Rankin/Bass Productions

Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass established their studio in New York in 1960 under the name Videocraft International, later changing it to Rankin/Bass in 1968. The studio became known for a trademarked stop-motion technique they called Animagic, which they used primarily in the genre of television holiday specials. Their first major success was *Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer*, released in 1964 and narrated by Burl Ives, who played the banjo. The special became a staple of the American holiday season. It was followed by *Frosty the Snowman*, *Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town*, and *The Year Without a Santa Claus*, which featured the Heat Miser and Snow Miser, characters that have remained popular long after their initial release. The studio also produced hand-drawn animated works, including the 1977 animated version of *The Hobbit*, an adaptation of *The Return of the King*, the feature *The Last Unicorn*, and the animated series *ThunderCats* and *SilverHawks*.

Although Rankin and Bass were based in New York and handled the design and writing of their projects, they outsourced the majority of the animation work to Japanese studios, including Toei, Mushi Production, and Topcraft, which later contributed to the founding of Studio Ghibli. This collaboration was among the earliest and most sustained partnerships between American producers and Japanese animation studios.

In 1983, the company was acquired by Telepictures and later became part of the merged Lorimar-Telepictures. After a series of unsuccessful projects, the studio ceased operations in 1987 and was not revived. However, its legacy continues each winter, as the animated specials it produced remain a consistent presence on television.