Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Directing

Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Born 1924-07-19 · New York City, New York, USA

Arthur Rankin, Jr. (July 19, 1924 - January 30, 2014) was an American-born, Bermudian director, producer and writer, mostly working in animation. The son of actor Arthur Rankin, in the early 1960s he founded the film production company Videocraft International (now called Rankin/Bass) with Jules Bass. The two worked closely together for many years, co-directing and producing a wide array of stop motion animated features and cartoons, perhaps most famously the holiday-themed TV specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974 TV special), and Jack Frost. He is also credited with devising the story for many Rankin/Bass productions, including the featurefilms The Daydreamer and Mad Monster Party?. In 1977 Rankin and Bass produced a version of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The pair also teamed on a wide variety of animated TV series, including ThunderCats and Silverhawks. The pair last teamed on the 1987 TV special based on The Wind in the Willows. Rankin's last producing credit was on the 1999 animated version of The King and I, in which Bass was not involved, since Arthur was a supervising animator in The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron. Rankin's grandfather was Harry Davenport, perhaps best known as Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939). Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur Rankin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town poster
7.1

A postman, S.D. Kluger, decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a baby named Kris who is raised by a family of elf toymakers named Kringle. When Kris grows up, he wants to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown. But its Mayor is too mean to let that happen. And to make things worse, the Winter Warlock lives between the Kringles and Sombertown.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

1970

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town poster
7.1

A postman, S.D. Kluger, decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a baby named Kris who is raised by a family of elf toymakers named Kringle. When Kris grows up, he wants to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown. But its Mayor is too mean to let that happen. And to make things worse, the Winter Warlock lives between the Kringles and Sombertown.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

1970

The Last Unicorn poster
7.3

A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and Molly Grue, a middle-aged woman who dreamed all her life of seeing a unicorn. Their journey leads them far from home, all the way to the castle of King Haggard.

The Last Unicorn

1982

The Last Unicorn poster
7.3

A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and Molly Grue, a middle-aged woman who dreamed all her life of seeing a unicorn. Their journey leads them far from home, all the way to the castle of King Haggard.

The Last Unicorn

1982

The Flight of Dragons poster
6.7

The realm of magic is being threatened by the realm of logic, so the green wizard, Carolinus, decides to shield it for all time. Ommadon, the evil red wizard, stands in his way. Carolinus then calls for a quest that is to be led by a man named Peter Dickinson, who is the first man of both the realms of science and magic. It is Peter's job to defeat Ommadon.

The Flight of Dragons

1982

The Flight of Dragons poster
6.7

The realm of magic is being threatened by the realm of logic, so the green wizard, Carolinus, decides to shield it for all time. Ommadon, the evil red wizard, stands in his way. Carolinus then calls for a quest that is to be led by a man named Peter Dickinson, who is the first man of both the realms of science and magic. It is Peter's job to defeat Ommadon.

The Flight of Dragons

1982

The Hobbit poster
6.6

The story follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a diminutive creative who resides in a place called Middle-Earth before he is compelled to go on a quest to find a treasure buried deep in the heart of the Lonely Mountain.

The Hobbit

1977

The Hobbit poster
6.6

The story follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a diminutive creative who resides in a place called Middle-Earth before he is compelled to go on a quest to find a treasure buried deep in the heart of the Lonely Mountain.

The Hobbit

1977

The King and I poster
5.4

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

The King and I

1999

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer poster
7.4

Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

1964

Frosty the Snowman poster
6.9

A discarded silk top-hat becomes the focus of a struggle between a washed-up stage magician and a group of schoolchildren, after it magically brings a snowman to life. Realizing that newly-living Frosty will melt in spring unless he takes refuge in a colder climate, the magic snowman and Karen, a young girl whom he befriends, stow away on a freight train headed for the North Pole. Little do they know that the magician is following them, and he wants his hat back!

Frosty the Snowman

1969

Frosty the Snowman poster
6.9

A discarded silk top-hat becomes the focus of a struggle between a washed-up stage magician and a group of schoolchildren, after it magically brings a snowman to life. Realizing that newly-living Frosty will melt in spring unless he takes refuge in a colder climate, the magic snowman and Karen, a young girl whom he befriends, stow away on a freight train headed for the North Pole. Little do they know that the magician is following them, and he wants his hat back!

Frosty the Snowman

1969

The Bushido Blade poster
5.3

A steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.

The Bushido Blade

1981

The Ivory Ape poster
5.3

An ivory ape escapes from a freighter and makes its way to Bermuda. Two anthropologists want to save it, but the local authorities hire a big-game hunter to track it down and kill it.

The Ivory Ape

1980

The Ivory Ape poster
5.3

An ivory ape escapes from a freighter and makes its way to Bermuda. Two anthropologists want to save it, but the local authorities hire a big-game hunter to track it down and kill it.

The Ivory Ape

1980

The Return of the King poster
6.4

Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle.

The Return of the King

1980

The Little Drummer Boy poster
6.6

After being kidnapped and escaping, young drummer boy Aaron searches for his camel and finds him in the Nativity of the Baby Jesus. Aaron gives Baby Jesus the only gift he has, a song on his drum.

The Little Drummer Boy

1968

The Little Drummer Boy poster
6.6

After being kidnapped and escaping, young drummer boy Aaron searches for his camel and finds him in the Nativity of the Baby Jesus. Aaron gives Baby Jesus the only gift he has, a song on his drum.

The Little Drummer Boy

1968

Festival of Family Classics: Alice in Wonderland poster
NR

Part of the animated anthology series 'Festival of Family Classics' by Rankin/Bass Productions, this adaptation follows a blonde, pig-tailed Alice as she visits the bewildering world of Wonderland. Alice encounters a host of characters including the blue Caterpillar, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, who looks and sounds like a punch-drunk fighter, and the Red Queen, who uses a flamingo for a croquet mallet.

Festival of Family Classics: Alice in Wonderland

1973

The Bermuda Depths poster
5.5

Scientists pursuing the mysteries of the deep are threatened by a beautiful girl who seems to have returned from the dead and by a prehistoric sea creature that dwells in the deadly Bermuda Triangle.

The Bermuda Depths

1978

The Year Without a Santa Claus poster
7.1

Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, set out to see to where all the season's cheer has disappeared. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children's hearts and put Santa back in action.

The Year Without a Santa Claus

1974

The Year Without a Santa Claus poster
7.1

Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, set out to see to where all the season's cheer has disappeared. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children's hearts and put Santa back in action.

The Year Without a Santa Claus

1974

The Stingiest Man in Town poster
5.6

An animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass -- the duo behind some of the most enduring Christmas specials ever (including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). Reinvented as a 49-minute musical, this charming cartoon stars the voice of Walter Matthau as the bedeviled Scrooge and Tom Bosley as the Jiminy Cricket-type narrator, B. Humbug, Esq. It features animation by Japanese studio Topcraft, known for their work on other Rankin/Bass films such as The Hobbit, The Flight of Dragons, and The Last Unicorn.

The Stingiest Man in Town

1978

The Stingiest Man in Town poster
5.6

An animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass -- the duo behind some of the most enduring Christmas specials ever (including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). Reinvented as a 49-minute musical, this charming cartoon stars the voice of Walter Matthau as the bedeviled Scrooge and Tom Bosley as the Jiminy Cricket-type narrator, B. Humbug, Esq. It features animation by Japanese studio Topcraft, known for their work on other Rankin/Bass films such as The Hobbit, The Flight of Dragons, and The Last Unicorn.

The Stingiest Man in Town

1978