{"id":88360,"date":"2024-12-20T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T08:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=88360"},"modified":"2024-12-18T19:45:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T03:45:25","slug":"the-more-the-merrier-3-seldom-seen-christmas-specials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/the-more-the-merrier-3-seldom-seen-christmas-specials\/","title":{"rendered":"The More the Merrier 3: Seldom Seen Christmas Specials"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere’s an added dimension to Rankin\/Bass specials that you can’t describe,\u201d said Rick Goldschmidt, official Historian\/Biographer for Rankin\/Bass, and author of the book, The Enchanted World of Rankin\/Bass<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThey call it [the Studio\u2019s stop-motion animation] \u201cAnimagic,\u201d and that\u2019s a good term because there\u2019s magic in the specials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Many remember Rankin\/Bass\u2019 more popular titles, and this has been a big year for many of them, such as Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/em><\/a> which celebrated its 60th, and Frosty the Snowman<\/em><\/a>, which celebrated 55 years.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Studio has given us other favorites such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town<\/em> (1970) and 1974\u2019s The Year Without a Santa Claus<\/em>, which celebrates its 50th this year.<\/p>\n

As this Holiday Season has been filled with many milestones for Rankin\/Bass\u2019 popular offerings, it seemed like an opportune time to look back at some of their lesser-known Christmas specials.<\/p>\n

For the last two years – both here on Cartoon Research<\/a> and originally here<\/a> – there has been a spotlight on several Christmas specials that time has, sadly, left by the wayside, and they deserve to be re-discovered.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>This year\u2019s retrospective focuses on the Studio whose name is now synonymous with Christmas specials, Rankin\/Bass:<\/p>\n

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a decidedly different special for Rankin\/Bass, known for its more fanciful specials like Rudolph and Frosty.<\/p>\n

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow<\/em> tells the story of a young, orphaned shepherd boy named Lukas who is brought to live with Sister Theresa in an abbey after he is struck by lightning and blinded.<\/p>\n

The sisters nurse Lukas back to health, but he learns he must go to an orphanage when he recovers. The young boy would love for it to snow, as Christmas is approaching, and he has never seen it snow. <\/p>\n

\"\"Lukas takes part in the abbey\u2019s Nativity play as an angel, where he befriends a young girl named Louisa. At the end of the special, after the climax in which Lukas rescues his pet sheep from a wolf in the woods, it starts to snow. Louisa describes it to Lukas, and his sight is restored through a miracle.<\/p>\n

It is told in the Studio\u2019s stop-motion \u201cAnimagic\u201d style, which adds to this special’s warmth and features the equally warm and iconic voice of Angela Lansbury as Sister Theresa and the narrator.<\/p>\n

Directed by Authur Rankin and Jules Bass, The First Christmas<\/em> features a well-crafted story by Julian P. Gardner, several memorable songs by Maury Laws and Jules Bass, and the inclusion of Irving Berlin\u2019s \u201cWhite Christmas.\u201d <\/p>\n

Originally airing on NBC on December 19, 1975, this special was rarely re-broadcast, which is a shame, as its spiritually grounded story has heartwarming charm to spare.<\/p>\n