Review of The Year Without a Santa Claus

Santa Claus (robustly voiced by the ever-exuberant Mickey Rooney) gets a bad cold and decides to take a year off. Ms. Claus (given an endearingly warm voice by Shirley Booth) sends bumbling elves Jingle Bells and Jangle Bells along with baby reindeer Vixen to go out into the world to find plenty of holiday cheer in order to persuade Santa to go ahead with his usual routine. Meanwhile, the constantly feuding Miser Brothers further muck things up. This delightful Noel family musical television program from Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr., the same fine folks who gave us such sparkling gems as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman," offers a winning mix of good-natured humor and several highly catchy songs. However, it's the marvelously campy antics of the Miser Brothers who make this show a prime piece of hilarious entertainment: George S. Irving is deliciously manic as the cantankerous overgrown brat Heat Miser while Dick Shawn is camp perfection as the smarmy hambone Snow Miser; their scenes are a complete sidesplitting joy to watch and the jaunty burlesque songs they both heartily belt out are simply awesome. Rhoda Mann likewise impresses as the folksy matronly voice of Mother Nature. The funky stop-motion animation and the light, upbeat tone further enhance the overall merry charm of this lovely little beaut.