The Year Without a Santa Claus / Rudolph's Shiny New Year / Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1974)

These three Rankin-Bass stop-motion-puppet shows on one disc -- The Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey -- are a nostalgic joy and they hold up well even today. I recommend them wholeheartedly to any family as a lasting Christmas tradition! In the first show, a weary Santa (Mickey Rooney) wants to take a holiday from his thankless job -- the North Pole has phone but no postal service yet, it seems -- so Mrs. Claus (Shirley Booth), two elves, and two reindeer pitch in to prove that people still believe in him. The Snowmiser and Heatmiser characters are hilarious and memorable and the townfolk are endearing. In the second show, Rudolph is called into service to locate Baby New Year before Old Man Time (Red Skelton) runs out of time. The story is full of quaint and inventive details as Rudolph gathers companions to help him in his journey: the million-year-old cave man, Sir Ten-Two-Three (a knight so named for 1023, reputed to be the year that all the Grimm's and Mother Goose fairy tales came true), Big Ben the whale, Ben Franklin, etc.; Baby Time is on the move since everyone laughs at his big ears, but Rudolph knows how to comfort a misfit to be loved for who he is. In the third show, Nestor the donkey's ears are so long he trips on them but he is selected as the beast of burden that Mary rides to Bethlehem. The Rudolph and Nestor shows were made back in the day when the story of the Christ Child was still communicated with prominence and inspiration in prime-time TV Christmas specials and, with the Muppet programs, they are among my favorite classic Christmas shows of all time. These three programs' production values are still impressive today. See them, if you haven't already, and if you have, see them again soon! 5 stars.