Well here we are heading into the Christmas season. All the traditions , all our great American Chr..Holiday traditions are pulled out of our collective cultural closet dusted off and displayed in the .twinkly lights of holiday magic.
M& M commercials, Budweiser commercials, Hallmark commercials…
Okay well I’m being silly of course there’s more than just commercials. There’s the two dozen or so scheduled TV Christmas specials, but really who knows what they are anymore.It’s the classics that count
When I was a boy you waited all year to watch “Rudolph”. “Charlie Brown” “Grinch” etc. Now those Christmas Classics are available year round. Which of course is usually a good thing and really doesn’t take away from the joy and specialness that almost all of these classics bring to the season…
Almost all of them.
See of course I own the whole set of ’em, “Rudolph”, “Frosty” “Charlie” “Grinch” (the real one), “Christmas Story” I even own the knock offs like the dreadful “Little Drummer Boy” & “The Christmas Cricket” and new eventual classics like “Elf”
But of course even the knock offs even the lamest or worst of the above I would gladly spend the season watching if I didn’t have to ever again view the subject of this post, that (considered)companion classic to “Rudolph” & “Frosty”…
“Santa Claus is Coming To Town” this Rankin Bass stop motion children’s* TV special 
came out in 1970 and featured a lot of big stars voicing the main characters which begs the question…did they read the script before they signed the contract.
There is so much wrong with this movie, so much that makes it not appropriate for children that I could fill three posts,but we’ll get to the creepiest factor at the bottom of the post.
Let’s first focus on the movie itself. It’s set up is painfully laughable, an obvious and 
pathetic attempt to follow the “Rudolph” format, but instead of a cool (yes pun) snowman we get a weird mailman named “S.D. Kluger” why he even needed a name I can’t figure out but if you were gonna name him…
Of course like their red nosed guide book, SCCT has a snow based monster, but unlike
“Rudolph” the bad guy turns out to be really okay and it’s the authorities who are the real 
bad guys…this was the 1970’s what else would you expect.
Which brings me to my worst moment for your kid to watch.
In one scene as our hero, Kris Kringle first enters the gray and dingy Sombertown he encounters kids who are complaining about their mistreatment at the hands of their evil parents. The evil that is being done against them? Chores.These poor kids are being forced to do chores. In this specific case washing their socks out.
I could go on and on about this film it’s inappropriateness, inconsistencies and 
inadequacy but this post was about it’s creepy qualities.
There are many in this little special, but there is one that stands out as so creepy, the others fade as mist at the coming of the Sun.
Now I really wish I could add video here, (I can only afford to do that on a couple of my blogs), because you really need to hear this song to appreciate it. so I suggest after finishing here you click on the link. I couldn’t find the full video but I found a funny little snippet I’ll link,and then also the full song but with no video for those hardcore fans.
So ol’ Kris has come to Sombertown to give kids toys, that seems pretty harmless right, until you hear him sing his sales pitch…
Oh, what a good girl
Oh, what a good boy
Oh what a big smile
All because of a toy!
If you sit on my lap today
A kiss a toy is the price you’ll pay
When you tell what you wish for —
In a whisper
Be prepared to pay.
If you sit on my lap today
A kiss a toy is the price you’ll pay
When you sit on my left knee
Don’t be stingy
Be prepared to pay.
If whenever you take
You give a little back
Then whoever you love
Will give a little love back
So give a little love
Get a little love back
Don’t you have a little love
That you want to get back
If you sit on his lap today
A kiss a toy is the price you’ll pay
When you sit on his left knee
Don’t be stingy
Be prepared to pay.
Now if you sit on my lap today
A kiss a toy is the price you’ll pay!
Okay well enough said there.
When this movie isn’t being creepy it’s either boring or age inappropriate and yet I can’t wait to watch it every year.
It’s gotta be the Burgermiester.
My Hero
Random Writes & Rongs 