| The Year Without a Santa Claus | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
|
| Based on | The Year Without a Santa Claus by Phyllis McGinley |
| Written by | Larry Wilson Tom Martin |
| Directed by | Ron Underwood |
| Starring | John Goodman Delta Burke Michael McKean Harvey Fierstein |
| Music by | Deborah Lurie |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mark Wolper |
| Producers | Mark Wolper Robert J. Wilson Gideon Amir |
| Cinematography | Don E. Fauntleroy |
| Editor | Tina Hirsch |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Production companies | The Wolper Organization Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 11, 2006 (2006-12-11) |
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 2006made-for-televisioncomedyfamilyfantasy film, a live-action remake of theRankin-Bass television specialThe Year Without a Santa Claus. The live-action version premiered onNBC December 11, 2006; a widescreenDVD was released on the following day.[1]
This remake follows the same basic concept as the original: Santa, disillusioned by children's lack of belief in him and in the spirit of giving, decides not to deliver toys thisChristmas Eve, despite the arguments by Mrs. Claus and two of his helper-elves, Jingle and Jangle. They decide to provide Santa with some proof that children still believe and that they still deserve toys from Santa, so the elves visit the United States in search of Christmas spirit.
They face setbacks both in South Town, which is celebrating its annual Winter Festival, and in their dealings with the jealous, competitive Miser Brothers, who refuse to compromise long enough to permit a Christmas snow in the southern town. Finally, Santa's faith in children is renewed with the help of the boy Iggy Thistlewhite.
Paul Mavis, for Drunk TV, wrote, "The Year Without a Santa Claus is a nauseating, angry, joyless little holiday confection sure to poison any child unlucky enough to chance upon it. This hate-filled stocking stuffer has nothing but contempt for its intended audience, promoting the worst possible beliefs about people, while cloaking itself, incredibly, in the fake guise of a meaningful lesson about the holidays: the gall that the cretinous makers of this film have is really quite audacious.”[2]
Lavanya Ramanathan ofThe Washington Post praised the performances of Griffin and Goodman, who "manage to give nice touches to their roles", as well as McKean, who "gives us the icy keeper Snow Miser with a pleasantly cunning twinkle." However, she was critical of the film overall and wrote that it "tells the same story without all the in-your-face hipness."[3] Emily Ashby ofCommon Sense Media gave the film a 2 out of 5 star rating and called it a "disappointing mix of a slow plot, poor writing, and subpar visual effects."[4]