Top Ten Rankin/Bass Holiday Specials

The Top Ten
1 Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Another classic Rankin Bass special, wonderful story, message, and depiction/origin story of Santa Claus, great characters, lovely songs, awesome stop motion animation, love everything about this masterpiece.

Wow, I'm glad this is #1, I thought for sure Rudolph would be, not that I hate Rudolph, I just always liked this more.

I'm bi and I think Santa's kinda cute in this movie. I love me some handsome/beautiful gingers!

2 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Still my favorite of the Rankin Bass specials. Even if it does have some flaws (dated gender roles, it was the 60's after all), I still love the story, characters (Rudolph, Hermy, Yukon especially), songs, music, settings/animation of it, it is one of the best Christmas specials/stop motion specials ever made, and it teaches a great message about how being different doesn't mean one can't be a hero, make friends, help out others, and/or do such a feat like pull Santa's sleigh here, and while some people we have high self esteem for can be wrong, no one's perfect and it's important to forgive them. I can't believe that this special is getting some (only some fortunately) flak from easily triggered PC people who would probably praise such politically correct trash like the 2016 Ghostbusters or something...but fortunately it's only a very minority and most of the complaints spouted out don't hold any water at all.

3 The Year Without a Santa Claus

Another classic masterpiece right here, and not just because of the Miser Brothers, Mrs. Claus is the driving force to save Christmas, Santa is at his finest here, Jingle and Jangle are hilarious, and the story is definitely one of the best to come out of Rankin/Bass, shame it's not as popular as the others, or if it was now, it wasn't back then probably.

4 Frosty the Snowman

First of all this is a family top 10, not the profanity written here. This is a timeless classic you can't have foul language over that, and oh by the way Frosty, start your engines.
Its Joeysworld

5 Twas The Night Before Christmas
6 Rudolph's Shiny New Year

That baby looks like Baby Hercules from Disney with Dumbo's ears.

7 A Miser Brothers' Christmas
8 The Little Drummer
9 Frosty's Winter Wonderland

And besides, Frosty Returns wasn't even Rankin/Bass and thus shouldn't be on this list at all. This, on the other hand, is.

Frosty Returns (1992) and The Legend of Frosty the Snowman (2005) do NOT exist!

Should be higher than Frosty Returns!

10 Frosty Returns
The Contenders
11 Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)

Why does Danny Kaye's character look exactly like Conan O'Brien on the photographed DVD cover for this?

In all seriousness, though, I would totally do Conan O'Brien's ginger junk if I had the chance.

Let's not forget the Easter specials, please!

12 The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town

Right up there with The Lorax as the most beautiful, memorable, and Oscar/Emmy-worthy masterpiece ever created in entertainment history. I mean it's so unbelievably good that it makes Singin' in the Rain look like From Justin to Kelly, makes Beauty and the Beast look like Chicken Little, and even makes Citizen Kane look like The Room! I don't think even Spirited Away comes anywhere close to being as tearjerkingly perfect as this wonderful work of art! Please watch this glorious 1977 Easter relic with your whole family as soon as you can! You won't regret a single minute of it.

Story: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Songs: 10/10

Overall Rating: 10/10; complete with my personal Seal of Approval (plays the ending fanfare from the Super Smash Bros Melee Orchestra Medley)

P.S. Yes, I was directly (and shamelessly) ripping off Animat's Reviews' style with my ratings at the end.

13 Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys
14 Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

The best part about this movie is the fact that it's also a summer movie! Basically the Hotel Transylvania 3 of Rankin/Bass holiday specials.

15 Merry Madagascar
16 Jack Frost
17 The Cricket on the Hearth
18 Pinocchio’s Christmas

There's no way in hell that Pinocchio himself could have possibly been sentient prior to the Blue Fairy dropping by Geppetto's place.

19 Mad Monster Party?
20 Family Guy: Road to the North Pole
21 South Park: Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo
22 The Legend of Frosty the Snowman
23 The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold

Very interesting, even by Rankin/Bass standards.

24 The Stingiest Man in Town
25 The First Easter Rabbit

Some of the most hideous animation ever produced by Rankin/Bass, and that's actually saying something.

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