Jangle Bells serves as an elf at the North Pole for Santa Claus's operations in the Rankin/Bass animated special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Along with his buddy Jingle Bells, he is sent into the outside world by Mrs. Claus to see if there are any people out there who still believe in Santa Claus and find out if anyone minds the fact Santa Claus is planning to take a holiday because of his cold and pain.
The more dim-witted of the two elves, Jangle speaks in a heavy drawl and moves about in a clumsy fashion. However, Jangle is quick to point out when their reindeer companion, Vixen, becomes ill because of heat and gets captured by the dog catcher during their visit to Southtown. He, Jingle, and Iggy Thistlewhite later accompany Mrs. Claus when she visits the Miser Brothers and then Mother Nature to work out a deal to make it snow in Southtown for Christmas.
Jangle, along with Jingle, notably also makes a cameo in the opening scene from Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.
Despite being one of the main characters from The Year Without a Santa Claus, Jangle did not reappear in the 2008 follow-up, A Miser Brothers' Christmas.