Santa Claus Is Coming Tonight

A combination of live-action footage and animation creates a film that is an effective reminder that Christmas is fast disappearing under a mountain of crass commercialism: Santa Clauses that operate on a tight time schedule, a landscape shorn of evergreens, a cornucopia of toys and gadgets, and a cacophony of noise. The story is biting, the drawings are pointed, and the feast of Christmas stands divested of its slick trappings.