Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town airs on ABC tonight. (Rankin/Bass Productions)
If you were hoping to take a break from holidays after Thanksgiving, think again. ABC is not letting up on the holidays because Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town airs on Friday, November 25. Read on for a preview of the classic special and to find out when it airs. It will also be on Freeform this weekend.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town first aired on ABC on December 14, 1970 and features a trio of Hollywood legends. Fred Astaire is our narrator, Mickey Rooney is the voice of Santa and character actor Kennan Wynn is the voice of the Winter Warlock. The film is an origin story for Santa, telling viewers how Kris Kringle became Jolly Old St. Nick.
The film was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, the same studio behind Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman and many other classic holiday specials. It was animated in stop-motion and was filed in Japan using wooden puppets. The special runs 51 minutes and, unfortunately, has been edited over the years to make room for commercials.
If you miss it tonight, Freeform is airing it on Sunday, December 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET and 10:55 p.m. ET.
DATE: Friday, November 25, 2016
TIME: 8 p.m. ET
TV CHANNEL: ABC (To find your local ABC affiliate, click here).
CAST:
Fred Astaire as S.D. Kluger, The Narrator
Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa Claus
Keenan Wynn as The Winter Walrock
Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger, Grimsby and other additional voices
Joan Gardner as Tanta Kringle
Robie Lester as Jessiva/Mrs. Claus
EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney are among those who lend their voices to this holiday tale, which explains the legend of Santa Claus and how he began delivering toys to children on Christmas Eve. As a young man, he tries to deliver toys to the kids of Sombertown, but is met with opposition by the bitter Burgermeister Meisterburger, a mayor who hates toys and deems them “illegal, immoral, unlawful.” Other voices include Keenan Wynn, Joan Gardner, Paul Frees.