I love the holiday season, especially all the best Christmas movies that I sit around and watch with my family. Among the ones I love are the Rankin and Bass claymation movies that are so delightfully singular. Now that I have nieces, I like watching them light up when these cheesy-yet-classic films air shamelessly with unstoppable force on cable each year. In honor of the art of animated clay, I wanted to make a list of 11 I think are the best ever. Check them out below. Who Are Rankin and Bass?Rankin/Bass Productions was an American animation studio founded by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass in 1960. They were prolific creators of holiday specials, primarily using stop-motion animation (which they called "Animagic") and traditional animation.They became most famous for their claymation Christmas specials. Rankin/Bass ceased production in the late 1980s, but by then, they had impacted an entire generation, and their films have lived on. 1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)The undisputed king of holiday specials that everyone knows about. This Rankin/Bass production introduced us to Hermey the Misfit Elf (who just wants to be a dentist) and Yukon Cornelius. Even 60 years later, the message that our "flaws" are actually our greatest strengths remains the heart of the season.2. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970)Ever wonder why Santa has a beard, wears red, or slides down chimneys? This "superhero origin story" for Kris Kringle explains it all. It's narrated by Fred Astaire, and it features one of...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today