HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' is a 1964
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
stop motion
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. (later known as Rankin/Bass Productions) and currently distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution (later known as NBCUniversal Syndication Studios). It first aired December 6, 1964, on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of ''The General Electric Fantasy Hour''. The special was based on the 1949
Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...
song "
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...
" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks' brother-in-law,
Robert L. May Robert L. May (July 27, 1905 – August 11, 1976) was an American retailer. He was best known for creating the fictional character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Early life Robert Lewis May was born in Arverne, Long Island, New York, and grew ...
. Since 1972, the special has aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
; the network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements. As with ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Bill Melendez, the program made its debut on C ...
'' and ''
How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...
'', ''Rudolph'' no longer airs just once annually but several times during the
Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV special in the United States. The 50th anniversary of the television special was marked in 2014, and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014. A special exhibit was also mounted at the Masterworks Museum in Bermuda where the original puppets are held. In 2019, Freeform (formerly ABC Family) started airing the special as part of its 25 Days of Christmas/Rankin-Bass Christmas holiday programming block.


Plot

Donner, Santa's lead reindeer, and his wife have a new fawn named Rudolph. They are surprised to find out he was born with a glowing red nose. Donner attempts to first cover Rudolph's nose with mud, and later uses a fake nose, so Rudolph will fit in with the other reindeer. The following spring, Rudolph goes out for the reindeer games, where the new fawns learn to fly and are scouted by Santa for future sleigh duty. Rudolph meets a doe named Clarice, who tells him he is cute, making Rudolph fly. While he celebrates with the other bucks, Rudolph's fake nose pops off, causing the other reindeer to mock him and Coach Comet to expel him. Rudolph meets and joins Hermey, a misfit
elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...
who left Santa's workshop because he wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, a prospector who has spent his life searching for silver and gold. After escaping the Abominable Snow Monster, all three land on the Island of Misfit Toys. It is a place where unloved or unwanted toys reside with their ruler, a
winged lion The winged lion is a mythological creature that resembles a lion with bird-like wings. Mythical adaptations The winged lion is found in various forms especially in ancient and medieval civilizations. There were different mythological adaptions f ...
named King Moonracer, who brings the toys to the island until he can find homes and children who will love them. The king allows them to stay one night on the island and asks them to ask Santa to find homes for them. Rudolph leaves on his own, worried that his nose will endanger his friends. Time passes and Rudolph, now a young stag, returns home to find that his parents and Clarice have been searching for him. He then travels to the Abominable's cave, where they are being held captive. Rudolph attempts to rescue Clarice until the monster knocks him down with a stalactite. Hermey and Yukon eventually show up with a plan to help out Rudolph. Hermey lures the monster out of the cave by imitating the sound of a pig and pulls out the Abominable's teeth after Yukon knocks him out. Yukon drives the toothless monster back over a cliff and falls with it. Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice, and the Donners return home where everyone apologizes to them. Yukon returns with a tamed Abominable, now trained to trim a Christmas tree, explaining that the monster's bouncing ability saved both of their lives. Christmas Eve comes and while everybody is celebrating, Santa announces that a big snowstorm is approaching, forcing him to cancel Christmas. Blinded by Rudolph's bright nose, he changes his mind and asks Rudolph to lead the sleigh. Rudolph accepts, and their first stop is the Island of Misfit Toys, where Santa delivers the toys to children.


Cast

*
Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...
as Sam the Snowman *
Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore, November 21, 1921 – September 10, 2010) was a Canadian voice actress, who also appeared onstage and on television. She was the voice of Rankin/Bass' version of the character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ...
as Rudolph *
Paul Soles Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian actor and television personality. He led the voice cast in such series as ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966), voiced the title character in '' Spider-Man'' (1967), and portray ...
as Hermey *
Larry Mann Larry Mann (born Lawrence Zuckerman; April 3, 1924 – September 14, 1952) was an American stock car driver born in Yonkers, New York. Mann was the first driver to be killed in a NASCAR Grand National race; he died from a pulmonary hemorrhag ...
as Yukon Cornelius * Stan Francis as
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
and King Moonracer *
Alfie Scopp Alfred Scopp (15 September 1919 – 24 July 2021) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in television series, including as a voice actor. He also worked in theatre, radio, and films. He was part of the voice cast for the 1964 Christmas special ...
as Fireball, Charlie-in-the-Box, and various male elves * Janis Orenstein as Clarice *
Paul Kligman Paul Kligman (21 January 1923 – 29 August 1985) was a Canadian actor. Biography Born in Romania, he emigrated to Canada where he spent his youth in Winnipeg and studied at the University of Manitoba. He moved to Toronto in 1950 and estab ...
as Donner and Coach Comet *
Carl Banas Carl Banas (born January 23, 1929) is a Toronto-born retired radio personality and actor. He is best known for his voice roles in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964) and '' The Raccoons: Let’s Dance!'' (1985). As a television actor, he ...
as Head Elf, the Misfit Elephant, and various Misfit Toys *
Corinne Conley Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929) is an American actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award. Conley is known for her voiceover work i ...
as Dolly for Sue *
Peg Dixon Melissa Dixon (29 August 1923 – 26 October 2015), credited as Peg Dixon, was a Canadian actress. She was best known for her voice acting in ''Spider-Man''. She was married to Ed McNamara. She was also in an episode with Rob Paulsen Robert ...
as
Mrs. Claus Mrs. Claus (also known as Mrs. Santa Claus or Mrs. Santa) is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition. She is known for making cookies with the elves, caring for the reindeer, and preparing t ...
and Mrs. Donner *
Bernard Cowan Bernard Cowan (June 11, 1922 – July 17, 1990) was a Canadian actor, producer and writer. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was occasionally credited under his nickname, Bunny Cowan, such as on the production '' Willy McBean and His ...
as Bumble and Clarice's father (uncredited)


Production

The TV special, with the teleplay by
Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass holiday specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Bo ...
, introduced several new characters inspired by the song's lyrics. Muller told an interviewer shortly before his death that he would have preferred to base the teleplay on May's original book, but could not find a copy. Other than Burl Ives, all characters were portrayed by Canadian actors recorded at RCA studios in Toronto under the supervision of
Bernard Cowan Bernard Cowan (June 11, 1922 – July 17, 1990) was a Canadian actor, producer and writer. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was occasionally credited under his nickname, Bunny Cowan, such as on the production '' Willy McBean and His ...
. Rankin and Bass chose Canadian voice actors for two reasons. First, while the last radio dramas in the U.S. had ended production a few years previously, many were still being produced in Canada, giving the producers a large talent pool to choose from. Second, Rankin and Bass, financially stretched while making ''
Tales of the Wizard of Oz ''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'' is a 1961 animated television series produced by Crawley Films for Videocraft (later known as Rankin/Bass Productions). This is the second animated series produced by the studio and the first by Rankin/Bass to feature ...
'' a few years earlier, had been able to complete that series only due to the lower labor costs in Canada. Ives' parts were recorded later. He and his character were added to the cast just before the end of production, after NBC and General Electric, the show's sponsor, asked Rankin and Bass to add a name familiar to audiences to the cast. Character designer Antony Peters intentionally made the Sam the Snowman character resemble Ives. After the script, concept designs and storyboards for ''Rudolph'' were done by
Arthur Rankin, Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation ...
and his staff of artists at Rankin/Bass in New York City. The company's trademark stop motion animation process, known as "Animagic", was filmed at MOM Productions in Tokyo with supervision by
Tadahito Mochinaga was a pioneer Japanese stop-motion animator. Having done many stop motion films/shorts in Japan, he is best known as the animator for Rankin/Bass' "Animagic" productions at his MOM Studio in Tokyo throughout the 1960s. He did this work in ass ...
and associate direction by Kizo Nagashima. Besides ''Rudolph'', Mochinaga and the rest of the Japanese puppet animation staff are also known for their partnership with Rankin/Bass on their other Animagic productions almost throughout the 1960s, from '' The New Adventures of Pinocchio'', to ''
Willy McBean and his Magic Machine Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...
'', to '' The Daydreamer'' and ''
Mad Monster Party? ''Mad Monster Party?'' is a 1967 American stop-motion animated musical comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions for Embassy Pictures. The film stars the voices of Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett, and Phyllis Diller. It tells the ...
'' In the original production Billie Mae Richards, who voiced Rudolph, was credited as "Billy Richards" since Rankin and Bass did not want to disclose that a woman had done the part. Antony Peters' name was also misspelled, as was the year of the
copyright notice In United States copyright law, a copyright notice is a notice of statutorily prescribed form that informs users of the underlying claim to copyright ownership in a published work. Copyright is a form of protection provided by US law to autho ...
(which used Roman numerals), listing it as MCLXIV (year 1164) and not MCMLXIV, potentially weakening the copyright.


Aftermath

Since those involved with the production had no idea of the future value of the stop-motion puppet figures used in the production, many were not preserved. Rankin claimed in 2007 to be in possession of an original Rudolph figure. Nine other puppets—including Santa and young Rudolph—were given to a secretary, who gave them to family members. Eventually seven were discarded. In 2005, the remaining two puppets of Rudolph and Santa were appraised on ''
Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
''; the episode aired in 2006 on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
. At that time, their appraised value was between $8,000 and $10,000. The puppets had been damaged through years of rough handling by children and storage in an attic. Toy aficionado Kevin Kriess bought Santa and Rudolph in 2005; in 2007, he had both puppets restored by
Screen Novelties Screen Novelties is an American animation studio, specializing in stop motion animation. It was founded by Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, and Chris Finnegan. Overview Their work fuses classic cartoon sensibilities with mixed-media elements such ...
, a Los Angeles-based collective of film directors specializing in stop-motion animation, with puppet fabricator Robin Walsh leading the project. The figures have been shown at conventions since then. They were sold at auction on November 13, 2020. netting a $368,000 sale price, doubling the expected return. On December 22, 2020, they were donated to the
Center for Puppetry Arts The Center for Puppetry Arts, located in Atlanta, is the United States' largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry. The center focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum. It is one of the few puppet museums in the ...
in Atlanta, Georgia. Ives, and his estate since his 1995 death, received annual residuals from the show, the only actor in it to do so. "This business of residuals was new to our union, which was not quite as strong as SAG or others in the States", Soles recalled in 2014. He, Richards and the other main cast voices received only a thousand dollars over the three years after the special's original airing; it has in some years since made $100 million. While Richards said in 2000 that her compensation was a "sore subject" for her, she had no complaints about the work itself. "I feel so lucky to have something that has made such an impact on people, and it's because of the story first and foremost."


Songs

# "Jingle, Jingle, Jingle" - Santa Claus # "We Are Santa's Elves" - Elves # "There's Always Tomorrow" - Clarice # "We're a Couple of Misfits" - Rudolph and Hermey # " Silver and Gold" - Sam the Snowman # "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" - Misfit Toys # "
A Holly Jolly Christmas "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (also called "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas") is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by A ...
" - Sam the Snowman # "
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...
" - Sam the Snowman


Versions


Original 1964 NBC broadcast edit

This version has the NBC "living color" peacock at the introduction. It includes the original end credits, where an elf drops presents that list all the technical credits. It also includes commercials that were exclusively for GE small appliances with some of the same animated elves from the main program introducing each of the products, and closing NBC network bumpers, including promos for the following week's episodes of ''
GE College Bowl ''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl''. ...
'' and '' Meet the Press'', which were presumably pre-empted that Sunday for the inaugural 5:30 p.m. (EST) telecast. The ''College Bowl'' quiz show was also sponsored by GE. The original does not include Santa traveling to the Island of Misfit Toys, but does include a scene near the end of the special in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a peppermint mine near Santa's workshop. He can be seen throughout the special tossing his pickax into the air, sniffing, then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice. Deletion of the peppermint segment in 1965, to make room for Santa traveling to the Island of Misfit Toys, leaves the audience to assume that Cornelius was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone.


1965–1997 telecasts

The 1965 broadcast also included a new duet between Rudolph and Hermey called "Fame and Fortune", which replaced a scene in which the same characters sang "We're a Couple of Misfits". Viewers of the 1964 special complained that Santa was not shown fulfilling his promise to the Misfit Toys (to include them in his annual toy delivery). In reaction, a new scene for subsequent rebroadcasts was produced with Santa making his first stop at the Island to pick up the toys. This is the ending that has been shown on all telecasts and video releases ever since. Until sometime in the 1970s, the special aired without additional cuts, but eventually more commercial time was required by the network. In 1978, several sequences were deleted to make room for more advertising: the instrumental bridge from "We Are Santa's Elves" featuring the elf orchestra, additional dialogue by Burl Ives, and the "Peppermint Mine" scene resolving the fate of Yukon Cornelius. The special's 1993 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to its original film context, and the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame and Fortune" as a separate musical number.


1998–2004 CBS telecasts

Most of the 1965 deletions were restored in 1998, and "Fame and Fortune" was replaced with the original "We're a Couple of Misfits" reprise. A short slide reading "Rankin/Bass Presents" was inserted at the beginning of the special to reflect the company's name change.


2005–present telecasts

Starting in 2005, CBS re-inserted the "Fame and Fortune" scene, albeit with the soundtrack replaced by a rather hastily edited version of "We're a Couple of Misfits". The special has also been edited to make more time for commercial advertising.


2019–present Freeform broadcast edit

In May 2019, it was announced that Freeform would air the special as part of their annual
25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...
line-up for the first time, alongside ''
Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success of ...
''. The agreement was later revealed not to be an exclusive rights agreement, as CBS retained their broadcast rights to air the special twice under a separate license with
Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
/Universal. CBS still shows the version they have had since 2005, while Freeform's airings reinsert much of the material deleted or changed from CBS's broadcasts, such as the original version of "We're a Couple of Misfits" as well as the "Peppermint Mine" scene, making it the first time that the latter scene has been seen on television since the original broadcast. Freeform's print of the special also has the 2012 Universal Pictures logo preceding the special, due to their purchase of Classic Media's owner, DreamWorks Animation in 2016.


Home media

When ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' was first released on VHS and
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
by
Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was found ...
under license from
Broadway Video Broadway Video is an American multimedia entertainment studio founded by Lorne Michaels, creator of the sketch comedy TV series ''Saturday Night Live'' and producer of other television programs and movies. Broadway Video also held the rights to m ...
from 1989 to 1996 under the ''Christmas Classics Series'' label, the 1965 rebroadcast print described above was used. It got re-released in 1997 by
Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was found ...
under license from
Golden Books Family Entertainment ''Family Entertainment'' is the second album by the British progressive rock band Family, released in March 1969. The cover of the album was a takeoff from the sleeve of the Doors' second album, '' Strange Days'', as Family admitted. Backgrou ...
. It used the same print, but with the GBFE logo at the end instead of the Broadway Video logo. All current video prints of ''Rudolph'' by
Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
are a compendium of the two previous telecast versions of the special. All the footage in the current versions follow the original 1964 NBC broadcast (without the original GE commercials) up until the "Peppermint Mine" scene, followed by the final act of the 1965 edit (with the Island of Misfit Toys finale and the 1965 alternate credits in place of the original end credit sequence). In 1998, the special was re-released on VHS by Sony Wonder under license from
Golden Books Family Entertainment ''Family Entertainment'' is the second album by the British progressive rock band Family, released in March 1969. The cover of the album was a takeoff from the sleeve of the Doors' second album, '' Strange Days'', as Family admitted. Backgrou ...
. In 1999, the special was released for the first time on DVD by the two companies. In 2010, the special was released for the first time on Blu-ray by Vivendi Entertainment. This edit has been made available in original color form by former rights holders Classic Media, (which in 2012 became the DreamWorks Classics division of DreamWorks Animation, and finally in 2016, part of Universal Pictures) As previously mentioned, this is also the version that had previously aired on CBS, albeit in edited form to accommodate more commercial time. On November 4, 2014, they re-released the special on a 50th anniversary edition on Blu-ray and DVD. The same 50th anniversary Blu-ray edition was released with an exclusive storybook; this was only sold at Walmart.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
re-released the special again on DVD and Blu-ray in 2018.


Soundtrack

The songs were written by Johnny Marks, with musical director
Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home st ...
composing the incidental score. In addition to songs written specifically for the film, several of Marks' other holiday standards populate the instrumental score, among them "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had so ...
" and "
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...
". Many of the songs are utilized in the score as musical themes for recurring characters and ideas, such as "Silver and Gold" (for Yukon Cornelius, sung by Burl Ives), "Jingle, Jingle, Jingle" (Santa, sung by Stan Francis) and "There's Always Tomorrow" (Clarice, sung by Janis Orenstein). Some of these themes are modified for dramatic purposes, particularly those of the Abominable Snow Monster, who has several interwoven themes; a primary motif, indicated by brass and an F minor key; a modulating chase theme led by tack piano; a tritonal attack theme combining the latter two; and finally the deleted song "The Abominable Snow Monster", which is alluded to melodically during a scene in the Abominable's cave. None of the film's original score has ever been released. In 1964, an LP record of the soundtrack was released on
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
. It contained different mixes of the original songs performed as they are in the special, with the exception of Burl Ives' material, which has been re-recorded. MCA Special Products released the soundtrack on CD in June 1995. It is an exact duplication of the original LP released in 1964. Tracks 1-9 are the remixed soundtrack selections while tracks 10-19 are the same songs performed by the Decca Concert Orchestra. The song "Fame and Fortune" is not contained on either release. On November 30, 2004, the soundtrack was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. Ives re-recorded "A Holly Jolly Christmas", with different arrangements, for the song's 1964 single release. This version, along with a similarly newly recorded version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", was released the following year on his 1965 album ''
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas ''Have a Holly Jolly Christmas'' is a Christmas album by American folk singer Burl Ives, first released by Decca Records in October 1965 (recorded in November 1964). It peaked at #32 on ''Billboards Best Bets For Christmas album chart on Decemb ...
''.


Merchandise

Books and other items related to the show have in some cases misspelled "Hermey" as "Herbie". Rick Goldschmidt, who wrote ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic'', says the scripts by Romeo Muller show the spelling to be "Hermey". A ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' video game was released on November 9, 2010. The adaptation was published by Red Wagon Games for the Wii and Nintendo DS, and was developed by
High Voltage Software High Voltage Software, Inc. (HVS) is an American video game developer based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Founded in April 1993 by Kerry J. Ganofsky, the company is best known for developing '' Lego Racers'' (1999), '' Hunter: The Reckoning'' ( ...
and Glyphic Entertainment respectively. The Wii version was received poorly, and garnered extremely negative reviews from sites such as
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
giving it a 1.5/10.


Dolly for Sue mystery

Dolly for Sue, a supporting character from the special, has sparked speculation since her debut. Being a seemingly normal-looking rag doll, fans and critics pondered over the truth behind Dolly's reasoning for being on the Island of Misfit Toys for nearly fifty years. For some time, it was debated that it had to do with her physical appearance, particularly her missing a nose. Other speculations were raised, and many believed Dolly was only created because the rest of the toys on the island were “boys,” so they created a “girl” toy to balance the cast. In the early 2000s, during an interview with Television Academy, Arthur Rankin Jr. revealed that the reason she stands out from all the other misfit toys is because she was a last-minute addition to the cast, and hinted at the possibly of it being due to psychological reasons. On December 8, 2007, during a trivia game on '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'', the mystery was seemingly put to rest as Rankin himself admitted in a recent interview: "she was cast off by her mistress and was clinically depressed." The reasoning behind her being on the island was due to being abandoned by her owner, causing her to feel abandoned with a backstory similar to characters in Pixar’s '' Toy Story''.


Reception

''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' received an approval rating of 95% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on thirteen reviews, with an average rating of 9.37/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a yule-tide gem that bursts with eye-popping iconography, a spirited soundtrack, and a heart-warming celebration of difference." In December 2018, a '' Hollywood Reporter''/'' Morning Consult'' poll which surveyed 2,200 adults from Nov. 15–18, 2018, named ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' the most beloved holiday film, with 83 percent of respondents having a generally favorable response to the title.


Sequels

The Rankin/Bass special inspired numerous television sequels made by the same studio: * ''
Rudolph's Shiny New Year ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' is a 1976 American-Japanese Christmas and New Year's stop motion animated television special and a standalone sequel to the 1964 special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The sp ...
'' (1976), a special that first aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
and is still aired annually on both ABC and Freeform. * ''
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July ''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' (titled on-screen as ''Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July'', or simply ''Rudolph and Frosty'') is an American-Japanese Christmas/Independence Day television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions ...
'' (1979), a
feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
special that paired Rudolph with the song-inspired character
Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success of ...
. * ''
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys'' is a 2001 computer-animated Christmas film adventure musical film directed by Bill Kowalchuk for GoodTimes Entertainment. It was released on VHS and DVD on October 30, 2001. The film ...
'' (2001), a direct-to-video computer-animated film. Released by a team that produced an unrelated ''Rudolph'' movie in 1998, neither Rankin/Bass or its descendant companies had any involvement in its production. * ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 4D Attraction'' (2016), 10-minute stop motion story adaptation in the form of a
4D film 4D film is a high technology multisensory presentation system combining motion pictures with physical effects that are synchronized and occur in the theatre. Effects simulated in 4D films include motion, vibration, scent, rain, mist, bubbles, fo ...
for
SimEx-Iwerks SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment specializes in high-tech entertainment systems, films, film technologies, film-based software, Simulation Hardware Systems and services. The company has partnerships with various institutions, parks, and destinations. T ...
; produced by
Bent Image Lab BENT IMAGE LAB (or BENT) is a production company and animation studio specializing in story development, television, commercials, visual effects, music videos, short films, experimental techniques and tech development in augmented reality (AR). Lo ...
and directed by
Chel White Chel White (born May 30, 1959) is an American film director, composer, screenwriter and visual effects artist. In his independent films and music videos, White is known for his stylized, often experimental use of images, animation and first-per ...
. * ''T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games'' (2018), a short film adaptation of the book of the same name was featured on the original film's 2018 Blu-ray release.


In popular culture

The television special's familiarity to American audiences through its annual rebroadcasts, along with its stop-motion animation that is easy to recreate with modern technology and the special's ambiguous copyright status, has lent itself to numerous parodies and homages over the years.


Films by Corky Quakenbush

Animator
Corky Quakenbush Corky Quakenbush (c. 1958, age 62) is an American worker in motion pictures and TV series in a wide variety of different jobs, including camera work, writing, and production. One of his specialties is in stop-motion animation. Also, Quakenbush w ...
has produced parodies of ''Rudolph'' for several American television shows: * In its December 16, 1995 episode, the Fox Network's comedy series '' MADtv'' aired " Raging Rudolph", which also parodied
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
's films. In it, Sam The Snowman narrates in a
Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films ''Rag ...
-like voice how Rudolph and Hermey got violent Mafia-style revenge on their tormentors. This was followed by two sequels: " The Reinfather", spoofing ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...
'' trilogy and "A Pack of Gifts Now", spoofing ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conrad ...
''. * A 2001
episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...
of ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, fro ...
'', titled "An Eric Forman Christmas", featured a subplot where Kelso was taunted by his friends for still watching "kiddie shows" like Rudolph even though he was in high school. A dream sequence produced and directed by Quakenbush, Kelso himself appears in stop-motion form with Rudolph and Santa who encourage him to continue watching their show. * In December 2005, the '' George Lopez'' Show featured an animated segment in which Lopez sees a stop-motion version of himself on television in a ''Rudolph''-style special mirroring the theme of the holiday episode. * In the stop-motion animated film ''
The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and ...
'' (1993), Jack looks through a book version of ''Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'' to find a logical answer to explain Christmas to the other citizens of Halloween Town. Later, Zero, the ghost dog, has a magnificently glowing pumpkin nose, which is bright enough to break through the fog that Sally has conjured up. Jack lets Zero go to the head of his skeleton reindeer team and light the way for him. *
Chel White Chel White (born May 30, 1959) is an American film director, composer, screenwriter and visual effects artist. In his independent films and music videos, White is known for his stylized, often experimental use of images, animation and first-per ...
, of
Bent Image Lab BENT IMAGE LAB (or BENT) is a production company and animation studio specializing in story development, television, commercials, visual effects, music videos, short films, experimental techniques and tech development in augmented reality (AR). Lo ...
, directed two parodies that played on '' Saturday Night Live, on Robert Smigel's '' TV Funhouse'': ** In a 2001 ''TV Funhouse'' episode, Sam the Snowman refuses to narrate the story because of the September 11, 2001 attacks (even finding the fear of Bumble to be trivial in comparison to America fighting
a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to prote ...
in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
). He then takes two children to
Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the ground ...
at New York City, but Santa Claus convinces him to narrate the story, because people need comforting stories like ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.'' Sam decided to narrate the tale, but was immediately interrupted by a special news report. The sketch ends with a silently-furious Sam smashing his banjo over his head. ** In 2004, ''TV Funhouse'' referenced the Red state-blue state divide. In the segment, Santa hangs out with liberal celebrities
Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first sev ...
, Margaret Cho,
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
, and
Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
while skipping over the Red states ("screw the red states, voting for that dumbass president just because of that
moral values Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
crap. I don't want any part of them!"). Rudolph's red nose turns blue. * In 2004, for ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers 40th
anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...
, CBS produced stop motion promos for their programming line-up, done in the style of Rankin/Bass animation. Appearing as
elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He dis ...
in the CBS promos were puppet versions of CBS stars Jeff Probst from '' Survivor'', Ray Romano and
Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...
from ''
Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch a ...
'',
William Petersen William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama series '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild A ...
and
Marg Helgenberger Mary Marg Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role of Siobhan Ryan on the daytime soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' from 1982 to 1986. She is ...
from '' CSI'',
Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
from '' Two and a Half Men'',
Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...
and Greg Gumbel from ''The
NFL on CBS The ''NFL on CBS'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts sin ...
'', and late-night talk show host
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterman ...
. A new stop-motion animation featuring Rudolph and Santa meeting even more CBS network stars was also aired in 2005. * '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' made numerous references to the special in their movie hecklings, such as Rudolph's line "I'm cute!! I'm cuute!! She said I'm ''cuuuuuutte!!!!''". In episode 321, which screened ''
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also feat ...
'', the MST3K cast had their own ideas for potential residents on the Island of Misfit Toys including Toaster Dolls, Patrick Swayze's '' Roadhouse'' board game, the EZ Bake Foundry, and Mr. Mashed Potato Head.


Uses in advertising

* In 1964, Rankin & Bass produced several commercials for the General Electric-sponsored broadcast. * In November 2007, the
Aflac Aflac Inc. (American Family Life Assurance Company) is an American insurance company and is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Columbus, Georgia. In the U.S., A ...
insurance company released a commercial that featured Rudolph, who has a cold but does not want to miss work. All his friends say he will be unable to pay for his expenses. Santa then tells them about Aflac. Charlie wonders what will happen if Rudolph is not better by Christmas, but Rudolph thinks the Aflac duck can do the work. Rudolph gets better in a week, but Blitzen is sick, so the Aflac duck fills in for him. * In 2009, Verizon began showing a commercial of the Misfit Toys with an
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
phone. The characters wonder why it is there with all of its features but soon discover why, when the phone shows a map of where it has 3G coverage. (Verizon's ad campaign touts its much wider 3G coverage compared to AT&T's.) The toy airplane replies: "You're gonna fit ''right in'' here!" and falls on the ground laughing. * Starting in 2011, there have been several Bing.com commercials, filmed to look like the same stop-motion style as the special, which feature several characters including Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius, Hermey, the Bumble, and the Misfit Toys. * A 2012 commercial for
Windows phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design lan ...
features Bumble the Abominable Snowman (with his full set of teeth), speed-dating and getting advice from friends through Live Tiles. A follow-up features Bumble at Santa's North Pole pool party, and Santa using Live Tiles on his new Windows Phone to help him give his elves the holiday-season toy production directives. * A 2013 commercial for Nissan shows a woman in a dealership briefly entering a fantasy, wherein Santa's Elves, including Boss Elf and Hermey, have expanded their manufacturing line to include Nissan cars. Furthermore, the Bumble makes an appearance test driving one to his obvious approval. * CBS celebrated the special's 50th anniversary in 2014 with Rudolph and Sam the Snowman celebrating with cast members from '' The Big Bang Theory'' and '' NCIS'' while passing by their studio lots. * In 2014, the United States Postal Service used four characters (Rudolph, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, and Bumble) for the year's "Contemporary Christmas" stamp issue. * In 2015, the Rudolph characters began appearing in commercials for
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
with a stop-motion version of spokes-character Lily Adams.


Other references

* The 2003 live-action Will Ferrell comedy ''
Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...
'' pays homage to the ''Rudolph'' special with similar stop-motion animation characters interacting with live actors, with Leon (
Leon Redbone Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian; August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his hat (often a Panama hat), dark sunglasses, and black tie, Red ...
) appearing in place of Sam the Snowman. The elves also wear the same distinctive red, blue, and green costume design with cone-shaped hats. * In 2010, the comedy website
CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...
made a short parody video called "Rudolph The Regular Reindeer", depicting what the special would've been like if Rudolph's nose had been surgically fixed as an infant. * In the sci-fi/comedy series ''
The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century ...
'', during the 2017 episode "About a Girl", the character of Bortus is shown ''Rudolph'' by other crew members to make him reconsider his plans to arrange
gender reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and all ...
for his newborn daughter. (Bortus's species, the Moclans, are a single-gender species who statistically produce only one female every seventy-five years, with females having no place in their society) ''Rudolph'' demonstrates to Bortus how unconventional people can accomplish great things, although Bortus humorously misinterprets part of the film's story as suggesting that Rudolph's father may have considered euthanizing his child as an anomaly.


See also

* *
List of animated feature films These lists of animated feature films compiles animated feature films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well a ...
* List of Christmas television specials *
List of stop-motion films This is a list of films that showcase stop motion animation, and is divided into four sections: animated features, TV series, live-action features, and animated shorts. This list includes films that are not exclusively stop motion. Stop motion ...
* ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (video game) * List of Rankin/Bass Productions films


Explanatory notes


References


External links

* *
Character Arts' official licensee site for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer licensing
{{Authority control 1964 animated films 1964 in American television 1964 television specials 1960s American television specials American annual television specials 1960s animated television specials Musical television specials Films about bullying CBS television specials Christmas television specials Films about elves Films scored by Johnny Marks General Electric sponsorships NBC television specials Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Stop-motion animated television shows Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Santa Claus in film Santa Claus in television Sentient toys in fiction Stop-motion animated short films Television shows written by Romeo Muller American Christmas television specials Animated Christmas television specials 1960s American films