Santa's Magic Kingdom

Santa's Magic Kingdom is a 13 minute short film from 1964 that my family and I have been watching every Christmas since 1987. VHS tape was fairly new technology back then and my Mom gave us one for the kids to enjoy. We watched it with Grandma and tears were rolling down cheeks we laughed so hard! Still cracks me up to this day and each new generation seems to enjoy it as we premiere this classic for them. Not intended as a comedy, this is the most ambitious of K. Gordon Murray's famously awful Christmas trilogy. An expanded cast including Merlin, a menacing guy in a wolf suit, the Easter Bunny and of course Santa and his elves make this the pinnacle of his film career. There are even musical interludes with sincere elves singing their hearts out. He had some tax troubles in the 1970's and lost the copyright, so it's in the public domain. Go to the Internet Archive and you can legally download it if you wish. Enjoy!

I watched this late one night after seeing it listed in the "Something Weird" section of On Demand. This was supposed to be a kid's Christmas short. It was just plain BIZARRE. It was a combination of costumed characters I remember from my childhood, low budget horror soundtrack, and Blair Witch camera work. I LMAO and got creep-ed out all at the same time. What more could you ask for? If you grew up thinking Walt Disney was the best thing going, leave this one alone. If, like myself, you think John Waters is a film genius you MUST see this. I swear there were clips of this in "A Dirty Shame". I'm still not quite sure why the Easter Bunny lives in Santa's Kingdom..

This film is currently (Dec. 2005) airing on ComCast On Demand under the Something Weird section. (Good ol' Something Weird Video.) Apparently it was made to be shown at various Santa's Villages and Santa-themed children's parks. (You'll notice that Santa says things like 'This is what you might see at one of my many villages', suggesting that it was meant to shown without any specific park being mentioned.) Basically, its meant as an introduction/commercial for such establishments.

The production value is laughable, coming off as a home-movie that had sound dubbed in later. Many bizarre creatures (Easter Bunnies, an ugly Cinderella (with a sickly green face thanks to faded film color), and a Merlin the Magician make appearances. The 'plot' has the creatures and their Santa fighting off an Ogre, who is never actually seen. (Because the people that made this didn't have the extra 5 bucks to make an Ogre costume heh.) Totally ridiculous, totally cheeseball, and lots of fun, especially since not many 'Santa's Workshops/Villages' seem to exist anymore.

Santa's Magic Kingdom has the look and feel of a bad, experimental student film. It has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, despite featuring Santa and his reindeer and being shot in a snow village amusement park (in the middle of summer). What little plot there is involves an ogre (portrayed by Big Wooden Dinosaur) attacking the village, although we never actually see it for more than a few seconds. Merlin's battle with the ogre takes place entirely off camera, while the townsfolk stand around and vacantly look at each other instead of reacting, which I think is what's meant to happen. However, when its over, the jubilation goes on for what seems like five minutes. Puss n'Boots is another main character in this lackluster tale, as well as the narrator. Other familiar faces such as Mrs. Claus (in horn rimmed specs) and the Easter Bunny, as well as some unfamiliar ones, such as Stinky the Skunk make cameo appearances. The highlight of the production comes at the very end when Pretty Princess sings a song that has no melody and is joined by the inhabitants of the village in a chorus of whistling.

I found this short movie to be rather amusing. It all started when I purchased a weird looking tape labelled "Rudolph" at Value Village for a couple of dollars. The first half of the tape was cartoons and such but at the end of the tape, I found the hidden secret of Santa's Magic Kingdom. Immediately after watching it my chest grew painful from laughing. This film also has a creepy touch to it though. This is supposed to be a childrens movie but all I see is a low budget film based upon a weird village out in the middle of nowhere, filled with horribly dressed christmas characters and some with no relation to any aspect of christmas at all. The zero dollar budget effects and eerie soundtrack really add to the "what the hell am I watching" factor. This film is a must see but only because you have no idea what you're missing if you don't.