Review of Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

It's hard not to compare this Rankin/Bass production to their classic Rudolph. But this is in a separate class! Rudolph is a simple story which moves straight from beginning to end. But SCICTT is a finely crafted tale with several sub-plots that are told in detail. The cast is fantastic! Famous stars like Fred Aistare (the mailman and narrator), Mickey Rooney (Kris Kringle) and Keenan Wynn (Winter Warlock) bring their characters to life in depth. As does the remainder of the cast. Some people have complained that Topper is too weak of a sidekick, merely honking his way through the film. I disagree. He is one of my favorite characters and is written to balance the strength and importance of Kris Kringle. A larger character would have weakened the importance of Santa Claus. And this is part of the reason I am so impressed with the script. There are many stories to be told. And they are told in a manner that doesn't affect the overall story but accrete to it. The transformation of Winter. The love story with Jessica. The demise of Bergermeister Meisterberger. The story of the elves. And the many scattered explanations of the Santa story! *Phew* There is so much and everything is expertly knitted into a cohesive script.

All held together by the magic of Santa Claus!