“Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town” is a 1970 stop motion movie about the origins of Santa. It’s cute, has not only catchy music, but also a creative plot. It opens with a mailman, who delivers letters to Santa Claus, explaining to children how Santa came to be. It then cuts to the story of Kris Kringle, who was abandoaned on the door step of the Bergermeister Meisterburger, and is eventually raised by an the Kringle family of elves, who make toys.
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This movie answers every question you could have about the creation of Santa Claus. Why he comes at night (he’s a fugitive), why his reindeer fly (magic corn), and why he puts gifts in stockings (because toys were outlawed in the town). As we travel through all these important discoveries, we discover all the friends Kris makes as well. The first friend he makes is a lost penguin named Topper, who doesn’t talk but is still very loyal. Then there is Miss Jessica, the town’s school teacher who is trying to keep everyone out of trouble.
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As is the case with most older movies, Jessica fills the role of the only major female character and Kris’ romantic interest. After meeting Kris, she relaxes and learns to let her hair down (literally). By the end of the movie, she’s the sweet, supportive Mrs. Claus that any child could recognize. Of course, Jessica and Kris would never had made it big if it wasn’t for their friend, Winter Warlock. Winter starts out as an enemy to Kris but quickly becomes a powerful ally after he receives a toy train as a present. He and Kris also sing an amazing song, Put One Foot in Front of the Other.
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And of course, no review of this movie would be complete without mentioning the Burgermeister Meisterburger. He is the show’s main villian and let me just say, he is iconic. He bans all toys from the town after tripping over a rubber duck and breaking his leg. He’s short, frumpy, and always angry. He continuously tries to stop Kris from delivering toys, but never quite manages to stop him. The best part is that he isn’t kicked out of town or killed at the end of the movie; he’s just forgotten about in history and all his rules are overturned.
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To wrap things up, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” is the most important Christmas movie, every year. Whether you’ve never watched it or seen it a million times, you have to watch it this holiday season!