A Brief History of RANKIN/BASS Christmas Specials! (Prime Time Preservation)

[@TheArcWielder]

Unfortunately, due to Warner Bros. not understanding Copyright and Fair Use, I had to trim out the segment detailing the debut of ThunderCats post-upload; please excuse the choppiness around 22:13

[@vincentwhitehead]

Rest in peace to both founders..thank you for bringing holiday cheer to generations of kids.. Arthur Rankin jr,1924-2014 Jules bass,1935-2022 😢

[@Antifearn]

The fact that Jules Bass was solely responsible for Monte Carlo, which came out and was heavily advertised when I was a kid, of all movies absolutely blows my mind. When he passed away last year, my Dad and I were absolutely devastated. He grew up with Rankin/Bass’s Christmas specials like Rudolph, and I grew up with them in the early 00’s, along with some of the new sequels and spin-offs.

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

I watched their Return to Oz the other night, and really liked it despite the wild liberties it took with the source material. It's beautifully animated through, and I especially love the crazy, abstract backgrounds

[@pixlethevtuber]

I miss cell animation. I mean, I know with cell animation it's not used anymore because it takes too long and we've have more technology for animation but cell animation has so much more charm, I hope it comes back someday

[@bananaboba7129]

THIS ONE gets it‼️ Yeah I miss cell animation badly. Somehow the characters felt more alive?? Can't explain it.

[@pixlethevtuber]

@bananaboba7129 yeah, animated characters these days feel dead :/ (I feel like a boomer saying that but idc lol)

[@faeriewitch44]

wow this is a great video! its not too long and not too short and gets all the points across. please make more content like this. i love rankin bass

[@alexgeorge501]

Truly a great legacy from a truly legendary animator, thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!

[@55twintv39]

The Hanna-Barbara of stop motion.

[@maxordman4100]

Amazing job on this project! What an incredible history! These holiday specials have always touched the hearts of people across the world! Truly amazing and inspiring! Thank you Rankin and Bass! For everything you’ve done! Very inspiring indeed! Truly a beautiful story too!

[@pkendlers]

You did an awesome job with this. Thank you so much!

[@thepit7868]

Been awhile since a video made me tear up...

[@greenmanstudios8746]

Thank you for making this. It was very informative and a great tribute to the studio that really brought the Holidays to life.

[@ronnielava3784]

My neighbor's dog just died and all I can hear in my head is the Chad and Jeremy song " Yesterday's Gone" but I keep thinking that song was used in a Rankin Bass production---was it, or am I crazy

[@RebeccaGunn]

While the animation work was oursourced - Rankin-Bass must of had excellent directorial/production skills because studios like Topcraft did an absolutely amazing job of bringing those designs and concepts to life. While it might not of been in-house, even a good studio can make duds if there's no good directorship behind it. That and I'm sure the language barrier between the studios would of been difficult as well. A lot of Rankin Bass shows never aired in the UK surprisingly - so I wouldn't discover these specials till much later in life. But even as someone who experienced them first as an older person, I think a lot of them hold up very well.

[@CieJe.Alexander]

Wonderful look behind the scenes of these beloved 😮 generation-bridging classics. Well done. But it still doesn't answer the question which has been (unsatisfactorally) debated for decades; What made the Dolly-for-Sue a "misfit toy?"

[@jenneymoore3040]

A very beloved Rankin Bass offering has been skipped here: 1985’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, from the book by Oz author L. Frank Baum.

[@ReddyToAnimate]

My top 8 favorite Christmas movies that were made by Rankin Bass and the other companies that made some of them: 8. A Miser Bros Christmas: I might get hate for this but I don’t care. This movie’s good but the songs (Except The Snow Miser And Heat Miser Song) were forgettable. 7. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year: Rudolph saved both Christmas and the New Year. What more could you ask for? He even got some more new partners after his team up with Hermie and Yukon. Overall it’s a nice movie to watch around the new year. 6. Frosty Returns: So this movie was animated by one of the animators of the Peanuts movies and it’s a nice touch to it. What worked for Charlie Brown and Snoopy seemed to do justice for Frosty and I like it. 5. Jack Frost: What’s the difference between a groundhog’s shadow and a magical being’s shadow? Not sure but this movie’s good despite it being confused for a Groundhog Day movie or a Christmas movie for some viewers. 4. Santa Is Coming To Town: Great Santa origin story. Nuff said. 3. Frosty The Snowman: I think this is Rankin Bass’s 2nd 2d animated movie and it’s a huge step up from their 1st 2d animated movie. Does it hold up well? Yes. However you can notice the animation errors when you watch this movie for the first time where in some scenes, Frosty talks despite his mouth not moving but you can just ignore them. 2. The Year Without A Santa Claus: This movie’s still a real banger though and it still is to this very day. 1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: WHY WEREN’T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE!!!!!!!!????????