By JOHN DALY
The Supremes, The Temptations, Jackson 5, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra get the 1960s cartoon treatment in newly released videos for their most beloved Christmas songs.
Check out newly released videos for The Supremes, singing “My Favorite Things,” The Temptations’ “Silent Night” and The Jackson 5 who bring “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” to life, courtesy of UMe. Martin, Sinatra and Burl Ives round out the new holiday cartoon cluster.
Universal Music Group’s UMe President and CEO Bruce Resnikoff and his team made the decision to create the classics working with Fantoons and Ingenuity Studios animators. The videos are inspired by the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. The Wacky Races was the inspiration for the Bobby Helms video, “Jingle Bell Rock.”
The classic songs by Deano, Burl Ives, and The Supremes take the listener back to a more innocent time and have delighted people for decades.
But the animation is new and brings a modern take to the classics. The catalogue company has partnered with the estates of the musicians and the musicians themselves to bring the holiday songs to a new generation.
The Supremes – My Favorite Things:
“I absolutely love ‘My Favorite Things’ from our Christmas album,” said Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes. “It’s so great that the song remains a holiday favorite after all these years – and how much fun it is to now have an animated video. Flo, Diane and I were so happy to sing all of these wonderful holiday songs and we had so much fun shooting the album cover up in the mountains.”
The Temptations – Silent Night
“We released ‘Silent Night’ as a single with ‘Rudolph’ during the holidays in 1968, and also featured it on our first Christmas album in 1970,” said Otis Williams, founding member of The Temptations. “It has remained a fan favorite for over 50 years.”
The Temps’ “Silent Night” is featured on Motown-UMe’s vinyl reissue of the group’s album Christmas Card, available back on vinyl for the first time in nearly 40 years. The record has been pressed on standard black as well as limited-edition white vinyl and includes the group’s versions of tunes including “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and “White Christmas.”
Jackson 5 – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
In addition to The Supremes, The Temps and the Jacksons, additional videos have been created for “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helm, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “Holly Jolly Christmas,” by Ives and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Martin.
Dean Martin – Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Frank Sinatra – Jingle Bells:
Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock
