Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Put one disc in front of the other.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 3, 2022

Finally released on 4K as part of Universal's The Classic Christmas Specials Collection (which also includes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman) and this separate combo pack, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass' 1970 special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town gets a long-overdue upgrade that, much like Rudolph, lets fans fully appreciate the detail and charm of its charming stop-motion animation and production design. I'm newer to this one, having only seen it for the first time a few years ago, but Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a great little adventure that kids of all ages can enjoy. It also features one of Mickey Rooney's that performances that haven't aged like milk.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the film, please see Kenneth Brown's review of Classic Media's Original Christmas Classics gift set. But since you're probably here for the technical write-up, let's get right down to business.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the included Blu-ray, which utilizes the same new 4K master but is downsampled to 1080p and presented in SDR. My thoughts on that disc are also included below.

Although you might expect Universal's new 4K restoration of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town to share close similarities with its stop-motion cousin Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, their distinctly different visual specifics can actually be better appreciated thanks to Unviversal's 2160p, HDR10-enhanced transfer. The wood-textured characters, with their marionette-like appearance, smoother skin, and (somewhat creepily) detailed eyes, stand in stronger contrast with the immaculately detailed backgrounds which create a memorable and, at times, foreboding backdrop. Both halves of this visual aesthetic are better represented here, with a much stronger level of fine detail than the older Universal Blu-ray -- I popped that disc in after for a quick comparison and the differences were immediately noticeable.

The HDR10 enhancement is perhaps better used here than on Rudolph and Frosty -- not that either of those other discs were bad, by any stretch -- but Santa Claus is Comin' to Town's more detailed and better-lit backgrounds are simply more conducive to the pockets of vivid color that stand out in a crisp and satisfying way, from the glowing embers of Burgermeister's fireplace to dynamic cross-lighting and, of course, the iced-over dwelling of the Winter Warlock. It's tastefully done and really adds a nice little extra layer that suits the atmosphere quite well.

Perhaps the only small issue -- which also affects the similarly restored new Blu-ray, covered below -- is what looks to be light use of digital noise reduction, though it's far less invasive than on the previous Blu-ray. Then again, it could just be a much finer-grain film stock, or simply a trick of the eye given Santa Claus' much smoother wood-textured characters. Either way, it's far from a major drawback and not even noticeable on most occasions.

As hinted at earlier, the similarly remastered Blu-ray competes surprisingly well with the Blu-ray in terms of fine detail, density, and even color saturation and, even without the benefits of HDR10 enhancement, handles shadow detail and gradients much better than the older Blu-ray. From the gray town backdrops to Kris and Jessica's forest wedding and her psychadelic-tinted song break, everything runs smoothly and without any major hitches, giving fans a very strong presentation of what might be the best-looking of the major Rankin/Bass stop-motion specials. Like Rudolph, disc encoding is nicely done with no flagrant instances of macroblocking, posterization, or other artifacts.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new 4K master may have wrung a touch more sonic detail out of its source elements than what we heard on the studio's previous Blu-ray, but the included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS 2.0 Mono options sound more or less identical to those older tracks and get the job done just fine. Obviously, this isn't Dolby Atmos territory.

Optional English (SDH) and French subtitles are included during the main feature and all applicable extras.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with artwork similar to previous Universal releases (same goes for the menus), a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features, which are repeated on both discs, are likewise identical to the older Universal Blu-ray and are all detailed below.

• The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass (47:00) - This 2018 retrospective featurette runs nearly as long as the special itself but also covers other entries in the duo's celebrated catalog including Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and a few lesser-known works. It's clip-heavy but very entertaining with great behind-the-scenes footage, TV promos, pencil tests, rare photos, and comments from lots of filmmaking fans including Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Jon Favreau (Elf), Kevin Lima (Enchanted), Brenda Chapman (Brave), the friggin' Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), producer Lee Mendelson (A Charlie Brown Christmas), animation historian Jerry Beck, and more. I'd award this one more points, but it's also included on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, which you'll probably buy too.

• Audio Commentary - A feature-length track by animation historian Greg Ehrbar that covers a decent amount of ground with his candid observations about the film's production, legacy, similarities and differences to other Rankin/Bass specials, voice acting, stop-motion techniques, and much more.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though I have no childhood nostalgia tied to Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, it's as enjoyable as any of Rankin/Bass' other well-known works with a great story, charming stop-motion animation, and terrific production design. The latter two items translate especially well on Universal's new 4K which, like the new restoration for Rudolph, shines like new and easily outpaces earlier releases. While you're better off picking up The Classic Christmas Specials Collection rather than these piecemeal combo packs, it's good enough on its own if you don't want the other two.