I love Rankin' Bass Christmas specials and have done so since childhood. I love Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, The Little Drummer Boy and Nestor The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, and while The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is not quite as good it still stands on its own as a Christmas classic. The stop-motion is gorgeous to look at, the settings are some of the most beautiful and imaginative-looking I've seen and the characters move easily. The music is tuneful and memorable, it is very original while maintaining that feel of Christmas sparkle. Ora E Sempre is really powerful stuff. The script is thoughtfully written and engaging, with some heart-warming sentiment and important themes without beating the audience around the head with them. The story is imaginatively done and interesting, there are some dark moments(though nowhere near as nightmare-inducing as other films/shows/specials I've come across) but also some moving ones as well. The characters are really memorable, Claus is immediately likable and a character to root for, Weekum and Blinky are cute, Tingler is amusing, The Great Ak is a firm and kindly storyteller and the fairies are sweet and have great personalities, but I find Commander of the Wind Demons to be the character I remember most. The voice acting is really excellent as well. In conclusion, just as much as I do with other Rankin' Bass Christmas specials I love this. 10/10 Bethany Cox

In the Forest of Burzee, The Great Ak gathers the council of Immortals to consider granting immortality to Santa Claus. It's his last night unless he becomes immortal and continues his yearly ride. The Great Ak recounts his life. He is found as a baby and raised by a Wood Nymph named Necile. After seeing the suffering of people and the violence of the world, he sets off to give joy to the world.

It's Rankin/Bass animated special. It's a lot of myth making and a little complicated. Quite frankly, I would like a simple story and probably a story not told in a flashback. On the other hand, it has the appeal of good over evil. I'm sure that people who saw this as children would have some nostalgia. I'm not one of those. This is fine.

I thought this was a beautiful and surreal stop motion animated film. It's certainly superior to the cell animation version. I thought it was beautifully done by the Rankin / Bass people- who brought us such classics as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the snow man, among many other holiday specials. I don't think this has been released to DVD yet and it's a shame that it hasn't been.

It's a true classic. It's based on the short story by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. In fact, though neither movie tells you this, the immortal fairies in this story are the ones who enchanted The Land of Oz to begin with.

If you love beautifully done fantasies and stop motion animation I highly recommend this movie. I read another review that called this film pagan and frightening- I think this person was looking for reasons to hate it and simply didn't understand the fantastical creatures portrayed. It's not scary at all, it's quite beautiful, just not what you'd expect. You should keep an open mind when viewing it, it's quite beautiful.