Rankin/Bass Productions
Starring: Earl Hammond, Bob McFadden
Directed by: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this show!
Synopsis: Based on the story by L. Frank Baum. This final Animagic television special finds The Great Ak petitioning the other Immortals to bestow immortality upon Santa Claus (voiced by Earl Hammond).
Animated Cat: After Claus has lived among humans for a while, he is settled in Laughing Valley with an elf named Tingler (voiced by Bob McFadden) and Shiegra the lioness who has been his guardian since birth. Claus’ Immortal mother, Necile, sends them a little black cat named Blinky, which Shiegra seems jealous of. Tingler encourages Shiegra to accept the kitten and then the two are friendly.
They hear a noise outside and go to investigate, looking out the window.
An orphan boy named Weekum (voiced by Joey Grasso) has been lost in the snow and they bring him inside to warm up.
The boy notices that Claus is whittling a little figure. Claus explains it’s a little cat, like Blinky. The boy says, “She’s a nice cat. I wish I had a cat like her.” This gives Claus an idea.
The next morning Blinky looks at the figure that resembles her. Tingler refers to it in several languages, eventually saying something that sounds like “toy.” Claus likes the word and adopts it, making this the first toy ever made.
Claus takes Weekum back to the orphanage where he shows off his toy cat. The children then sing about a big surprise and they all want little toy cats, too. This inspires Claus to start making toys for the children.
Blinky poses for the elves and fairies who help Santa make the toys.
Sadly Blinky is not seen much after this, only showing up in a couple of later scenes when Santa starts using reindeer to pull his sleigh.
Final Mewsings: Blinky should have licensed her image!
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.