The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006 film)

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The Year Without a Santa Claus
Genre
  • Comedy
  • Family
  • Fantasy
Based onThe 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 originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Mark Wolper
ProducersMark Wolper
Robert J. Wilson
Gideon Amir
Cinematography Don E. Fauntleroy
Editor Tina Hirsch
Running time85 minutes
Production companies The Wolper Organization
Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseDecember 11, 2006 (2006-12-11)

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 2006 made-for-television comedy family fantasy film, a live-action remake of the Rankin-Bass television special The Year Without a Santa Claus . The live-action version premiered on NBC December 11, 2006; a widescreen DVD was released on the following day. [1]

Contents

Plot

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 this Christmas 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.

Cast

Cameos

Reception

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 of The 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 of Common 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]

See also

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References

  1. The Year Without A Santa Claus starring John Goodman, Chris Kattan, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Griffin, Carol Kane from Warner Home Video on DVD – Widescreen, Original Aspect Ratio – 1.78
  2. The Year Without a Santa Claus : Drunk TV Review of the DVD Video https://drunktv.net/2017/12/22/the-year-without-a-santa-claus-2006-nominee-for-worst-ever-christmas-movie/
  3. Ramanathan, Lavanya (December 11, 2006). "The Remake With Less Depth Than the Cartoon". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  4. Ashby, Emily. "The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006)". Common Sense Media . Retrieved September 22, 2024.