RankinBass

Rankin/Bass Productions, commonly known as Rankin/Bass, was an American animation studio founded by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass in 1960 as Videocraft International. The company specialized in stop-motion animation and produced numerous television specials and feature-length films, many aimed at holiday viewers. They helped popularize the Christmas television special in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, using a distinctive technique later branded as Animagic, which combined puppets, miniature sets, and careful lighting to create a fairy-tale atmosphere.

Their catalog includes several of the era’s best-known holiday programs: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970), The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Frosty the Snowman (1969), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). They also produced animated adaptations of fantasy literature, such as The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980), reflecting their interest in magical and adventurous narratives. In 1982 the company released The Last Unicorn, a feature-length film produced with external partners and animated by Topcraft, based on Peter S. Beagle's novel.

Rankin/Bass continued producing seasonal specials into the 1980s, though their output declined thereafter. The studio’s work left a lasting imprint on American television animation and holiday culture, with many of its specials continuing to be rebroadcast and celebrated for their musical scores and stop-motion artistry.