Indelible images

Kirk Baird

Monday, Dec. 9, 2002 | 8:58 a.m.

When it comes to Christmas traditions, there are the usual icons: pine trees, festive ornaments, decorative lights, creamy egg nog and the ever-popular fruitcake.

When it comes to Christmas traditions on TV, however, there are few shows as much a part of the yuletide spirit as the Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass holiday specials.

It's easy to recognize a Rankin-Bass creation: quirky, jerky figures with saucer-size pupils that roll freely around the eye and mouths that alternate between black opals and inverted red triangles.

These festive animated holiday treats have been a part of the seasonal iconography for decades, trotted out annually on CBS, in syndication and now also on ABC Family network.

In the process the dozen or so specials have become a significant part of Christmas. For the millions of adults who grew up watching the shows, it is nearly impossible to picture Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman and other North Pole residents without first recalling the familiar Rankin-Bass images. And their shows remain popular today, in both video cassette and DVD formats.

"Year in, year out we sell millions of copies (of the holiday specials) sometimes to our own amazement," said Robert Mayo, head of home video for ClassicMedia, a New York company that owns the rights to many titles in the Rankin-Bass collection, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and "Frosty the Snowman."

"Some of these shows have been in the home-video market for 15 years, yet every year we continue to sell copies of something that is 30 years old."

Holiday magic

Of all ClassicMedia's holiday best-sellers, Mayo said "Rudolph" is the most popular. It was also the beginning of a legacy that would make Rankin and Bass the undeniable Kings of the Holiday Special.

Before "Rudolph," Rankin and Bass were producing commercials using stop-motion animated effects, a time-intensive technique used to create film movement, millimeter by millimeter, one frame at a time.

They also used this process, which they dubbed "Animagic," for TV programs, such as "The New Adventures of Pinocchio," a series of stop-motion shorts syndicated to various children's shows in 1960 to '61.

After the success of "Pinocchio," Rankin and Bass looked to expand creatively with an Animagic TV special.

In an interview on the "Rudolph" DVD, Rankin said in the early '60s he was living next door to Johnny Marks, composer of the 1949 Gene Autry holiday classic, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Rankin told Marks his musical tribute to the most famous reindeer of all had the makings of a great Christmas special. After a long conversation, the songwriter agreed.

Marks set about writing new songs for the special, two of which -- "Silver and Gold" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" -- would become classics in their own right.

Meanwhile Romeo Muller was given the task of adapting Marks' three-minute tune to an hourlong Christmas tale, with Rankin and Bass serving as producers.

As a result, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" premiered on Dec. 6, 1964.

Approaching its 40th birthday, the TV special continues to draw strong ratings. Last year "Rudolph" drew 13.1 million viewers, according to CBS, compared to a recent top-rated episode of its "Everybody Loves Raymond," which brought in 13.8 million viewers.

"It does especially well and wins its time slot, year in and year out," said Bob Higgins, senior vice president of creative affairs and production for ClassicMedia.

"It's one of the shows CBS has come to depend on to win the night for them every year. It's almost appointment TV for everyone."

Guided by 'Rudolph'

With the spirited success of "Rudolph," Rankin and Bass began exploring other programs, with varying degrees of success, such as "Return to Oz" in 1964, which used traditional linear cel animation, and "The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show," a proposed Animagic series that never aired.

The producers returned to their successful formula, the holiday special, in 1967 with the hourlong cartoon special "Cricket on the Hearth" starring Danny Thomas, and a year later with "The Little Drummer Boy," a half-hour Animagic tale based on the song of the same name.

Rankin and Bass followed these shows with the animated Christmas classic "Frosty the Snowman" in 1969, along with a string of Animagic holiday-themed specials throughout the '70s: "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," "Here Comes Peter Cottontail," "The Year Without a Santa Claus," "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" and "The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town."

In the early '70s the duo tried their luck with popular music, producing two cartoon series based on the Jackson Five and the Osmonds.

And in 1977 Rankin and Bass adapted J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved "The Hobbit" as an animated special, followed three years later by the author's "The Return of the King," the last of three books in the "Lord of the Ring" series.

Despite those successes, though, it is the animated specials -- particularly "Rudolph" -- for which they are best remembered.

" ... I guess if we have to put an epitaph on Rankin-Bass productions, it has to be that 'Rudolph' opened a whole world of television and a technique called 'Animagic,' " Rankin said in an interview from "The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio" ($18.95, Tiger Mountain Press).

"('Rudolph' is) the longest-running, highest-rated special in the history of television."

The animated special is so popular that it has been merchandised into collectible figures, clothes, bobblehead dolls and Christmas ornaments.

Even Starbucks recognizes the popularity of the Rankin-Bass Christmas special, selling finger-puppet versions of characters from "Rudolph," including the title character, Santa, and Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster.

"Every year we do big business with this stuff," Mayo said.

Seasonal favorites

The reason for the lasting appeal of the Rankin-Bass specials is a matter of debate. Certainly the catchy songs, familiar animation and whimsical storylines are all key elements to their longevity.

But the Rankin-Bass formula for success is not easily duplicated.

A straight-to-video sequel of "Rudolph," titled "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island of Misfit Toys," was released last year by GoodTimes Entertainment and was only marginally successful, Higgins said, even though it involves the same characters from the original with updated computer-generated animation.

And perhaps that's why there won't be any new Rankin-Bass holiday shows.

It has been nearly 20 years since the most recent Rankin-Bass Animagic holiday special, "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." And as far as Higgins is concerned, there probably won't be any more additions to the catalog any time soon.

At least, when it comes to television.

Higgins said ClassicMedia is working with a writer and producer on adapting the Rankin-Bass version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" for either the big screen or as a Broadway musical.

"We would have the feelings (of the original), but not the songs," Higgins said. "Kind of a magical retelling of the Santa Claus story."

In the meantime fans of the Rankin-Bass specials can relive their childhood on VHS, DVD or, as Higgins suggests, during one of the network airings of the shows.

"You can certainly put in the video or DVD anytime," he said. "But there's a certain collective community feeling with TV. You know it's on and you know the people next door are watching it.

"It's a part of the Christmas tradition."