatius "Iggy" Thistlewhite is a young boy. Like the rest of the kids, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus anymore. Mrs. Claus negotiates an agreement between Snow Miser and Heat Miser to bring snow to South Town and revive the Christmas spirit.

This Christmas special follows Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It introduces great new characters Snow Miser and Heat Miser. The other characters are less compelling by comparison. This adds to the established tradition of the stop-motion animated Christmas specials.

This delightful Christmas story traces its origin to a 1956 book by Phyllis McGinley, with the same title. As an animated stop-action special film it first aired in December 1974. As I recall, my children really enjoyed "The Year Without a Santa Claus." Maybe especially because of all the hijinks in the story.

The North Pole doubtful doctor tells Santa to stay in bed over Christmas because he has a cold. Mrs. Claus hatches a plan to convince the old gent that people still believe in him and kids need him. So, she dispatches two elves, Jingle Bells and Jangle Bells, as spies to Southtown. The young reindeer, Vixen, will be their transport and companion.

All kinds of problems occur, with Vixen falling ill from the heat and being sent to a dog pound - disguised as a dog. But a young boy, Iggy, who was skeptical at first, becomes a key to Santa's recovery. Mrs. Claus has to go to their aid, and the jolly old gent himself has to get involved. A couple of natural characters, Snow Miser and Heat Miser get involved, and Mother Nature herself has to intervene.

It's quite a hodgepodge but a lot of fun for the kids. We all enjoyed it back then, and have seen it a few more times over the years. The voices are done very well. Shirley Booth is Mrs. Claus, Mickey Rooney is Santa, Dick Shawn is the Snow Miser, George Irving is the Heat Miser, Bob McFadden is Jingle Bells and Bradley Bolke is Jangle Bells.

Well, this is a special that I probably did see when I was a kid, but have long forgotten about it. Everyone knows about Snow Miser and Heat Miser's songs. I could sing them all day. This tells the story about the year without a Santa Claus, except Santa does in fact get through Christmas. He's too sick to deliver presents this year. Two elves named Jingle and Jangle try to find Christmas spirit to get Santa better.

I admit that the pacing could have been better. Snow and Heat Miser don't really play that big a role until after the halfway point. Also, we never find out what happened when Snow Miser let it be hot at the North Pole! The fantastic animation and fairly unique story still make it wonderful. It really did get emotional near the end when the kids gave letters to Santa. Santa looks different than in "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", so I really do wonder if these all take place in the same Universe. ***1/2.

Wait. What happened to springtime up north...?

My boss, or one of them, practically forced me to watch this tonight - either 3½ months too late for Christmas or 8½ months too early - since I mentioned I had never seen it. In my defense, it aired 8 months after I was born, sooo *maybe* I did see it?

It was cute enough. Had some decent songs and animation for the time. I especially loved the Two "Too-Much" Brothers and their songs. My only issues were from the length which led to a convoluted story and plot holes.

Perhaps they tried to add more and more to make this a full hour special when it really needed to be a short, sweet and tight half-hour classic. Instead, too many directions were added, somethings didn't add up and entire ideas abandoned, such as Heat Miser's commitment for the North Pole.

Santa wants a holiday, and either pretends to be sick or got it in his mind he really is. When others try and "save" Christmas from a newly apathetic Claus, things go south from the North Pole and Santa's gotta clean up the mess. Yada Yada, it snows where it shouldn't, a few calls were made, a reverse Christmas and all is well, again.

Despite being (almost) 44 years old, it still entertained me and made me laugh at some of the jokes. Probably best seen through the eyes of kids in the mid-70s, but it worked for me today.

***

Final thoughts: At least she didn't recommend The Star Wars Holiday Special from few years after this. I might have put my two weeks in right then and there. Just kidding. I would've just walked out.

I loved this one as a kid; and its right-CBS had all the best Christmas specials in the '70s-Rankin Bass' in particular. Who can not like this one-Santa takes a holiday, Heat Miser and Freeze Miser, 'Blue Christmas' being done with some oomph for a change....

A certified must-see if you saw this as a kid or want your kids to see it . *** outta ****, it still works today.

"The Year Without a Santa Claus" is one of my favorite Christmas specials to watch during the Christmas season and it is known to be one of Rankin/Bass' best Christmas specials. The plot for the special was great as well as the songs, but Heat Miser and Snow Miser's songs were the best songs in the special. Since the Miser Brothers' songs were great, cover songs can be heard on Christmas Albums like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's "Everything You Want for Christmas". To this day, "The Year Without a Santa Claus" is still one of the best Christmas specials out there and timeless classic for the Christmas season.

Based on the book by Phyllis McKinley, The Year Without a Santa Claus really gets to the heart of Christmas. It's a fun, 'what if tale' that commences when, one year, Santa (Mickey Rooney) has lost heart because he believes the world no longer believes in him, so he decides to takes the holiday off. But Mrs. Clause (Shirley Booth) won't have it, so she sends two of Santa's finest, but clumsiest elves and a young reindeer to Earth to find someone that truly believes...but she also has ways of helping out herself.

So, why is this special so dear to me? Well, for one thing it's an interesting, what if spin on Christmas, about Santa taking a year off and Mrs. Claus finally taking center stage and taking on the challenge of returning the Christmas spirit to her once-jolly husband. Furthermore, the characters are all fun and interesting, but there is one...sorry, two, that seem to stand out not only for me, but the rest of the Rankin/Bass fans out there.

Introducing the Miser Brothers, those two rapscallions who control hot and cold climate under the watchful eye of Mother Nature herself. Snow Miser, who controls snow, hale, and overall chilly weather is carefree and easygoing, having a great enthusiasm for all things below 32 degrees. His stepbrother, Heat Miser, is the complete opposite: a temperamental windbag who controls all things warm, like the sun, volcanos, and generally blistering heat. The two are opposite forces, often butting heads, but do take to Mrs. Claus' pleas to bring cold weather to a town under Heat Miser's Territory...with a little 'persuasion' from Mother Nature herself, of course.

Overall, check this movie out and get into the holiday spirit!

I didn't really watch The Year Without a Santa Claus when I was growing up, so I'm not looking at it through the nostalgia glasses that I wear for other Rankin/Bass Productions. In fact, the only thing I really knew about this animated TV special before seeing it was the Snow Miser song, and that's because of its brief appearance in Batman & Robin (1997). Nevertheless, I can see why kids would enjoy it. It's a simple story with amusing animation and a few good songs. I don't think this will become regular Christmas viewing in my family, but I'm glad I finally watched The Year Without a Santa Claus.

In this classic Rankin-Bass holiday special, Santa Claus isn't feeling well and decides to take time off his annual rounds delivering Christmas gifts. When the world hears about it, some people stop believing in Santa Claus. They don't even think he exists, or does he exist? Even the Miser Brothers try to keep Santa out of the holiday picture. Also, would you believe in Christmas if there was snow? After a while though, kids start writing letters and sending gifts to Santa himself telling him they miss him.

One of the songs heard in this special is "Blue Christmas," and don't even expect to hear Elvis Presley to perform it. Whether your Christmas has Santa Claus or not, it's the holiday spirit that matters most.

You know, this is one of those movies you look forward to each Christmas. I love the Miser Brothers. The animation is very well done, and the songs are catchy. The plot is fun, and we get reminded of some of the good things about Christmas. This is a classic Christmas movie up there with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What a shame they made a remake (live action, no less). Now I guess this version will be relegated to the dusty back of all the discarded classics. Sometimes Hollywood just needs to leave well enough alone. If you get to watch this one, or own it, enjoy it with your whole family. Some really young kids might be a little scared, but I think the "scary" factor is the same as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. If your kids can handle that one, then this one might be OK. I always try to watch movies before my kids see them, since some parents have stricter or looser standards. Up to you parents to decide, but I would have let my toddler watch it if it had come on this year.

Jimmy said, "Thank you Snow Miser and Heat Miser for letting me know what would happen if I had dropped ACID with Biden and Trump!" Ha ahahhahahahhahaha Well said Jimmy! ;D This movie was cute when I was 9, and I weirdly still remember the lyrics to the miser songs. Not the best of these old school cartoons, but still has a good message about how some Monsters will try to steal our joy! And we can't let them get away with it! The Heat Miser does look like trump but with Don King's hair! Ha hahahahaha ;D If you read the quotes section you'll see even the Heat miser is into Quid Pro Quo! :o

This is the second film discussed on the podcast Does This Still Work. They liked it. George had never seen it before but Joe, being the old one, had seen it many times in his childhood.

Joe still got a kick out of what were his favorite characters , the Misers. Though, he misremembered their chorus. Joe was sure they were way way more flamboyant by which he meant he thought they were gay in the Liberace sense of the word. But he was off. Not way off mind you. But off nonetheless.

What amazed George was seeing kids give gifts to Santa for once. Joe thought that was cool as well but found it odd that children came from different nations as opposed to having the different races and ethnicities all be American. This is a pretty mixed country, yes, even in 1974. It would be have been nice if this TV movie reflected that.

Still despite that, it's a pleasant viewing experience. You can even watch this with your young children, if you're into that sort of thing.