The Year Without a Santa Claus

Feeling that the world's children have forgotten him, Santa Claus decides to skip his yearly Christmas journey and take a holiday instead. Mrs. Claus and two energetic elves set out to find where the holiday spirit has gone, and with help from a magical snowfall they work to restore Christmas cheer and get Santa back to his rounds. Their effort brings them up against the Snow Miser and the Heat Miser, the feuding brothers who control cold and heat, and whose cooperation is needed if snow is to fall on a town that has never seen it at Christmas. The story unfolds with Mrs. Claus narrating the events.

The 1974 animated television special was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr., who also produced it under their Rankin/Bass banner, from a screenplay by William J. Keenan. It belongs to the busy run of holiday specials the pair made in this period, arriving after Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and followed the same year by 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, with later titles such as The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn coming afterward. Shirley Booth voices Mrs. Claus, Mickey Rooney voices Santa, and Dick Shawn and George S. Irving voice the Miser brothers, with Bob McFadden and Rhoda Mann in supporting roles. The 51-minute film holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from around 220 votes, a sign of steady affection for a seasonal television perennial.