The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (2000)

"Mama, when was Santa Claus born? Why doesn't he ever die?" Based on the popular children's book by L. Frank Baum (author of The Wizard of Oz), this 75-minute animated version of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus provides answers to these and other pressing questions from the 3- to 8-year-old set. As in Baum's book, the quiet, moderately paced video steers clear of Christian references, focusing instead on wood nymphs, pixies, and magic. A wizardly fairy named Ak (voiced by Hal Holbrook, who also narrates the tale) helps the young Nicholas (Robby Benson) understand human misery and charges him with the task of serving mankind. Nicholas's talent for charming little children and brightening the lives of the poor--and poor at heart--soon turns into a lifelong career. Baum's imaginative scenario involves many bumps along the way; most unusual is a fight between good and evil (here demonstrated by a group of naughty thugs who curiously resemble rock Pokémon). Lush, realistic backgrounds of misty forests and blustery, snow-laden towns contrast surprisingly with roughly drawn characters, detracting from the film's overall quality. But a pleasing Celtic score and a strong message of hope, giving, and caring easily outweigh this minor flaw. Puppet animators Rankin and Bass did a shorter version of the same story in the '80s. --Liane Thomas Amazon.com

this is NOT the 1985 film.

I see alot of ppl reviewing like this is the 1985 special with just a new case. It's not I've seen this remake on television. It's been aired on Disney Channel I believe. They took the original book and the concept from Rankin-Bass' puppet adaption and just used tradition animation to remake the exact same film. I don't like how they remade alot of the characters and the original will always by far be the best because Rankin/Bass were and are cutting edge in my mind. December 2, 2007

for kids

While I really enjoyed this alot I would recomend mostly for kids but veryy fun videao, seller sent fast and in good condition September 9, 2007

Pale shadow of the stop motion version

This version of The Life and adventures of Santa Claus is a pale, saccharine sweet sham when compared to the supurbly done stop motion animation of the 1985 version of this same story done by Rankin / Bass. This felt cheesy and half-hearted whereas the stop motion animated one has the distinct feel of a classic and was more true to the heart and feel of the old story by L. Frank Baum.

The story is good but it feels dumbed down compared to the stop motion version. A seldom known fact, Baum connected this story to his loved The Wizard of Oz by saying the immortal faeries of this story are the ones who enchanted the land of Oz to begin with.

August 11, 2007

Enchanting history of Santa Claus...

I am a mom of a four and six year old, and this is our very favorite Santa story to watch. The cartoon does a great job of capturing the enchantment and warmth of Frank Baum's story of Santa Claus. Many questions young children ask about Santa such as his age, etc., are magically answered in this must watch tale. I put this movie on for the kids when family came to visit and found even the grandparents sitting down and intrigued by the story. The music is perfect for the storytelling, and the lessons learned in this movie help my children appreciate their life a little more. This movie is an absolute must for children and adults of all ages. This is the perfect movie to watch with the entire family on Christmas Eve. December 25, 2005

Don't try to fix what's not broken....

As a child of the 80's, I grew up with the Rankin/Bass version of "The Life and Adventures of Sants Claus", and it was and still remains one of my absolute favorite christmas specials. The music was gorgeous, the characters endearing, and it was obvious that great pains were taken to bring it to detailed life. Such is not that case here.

I saw this once through and can't stand to see it ever again. The supporting character, Whisk (Tingler from the R/B version is waaaay better) is as annoying as JarJar Binks was to SW Episode I. They made the Awgwas absolutely stupid and completely non-threatening in their appearance AND portrayal...AND the good-guys couldn't even pronounce Awgwa right...and let's not forget that in this version Nikolaus is somehow OBLIVIOUS to the fact that his best friends are going to war for him. The characters feel very wooden to me, and the animation of them is sub-par here as well. In addition, the music score is very forgettable...and as a musician that is a very hard thing for me to say.

Overall this is an extremely dissapointing retelling of a story that was already done to near-perfection. Stick with the book and the Rankin/Bass version, and avoid this like the plauge. December 16, 2005

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