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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a long-running Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin-Bass. It first aired December 6, 1964 on the NBC television network in the USA and was sponsored by General Electric. It is based on the 1939 poem of the same title written by Robert L. May and featured the famous song adapted from the poem by May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks. In recent years, the special has aired over CBS.
Additional Characters
In this version of the story of Rudolph, written by Romeo Muller, numerous new characters are introduced. Besides Santa, the reindeer mentioned in the song, and Mrs. Claus (who speaks with a vaguely Irish-sounding accent), the show introduces:
- Sam The Snowman — The narrator, voiced by folk singer Burl Ives, who also contributes several tunes throughout the show. Among the special's most famous numbers is "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" which has since become a Christmas standard.
- Hermey the Misfit Elf - who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Hermey became the best-known of all the characters introduced by Rankin Bass. Banished from Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." One of many memorable songs from the show, "Fame and Fortune" was added to the special beginning with its 1965 airing as a slightly shorter replacement for the reprise of a number called "We're A Couple Of Misfits," sung by Hermey and Rudolph soon after their initial meeting. The special's 1998 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to film context while the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame And Fortune" as a separate number.
- Yukon Cornelius - a prospector who leads audiences to believe that he's searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behaviour inspires the song "Silver And Gold," sung by Ives and previously well-known in its own right. Yukon is a blustery but benign character and ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but Bumbles the Snow Monster as well. Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pick ax into the air and tasting the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.
- So-called Tall Elf is a minor character who appears in the "We Are Santa's Elves" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" scenes. Tall, thin and bespectacled, this character was an integral part of the stop-motion commercial and subsequent print ads produced for General Electric for the inaugural broadcast.
- Head Elf is the portly foreman and songleader of Santa's workshop. He is outraged at Hermey's persistent disruption of the assembly line with his dentistry studies. He also conducts the elves in their song for Santa, "We Are Santa's Elves". Santa later confesses that he finds the song to be annoying. In one of the show's bloopers, Head Elf's voice changes in the musical scene as he begins conducting the group.
- Bumbles - an abominable snowmonster who pursues Hermey and Rudolph throughout their adventure since the sight of Rudolph's glowing red nose drives him into a rage. His name, given to him by Yukon Cornelius is a corruption of the word "abominable."
Several new members of Santa Claus' herd of reindeer include Clarice, a young doe with a crush on Rudolph, and Fireball. Fireball is a young buck with a distinctive shock of blond hair who befriends shy Rudolph at the 'Reindeer Games', the annual contest where Santa Claus evaluates the flight skills of his youngest reindeer. It is Fireball who encourages Rudolph to meet Clarice a young doe who has developed a crush on Rudolph. Clarice informs Rudolph that she finds him cute. Inspired by Clarice's affection, Rudolph impresses all the reindeer assembled with his flying ability. A playful scuffle with Fireball ensues and the rubber cap Rudolph has been wearing to hide his glowing nose comes loose. Fireball is the first to witness Rudolph's true appearance and is terrified by the sight.
Fireball does not appear to be among the reindeer who mock Rudolph either at the Reindeer Games or in a later scene when Rudolph returns to Christmastown.
The Island of Misfit Toys
The "Island of Misfit Toys," another canonical addition to the original story, is where defective and unwanted toys are sent. Among its inhabitants:
- King Moonracer - a winged lion who acts as the island's ruler. King Moonracer is responsible for flying the entire world each night in search of unwanted toys.
- Misfit Doll is an unnamed, but seemingly normal girl rag doll. Her presence on the island is never explained.
- Various other toys including a train with square wheels on its caboose; a toy boat that sinks rather than floats; a squirt gun that shoots grape jelly; a bird with the characteristics of a fish who swims instead of flies, and an airplane that can't fly.
It is during this scene that the Marks standard, "The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year" is performed by the inhabitants.
Additional background
The songs and incidental music were written by Johnny Marks. In addition to the songs previously mentioned, the score also includes the film's love theme "There's Always Tomorrow", sung by the reindeer Clarice after Rudolph is kicked out of the reindeer games. As previously discussed, the song "Fame And Fortune" replaced the "Misfits" reprise for later television broadcasts from 1965 until 1998.
The special (which currently airs on CBS) inspired numerous television sequels made by the same studio, including one that paired Rudolph with another famous creation inspired by a song, Frosty The Snowman. The best-known Rudolph sequel is "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" from 1976 which first aired on ABC.
Parodies of, and homages to Rudolph
In addition to countless "deer crossing" traffic signs around the world that have had the nose of the leaping stag painted red by vandals, the television special's primitive stop-motion animation is easy to recreate with modern technology and has lent itself to numerous parodies over the years:
- ESPN, in a promo for their coverage of their Winter X Games, had a lookalike of Sam the Snowman getting crushed by a skier.
- That same year, office supplies retailer OfficeMax released a new commercial featuring the popular Rubberband Man character (played by dancer Eddie Steeples) that they had introduced for the back to school shopping season earlier that year. The new holiday ad featured a stop motion puppet likeness of the Rubberband Man handing out Christmas presents to animated characters resembling those from the Rankin-Bass special.
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