When Eartha Kitt made her sexy recording of 'Santa, Baby!' almost half a century ago (yes, it's been that long!) little did she imagine that one day it would become the genesis of an eponymous film whose executive producer lives in Bermuda; but Arthur Rankin, Jr. was never in any doubt.

"If I can't get her I won't do the picture," he vowed.

Fortunately for Mr. Rankin, the sultry septuagenarian was only too delighted to accept, and is the voice of Emerald, the feisty feline in his latest animated film, which airs on Fox on December 17.

"Eartha does that predatory 'prrrrrrr' thing, and is so tied in with the role of Emerald, who keeps trying to attack and eat the partridge," the producer says. "Patti LaBelle is the partridge, and her voice is totally different. In fact, all of our singers have their own distinctive style."

Recalling that Miss Kitt's original recording of 'Santa, Baby!' was not only the big breakthrough of her career, but also marked a milestone in popular Christmas music, Mr. Rankin says that up until then Christmas songs were "very sweet''.

"Then along came Eartha with this predatory, sexy song to her lover. It wasn't a kiddie song, and after that her voice became very well known. Today, she's 75 years old, looks great, and works all the time. She says she'd go out of her mind if she didn't."

When the legendary singer arrived at the studio, having learned the songs from a demo track with orchestra and someone whose voice was similar, Mr. Rankin told her she did not have to do the rap version because they had back-up singers for that. Her response was: "Honey, I don't need them, I can do that," and sure enough she over-dubbed not only herself but the rap echoes as well.

The rough outline for an animated musical based on Miss Kitt's song had been in Mr. Rankin's mind for a long time, and he remained anxious to get the project off the ground. Finally, 14 months after production began, he has succeeded, and the hour-long show will be screened on Fox on December 17.

The plot is set in a fictional neighbourhood where song composer Noel (Gregory Hines) lives. Suffering from writer's block, he has become selfish and distanced from his family and community. Through a twist of fate, he is turned into a sidewalk Santa by Melody, the wise-cracking partridge (Patti LaBelle) who decides he must prove himself worthy of a hit song. Through a series of Santa exercises, plus help from his daughter Dakota, wife Alicia (Vanessa Williams). Dakota's cat Emerald (Eartha Kitt) and the rest of his community, Noel leads the fight to save an animal shelter run by Mr. Sweet (American radio personality Tom Joyner). As a result, he becomes aware of his family and community, and the importance of good will and togetherness, and his lost creativity returns. Then Melody reveals her surprise: she has been on a secret mission all along to find a replacement for the real Santa, who has broken his leg. In the final sequence Noel and Dakota deliver gifts from Santa to a new neighbourhood of friends, underscored by a hip-hop version of 'Santa Baby'.

Of the all-star line-up in his latest venture, Mr. Rankin says: "It has a dream cast, and I hope it is going to be a classic. It is the first black musical Christmas family film, but the fact that the cast is black is not important."

The script was written by his business partner, Petyer Bakalian, and it is a "made in-house" project.

"We didn't go far afield for our talent, except for Emmy winner Glen Rovens, our musical director who wrote the original score. He is so terrific for this picture," the Bermuda resident says. "Frankly, we were looking for a black arranger, and Peter said, 'I'm white, Jewish, fat and gay but I've worked with Eartha and Patti and I know exactly what they need', and he was right. Strangely enough, one of the best songs on the track is the three versions of 'Jingle Bells'. They all sing it in different styles and they all come together in the end." In fact, 'Santa, Baby!' is the first animated Christmas special to use jazz, R&B, soul, and hip-hop renditions of classic and original holiday music, and a CD of the 12-song soundtrack is available from www.amazon .com at a cost of $18.99 plus shipping.

Mr. Rankin says that, with the exception of the title song, 'Heart and Soul of Christmas', his latest production does not have a message. "It is about trying very hard, believing in what you are doing, and it will work. In the words of the song Noel regenerates the neighbourhood, and that is what we need here. We have a show that I think everybody in Bermuda will love."

It took a team of more than 500 animators, storyboard designers and others to make the film, all of whom work in Tokyo.

"They are both Japanese and American and have worked for me for years," the executive producer says. "In fact, the Japanese sec