So it’s that time of year.
I don’t remember the last time I watched the entire 60 minutes of The Year Without a Santa Claus, but I did the other night, and I can confirm it was just as bad as I remember it being.
First off, the whole stop-animation thing has not aged well (although it works wonderfully in Rudolph…and speaking of which, it’s interesting, as an adult, to consider how Santa is portrayed in these specials: in Rudolph he is a bullying jerk; in Year Without he is a big sissy, whining about a head-cold keeping him from doing his job, which only requires his attention ONE night per year! Plus, the reindeer and elves do all the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively).
But aside from production values and aesthetics, the story itself is just kind of…lame.
Indeed, the only thing that endures is the epic one-two punch of the feuding brothers, Snow Miser and Heat Miser.
Their songs…so campy, so goofy, so…awesome!
Out of nowhere (sort of) last year I remembered these characters (having not seen the special since I was a kid) and sure enough, You Tube hooked a brother up. My friends and I got much enjoyment over repeated viewings.
Which begs the question: if you had to pick one (as a friend, as a character, as a work of art) who are you down with?
Snow Miser is obviously more of a ham (“That’s right!”) but Heat Miser is such a bad-ass, turning balls of flame into little cotton balls and eating them. Plus, his little sidekicks with the top hats? That just seals the deal for me.
At the end of the day I’m quite pleased to enjoy both of them in equal measure, and you can thank me in advance for distilling the only redeeming moments of the entire special in one video, below.
