The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus

1985
7.2| 0h50m| G| en| More Info
Released: 17 December 1985 Released
Producted By: Rankin/Bass Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

The Great Ak calls a council of the Immortals to ask that Santa Claus be given immortality. And to justify it, he tells the history of Santa Claus. The Ak found an abandoned baby and gave it to a lioness and a fairy to raise, who named him Claus. When Claus grew up, the Great Ak showed him the evil and hardship in the world and Claus decides to live there and relieve some of the suffering. He decides to make toys for orphans, but King Awgwa, the ruler of the valley where Claus lives doesn't want the children to be happy, and there is a great battle among Immortals.

Genre

Animation, Family

Watch Online

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985) is now streaming with subscription on AMC+

Director

Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass

Production Companies

Rankin/Bass Productions

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The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Konterr Brilliant and touching
utgard14 Apologies for the Billy Joel reference in the title but I couldn't help myself. This is the final stop-motion special from Rankin/Bass. They certainly go out on a creative note here. This is one of their most different and interesting specials. Obviously influenced by the popularity of fantasy material in the '80s. Everywhere you looked you saw stuff with magical creatures or wizards or enchanted realms. Rankin/Bass had dipped their toe in this already with Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July several years before, as well as many traditionally animated cartoons based on The Lord of the Rings. Oh and, of course, The Last Unicorn. This special here was based off of a book by L. Frank Baum, the creator of Wizard of Oz.It's a fairly involved plot for a Christmas special. A council of immortal beings must decide if Santa Claus should be given immortality. From here, we get the origin of Santa, as told by the Great Ak. To say this is different from the origin of Santa previously released by Rankin/Bass would be an understatement. This is pretty trippy stuff but also very fun.The stop-motion animation is beautiful, as you would expect from Rankin/Bass. It's some of their most creative work and it's just a shame it came at the end. The story is imaginative and interesting. It's dark in places and certainly isn't the toddler-friendly specials of before. The voicework is terrific and the characters are enjoyable. The music is nice, though not their best. As with all Rankin-Bass specials, I of course recommend it. But I would give a special recommendation for this one to people who are fans of fantasy stories but perhaps don't normally watch Rankin-Bass specials.
Griever_2112 This is the most...unique...yeah that's a good word...unique take on the Santa Claus myth ever, I'll say in all existence. This story actually came from the scribe of the novel version of the Wizard of Oz, and has Santa...who was known then just as Claus, raised by immortal fairy folk, lead by the Great Ak, who looks like Odin of Norse Mythology and has a silver axe that shoots lasers, and cared for by a mountain lion...yeah you just read that right. The story follows Santa from his adoption into the fairy folks world to his last days as a mortal, where is invents toys... yes that is right Claus invented toys people... and he needed to defend himself from the evil Agwas, a band of weird demons who hate children and toys, even though Claus invented them only like 30 years prior. You also find out that Claus' reindeer are not his, but borrowed every year from the fairly folk, and they don't fly, they just jump REALLY far. It is like I said a unique take on the story, and one that has to be watched at least once. It's very random, and dear God is in inaccurate compared to most of the Santa origins, I do not condone drug use... but this must be great to watch high, but it is still one of those Christmas Classics a lot of people enjoy watching.
draysonte This was one of my favorite Rankin-Bass productions. This particular telling of the Santa story is based on L. Frank Baum book of the same title: "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." The immortals are gathered by the Great Ak to decide whether or not the mortal Santa deserves the honor of becoming immortal (something the immortals can only grant once). The story is narrated by Ak and recounts how he found the young babe and watched over him as he was raised by some of the nymphs and animals that fell under Ak's jurisdiction.As with any Rankin-Bass stop animation production the creature concepts can be wildly imaginative (and scary... the Nooks tend creep me out, but I wouldn't mind a plush version of one) and be sure that there are numerous musical outbursts as the story progresses.This Baum story has also recently received an animated retelling. I am saddened that this particular version does not receive as much airing time, but I am very grateful that we always recorded Christmas specials when I was younger.I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Rankin-Bass holidays escapism and has an imagination that enjoys being stimulated.
keyblade1000 I saw this when I was very young and it scared me very much especially King Aqwa, his horns and just the way he looked freaked me out. Two years ago I saw it again and I found it quite interesting but very dark. It's most certainly not the typical special. Rankin/Bass did a great job and they always have very special characters in all of their specials. The musical score is pretty good and there's a moral in this very dark tale of Santa Claus. The good guys even look kinda creepy but cool. Like Peter Nook and those other immortals that the Great AK talk to during their story of Santa Claus. It's a bad shame that this special does not air regularly like most of the other Rankin Bass specials. If you like fantasy, you'll like this great one.