Movies Like The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 animation, family, tv movie film from Jules Bass with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Fred Claus and Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas.

Animation Family TV Movie

Fred Claus

2007

Fred Claus and Santa Claus have been estranged brothers for many years. Now Fred must reconcile his differences with his brother whom he believes overshadows him. When an efficiency expert assesses the workings at the North Pole and threatens to shut Santa down, Fred must help his brother to save Christmas.

5.8

MagicScore

Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

2014

Santa narrates the story of Buddy's travels to New York City to meet the father he never knew he had. Along the way his unrelenting cheer transforms the lives of everyone he meets and opens his father's eyes to the magic of Christmas.

5.4

MagicScore

Help for the Holidays

2012

Although she loves Christmas, Santa’s elf Christine (Summer Glau) wonders if there could be more to life than making toys in the North Pole. When Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy in Los Angeles, he puts Christine on a special assignment, sending her to L.A. to give the VanCamp family—mom Sara (Eva La Rue), dad Scott (Dan Gauthier), and their two kids Ally (Izabela Vidovic) and Will (Mason Cook)—a holiday wake-up call. Will Christine fail her assignment and be sent back to the North Pole for good, or will the VanCamps come to their senses about the meaning of Christmas?

6.1

MagicScore

Arthur Christmas

2011

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

6.8

MagicScore

A Boy Called Christmas

2021

An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse, Nikolas soon meets his destiny in this magical and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible…

7.3

MagicScore

Elf

2003

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

6.7

MagicScore

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two

2020

Kate Pierce is reluctantly spending Christmas with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack. But when the North Pole and Christmas are threatened to be destroyed, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus.

6.5

MagicScore

A Miser Brothers' Christmas

2008

Santa Claus and the mischievous brothers Heat Miser and Snow Miser are the targets of yuletide treachery when the North Wind tries to take Santa's place.

5.8

MagicScore

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

1964

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...

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Santa Who?

2000

Santa Claus develops amnesia after accidentally falling out of his sleigh and only the innocence of a small child can save him. Meanwhile, Santa has to battle the disbelief of a newsman.

5.4

MagicScore

#11

Bad Santa 2

2016

Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie Soke teams up with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is chubby and cheery Thurman Merman, a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie's sliver of humanity. Issues arise when the pair are joined by Willie's horror story of a mother, who raises the bar for the gang's ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior.

5.4

MagicScore

#12

The Nightmare Before Christmas

1993

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

7.8

MagicScore

#13

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

1966

Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of a nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he decides to raid the village to steal all the Christmas things.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

Northpole

2014

Northpole, the magical city where Santa and his elves live and work is in trouble. Families around the globe have gotten too busy to enjoy the season together, and Northpole depends on their holiday happiness to keep running. In the hopes of turning things around, a determined young elf befriends a little boy with a lot of spirit. His skeptical journalist mom doesn’t have room in her heart for anything but the facts, so it’s going to take a little nudge from his charming teacher to create an unbeatable Christmas team to turn around this town and share the importance of the season with the whole world.

6.0

MagicScore

#15

Saving Santa

2013

A lowly stable elf finds that he is the only one who can stop an invasion of the North Pole by using the secret of Santa's Sleigh, a TimeGlobe, to travel back in time to Save Santa - twice.

5.2

MagicScore

#16

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2000

The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Elf Me

2023

A bumbling Christmas elf whose Santa's helper job is jeopardized by a complete inability in building toys teams up with a kid harassed by bullies.

5.8

MagicScore

#18

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

1970

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.

7.1

MagicScore

#19

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

1985

The Great Ak calls a council of the Immortals to ask that Santa Claus be given immortality. And to justify it, he tells the history of Santa Claus. The Ak found an abandoned baby and gave it to a lioness and a fairy to raise, who named him Claus. When Claus grew up, the Great Ak showed him the evil and hardship in the world and Claus decides to live there and relieve some of the suffering. He decides to make toys for orphans, but King Awgwa, the ruler of the valley where Claus lives doesn't want the children to be happy, and there is a great battle among Immortals.

5.5

MagicScore

#20

The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas

2003

When Princess Morebucks finds out that she's been put on Santa's naughty list (in fact, she's the only one on it!), she does a quick re-write, resulting with Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup with nothing but coal for Christmas! On top of all that, Princess gets the one thing she wants for the holidays: super powers! Now, the girls have to stop Princess and make sure that Christmas is saved for children everywhere.

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Year Without a Santa Claus?

The top films similar to The Year Without a Santa Claus by MovieMagicScore are Fred Claus (5.8), Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas (5.4), Help for the Holidays (6.1). Each shares animation/family/tv movie themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Year Without a Santa Claus worth watching?

The Year Without a Santa Claus holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 191 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Year Without a Santa Claus?

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) is a animation, family, tv movie film directed by Jules Bass, starring Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Year Without a Santa Claus?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more animation recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Fred Claus Movies like Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas Movies like Help for the Holidays Movies like Arthur Christmas Movies like A Boy Called Christmas Movies like Elf

About movies like The Year Without a Santa Claus

This ranked list pairs The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), a animation and family and tv movie film from Jules Bass, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Shirley Booth take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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