Burl Ives (left) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer songwriter Johnny Marks combined forces to make this Christmas perennial. Courtesy of RankinBass.com. © 2002 Rankin/Bass Productions.

As for those specials in which Christmas must be “saved,” this is usually due to the fact that some evildoer must be defeated or because Santa Claus must receive some sort of physical or spiritual assistance. In both cases, a gallant hero (or heroes) saves the holiday. Most of the time they are richly rewarded with the largesse of “Christmas spirit,” and even the black-hearted villain winds up touched with a healthy dollop of the same. The Rudolph legend as interpreted by Rankin/Bass is particularly representative: In the face of a gargantuan blizzard Santa dolefully informs his distraught workshop that, “We’ll have to cancel Christmas.” Since Christ has long since been born and the faith he founded an established fact, there is not much chance that Christmas can be negated in the first place; what is jeopardized is actually the delivery of presents and the material trappings that have come to symbolize the holiday. There is little confusion, however, in the minds of young viewers; Rudolph (with his nose so bright) bravely comes to the rescue, a savior equal to the Birthday Boy himself.

Perhaps, given the history of Christmas in America, this is not nearly as odious as it sounds since the coexistence of both marketplace and church has never been truly antithetical. During the time in which this country moved to the forefront of world power, both free-market capitalism and religious faith have grown in strength to the point where they are consistently factors (for good and ill) in major political policies and decisions. The threat of radical terrorism is a menace to both fixtures and has driven them, if anything, deeper into each other’s arms. If there is a true meaning to Christmas, American style, it is probably acceptance that this holiday will always embody a contradiction between our Puritan heritage and the aggressive influence of capitalism — right down to our Yuletide cartoons.

The Little Drummer Boy (1968) is one of the few religious animated TV specials shown at Christmas. Courtesy of RankinBass.com. © 2002 Rankin/Bass Productions.

These animated specials have flavored the holidays like nutmeg and holly, gobbled up for two generations as if they were ribbon candy, eggnog and candy canes. The best of these presentations reaffirm animation’s vital but underrated contribution to our culture, and if you would quibble with this, just try to imagine Christmas without them. For many a young child who has furtively peeked in the closets during the interminable countdown to Santa’s arrival, these holiday cartoons embody the spirit of the season, a harbinger of that magical morning soon to come. Surrounded by toys, games, ribbons, bows and scads of crumpled wrapping paper, isn’t a child’s delight part of the “true” meaning of Christmas — especially in a consumerist society that never settled its own ambiguities about the holidays? To ask a half-hour cartoon to resolve or begin to sort out the contradictions is asking far too much; let’s simply switch on the set, light up the tree, and catch the twentieth rebroadcast of The Year Without A Santa Claus. And could you please pass the ribbon candy? — yes, the cinnamon pieces!

To learn more about Rankin/Bass, check out the books The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio and The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer available from www.rankinbass.com

Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.