Rankin/Bass Today
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After its last output in 1987, Rankin/Bass shut down its production arm.
Arthur Rankin Jr. has since split his time between New York City, where the company still has its offices, and his summer retreat in Bermuda. He formed Rankin Productions to produce a few cartoons, such as the remake of Krazy Kat. It was later absorbed in 1990. Jules Bass commuted between New York and Paris. Bass became a vegetarian; a decade later, he wrote Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon, the first children's book character developed specifically to explore moral issues related to vegetarianism. The original story and a follow-up cookbook became bestsellers for independent publishing house Barefoot Books.
In 1999, Rankin/Bass joined forces with James G. Robinson's Morgan Creek Productions and Nest Entertainment, creators of the animated trilogy The Swan Princess, for the first and only animated adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical The King and I, based on a treatment by Rankin. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film flopped at the U.S. box office and many U.S. film critics took it to task for its depictions of "offensive ethnic stereotyping."
In 2001, the Fox network aired Rankin/Bass's first new original Christmas special in sixteen years, Santa Baby!. Like most of their other specials, it is based on a popular Christmas song. It features the voices of Eartha Kitt and Gregory Hines and featuring primarily African-American characters, a change from previous specials. Unlike previous Rankin/Bass holiday specials, Santa Baby! used sound effects created by Hanna-Barbera. Shortly after, the Rankin/Bass partnership was dissolved and their assets acquired by Warner Bros. Television.
Many of Rankin/Bass' films are shown on ABC Family during their December "25 Days of Christmas" seasonal period, though several are heavily edited with scenes shortened and entire songs removed. Both Rankin and Bass are currently involved in the new ThunderCats series on Cartoon Network.
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