It's Pinocchio's first Christmas since becoming animated. Geppetto buys him an arithmetic book as a present. Pinocchio sells the book to buy Geppetto a present but he's tricked out of the money by Fox and Cat. After getting tricked, he joins Maestro Fire-Eater's marionette show. He runs away with the marionette Julietta. Lady Azora and Talking Cricket try to get him to be good as he tries to bring Julietta to life.

Rankin/Bass mixes the Pinocchio story with a Christmas Santa. Pinocchio has always been one of the more frustrating kiddie character. He is infuriatingly naive and always goes down the wrong road. He befriends the wrong people and keeps disobeying Geppetto. He's a bratty clueless little boy. For the obvious reason, he really fits the stop-motion animation world. I'd do without the flashback and simply do the story from the beginning. It would help define this away from the Disney version right from the start. Santa does not necessarily fit and this may work better without him. He comes in like a cameo appearance. This is a fine adaptation and a fine Christmas special.

Filmed in Rankin/Bass's incomparable stop-motion animation technique, "Animagic", this special ranks right up there with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". Tricked by a mean fox and dim-witted cat, Pinocchio loses the money he planned to use to buy Pappa Gepetto a Christmas present (which he obtained by selling the arithmetic book Gepetto bought him). This begins a series of very amusing adventures. The Pinocchio character is so cute in this show....he's very mischievous but very lovable. Character and set designs are among the best from R/B and a great soundtrack thats bursting from the seams with wonderful songs. Another colorful and warm special from R/B.

Delightful Rankin/Bass animated short incorporates wooden "boy", Pinocchio, made from wood in the "haunted" enchanted forest, and his "father"/maker, Papa Geppeto (voiced by George S Irving) into a splendid Christmas setting, with other memorable characters including the sly, conniving Fox (expertly voiced by Allen Swift who made a living doing voices for a variety of characters in the 70s) and his put-upon partner in crime, Feline (Patricia Bright), as well as, grumpy puppeteer Maestro Fire-Eater (hilariously essayed to us through the crackling roughly-hewn voice of Alan King) and Cricket (Bob McFadden; another master voice-over specialist). Fox and Feline trick Pinocchio into burying his little bit of change for a supposed huge payday (stealing it from him in the process when he's away), and Maestro Fire-Eater convinces Pinocchio to be the star marionette in his comic showcase for villagers for money he could use to help his poor father. But when Pinocchio is told by Maestro that girl puppet, Juliette, will be turned into an animal, he snatches her away and heads for the enchanted forest. Meanwhile Maestro tosses away a puppet he crafted in the form of Pinocchio, and Geppeto believes his son is no more once he finds him abandoned on a cold street sidewalk. Pinocchio is then manipulated by Fox and Feline to join a cohort of theirs (believing it is a trip to the North Pole), learning he is to be a "toy" for a wealthy man's children. Being a living toy is a novelty, but Pinocchio tries to talk sense into the father who seems perfectly fine with taking him from his home and leaving his children on a business trip. This Christmas special even has Pinocchio getting a ride with Santa in his sleigh, led by his reindeer, back home, and we are introduced to the fairy that gave him life in the Enchanted Forest and could very well bring to life, Juliette, the girl puppet he rescued from being turned into another character by Maestro. With some excellent animation, and a clever means for including a storybook classic literary and Disney character into the Christmas season, "Pinocchio's Christmas" is a real treat that I think will surprise fans of Rankin/Bass. This is a real find if you come across it in a Christmas Classics set. Prepare to be surprised. Some really good voice-over work only adds to the value of this fun gem. This is framed as a series of adventures and lessons for Pinocchio (who misbehaves, a lot instigated by Fox and Feline who are always up to something to benefit themselves)during Christmastime and that framework keeps it from ever getting boring. Kids (and adults who grew up during this time) should really love it.