Santa and the Three Bears (1970)

Not one of my favourite Christmas specials, but while it is easy to see why it may not work for some it is also just as easy to see why others will love it.'Santa and the Three Bears' did feel a bit padded and over-stretched. Less of the "bears-questioning" scenes, which did get a little repetitive (if admittedly sweet) and a shorter length (do agree that half an hour or a little less would have been more suitable) would have helped.However, the animation is colourful and beautifully drawn and the bookending beginning and ending juxtaposing very nicely. The music is pleasant and tuneful, if perhaps not exceptional.The treacle and syrup in the writing is very high, but it also has a lot of charm and heart and made it easy to relate to the characters. The story is simple, but very sweet and touching, it was difficult to not be moved by it.The bears are incredibly cute, and on the right side of it hopefully, while the voice acting from talented and prolific actors is very good.Overall, not one of the best Christmas specials but not close to being one of the worst. One of the imperfect but underrated ones more like. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I grew up with this nice Christmas special, in fact, I was 8 years old when it was released in 1970.Two bear cubs named Nikomi and Chinook are anxious to enjoy their first Christmas, but whether or not they have one at all depends on the park forest ranger (who is dressed up as Santa Claus). His ability to successfully travel through the season's worst blizzard will decide the outcome. Colorful storyboards and quaint animation accompany a pleasant soundtrack.Hal Smith (Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show) provides the voice for Mr. Ranger. Sweet TV-special improves with age.

When most folks think of Christmas classics, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, the Grinch and Frosty, immediately come to mind, but here's an animated classic that deserves some attention, too.You can immediately see and hear the Hanna-Barbera touch in this classic and the feel-good touches really push this over the top. I don't care how hard anyone would try, today, you simply cannot capture the innocence of these classic animated Christmas specials.When a park ranger at Yellowstone explains what Christmas is all about, to two young bear cubs, he sets in motion their desire to stay awake and see Santa and enjoy their first Christmas. In the process, they push their Mom's patience to the limit, but with the ranger's help, they will do their best to see the wishes of the little cubs come true....if a blizzard on Christmas Eve doesn't disappoint everyone.I love the animation of this classic and the majority of the tunes in the special...probably the last song is the only thing keeping this from garnering a solid ten from me.

"Santa and the Three Bears" certainly lacks the flashier artwork, pace, and musical scores of other Christmas specials, before, during, and after its production. But, the tale told in "Santa and the Three Bears" is simply told, an almost-buried virtue in television programming which, wrongfully, believes it has to be flashy and quick in order to maintain a child's attention. In that, it remains a much more timeless and welcome work that only reveals its specialness as the years go by.I saw "Santa and the Three Bears" when I was 10 years old. I loved it then and I love it now. The musical score is humble yet haunting, particularly the scenes in which the cubs prepare for Christmas and the hibernation of the bears just before Santa arrives. Again, a simple, simply-told, "bare bones" approach to storytelling that has the vastly-underrated Hal Smith playing a live-action and the animated Santa Claus (along with Mr. Ranger). I never tire of watching this because, unlike so many of its kind that hammer home the accepted notion of Christmas as a time of love, togetherness, and wishes fulfilled, "Santa and the Three Bears" stresses the importance of magic and wonder that come from belief in something unseen. Could it be God :-)? What a wonderful message to impart on people who cultivate cynicism as a badge of honor and do not see the impact that belief, magic, and wonder can play and produce in our lives. No other animated cartoon, in my memory, ever presented that message so gracefully, artfully, charmingly,and, for the third time (like the special itself), simply told.I'm glad "Santa and the Three Bears" is out on DVD. Also, Nana is another example of the completely overlooked vocal proficiency of the fine character actress, Jean Van Der Pyl (also the voice of Wilma Flintstone).