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 under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour .The special is based on the song by Johnny Marks, which was in turn taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired over CBS, which unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version in 2005. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas , Rudolph no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special, and one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast (the others being A Charlie Brown Christmas , How the Grinch Stole Christmas , and Frosty the Snowman ). And again, as with the Charlie Brown special, Rudolph has now been shown more than thirty-one times on CBS, although in this case, CBS was not Rudolph 's original network.
Plot
Rudolph is a reindeer who is tormented by his dad Donner, and fellow reindeer because of his shiny nose. The only reindeer who likes his nose is Clarice, a doe. Along the way, Rudolph meets Hermey, an elf who quits his job so he can be a dentist, and is facing problems with the other elves. They run away and meet Yukon Cornelius, a prospector. They are attacked by the Bumble, an abominable snow monster. They escape and go to the Island of Misfit Toys. They are told by the toys to tell Santa to find kids who want them. Rudolph leaves his friends because he fears the Bumble will find them because of his shiny nose.
Rudolph looks for his missing mother and father as well as Clarice. He finds them trapped by the Bumble. Rudolph tries to stop him, but is knocked out by the Bumble. Hermey and Yukon stop the Bumble by taking out his sharp teeth. Yukon then pushes the Bumble into a pit, but the Bumble pulls Yukon into the pit with him. Rudolph and the others go home, sad. Yet once they get home, they soon meet Yukon and the Bumble, and Yukon tells them Bumbles bounce (bouncing out of the pit unharmed). The toys on the island get children who love them, Hermey gets his own dentist shop, Yukon finds a mine of peppermint and Rudolph gets to lead Santa's sleigh, who needs his help because the weather is foggy out and he cannot see without Rudolph's shining nose.
Additional characters
The character Rudolph was voiced by Billie Mae Richards, later credited as Billy Richards. The story, by Romeo Muller, 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. The show features Santa Claus and the eight reindeer mentioned in the song. Of them, Donner is identified as Rudolph's father (and his family referred to in passing, likely as a joke, as the Donner Party), and Comet is presented as the coach of the reindeer team. Mrs. Claus is also incorporated into the story.
The show also introduces:
- Sam The Snowman - The narrator, voiced by and styled to resemble folk singer Burl Ives, who also contributes several tunes throughout the show. Among the most famous numbers from the special is Johnny Marks' 1962 "A Holly Jolly Christmas", which became a Christmas standard in its own right.
- Hermey the Misfit Elf (voiced by Paul Soles) - who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Hermey became the best-known of all the characters introduced by Rankin/Bass. Quitting Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." Towards the end of the program, he finally gets his wish to open a dentist's office at the North Pole. 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. Note: This may not be the case in every market. In New York, WCBS-TV only started airing the "Fame and Fortune" song in the late 1980s. It was then restored in 1998 back to "We're a Couple of Misfits". Hermey was inspired by Beach Boy Al Jardine who briefly quit the band to pursue a career in dentistry.
- Clarice the Doe (voiced and sung by Janet Orenstein) The only deer at the beginning of the movie who accepts Rudolph's red nose and helps him to fly at the reindeer games by telling him he is cute. As they are walking home together after Rudolph had been teased because of his nose, she cheers him up by singing "There's Always Tomorrow."
- Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) - a prospector who leads the audience 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 behavior 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 an abominable snowman, or "bumble" as well. Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pick ax into the air, sniffing, then licking 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. In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys , it is revealed that his name is Hank.
- Hermey's Immediate Supervisor (voiced by Alfie Scopp) is the portly and ill-tempered goateed 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". However, for all their rehearsals, and because of them, Santa finds the song annoying. Towards the end of the special, he finally grants Hermey's wishes and allows him to open a dentist's office. In one of the show's bloopers, Hermey's immediate supervisor is voiced by a different (and unidentified) voice actor in the musical scene as he begins conducting the group.
- The Bumble (a.k.a. the Abominable Snow Monster of the North) - a yeti who pursues Hermey and Rudolph throughout their adventure since the sight of Rudolph's glowing red nose drives him into a rage. He is the main antagonist. Sam also explains that the Bumble hates everything to do with Christmas as well. When he threatens Rudolph and his family at his cave, Yukon and Hermey come to the rescue by knocking the monster unconscious and extracting all his teeth. Near the end of the film he has a change of heart as he is seen putting the star on top of the Christmas tree.
Several new members of Santa Claus's herd of reindeer include Fireball , a young buck with a distinctive shock of blond hair who befriends shy Rudolph at the 'Reindeer Games'. The Reindeer Games are the annual contest where Santa Claus evaluates the flight skills of his youngest reindeer. It is Fireball who encourages Rudolph to meet Clarice. 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 clay/mud 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. Though Fireball does not appear on screen to be among the reindeer who mock Rudolph at the Reindeer Games, his voice is clearly heard doing so. He can be heard calling him "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and then some other bucks laugh.
Most of the adult male reindeer, including Donner, Comet, and Clarice's father, were voiced with similar voices by Paul Frees.
The Island of Misfit Toys
The "Island of Misfit Toys", another canonical addition to the original story, is an island sanctuary 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 around the world each night in search of unwanted toys. He lives in a large castle atop a hill on The Island of Misfit Toys, and acts as a 'governor' to the island, deciding who can or cannot stay on the Island, such as Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius.
- Charlie-In-The-Box is a misnamed, but otherwise seemingly normal jack-in-the-box who acts as the island's sentry. Charlie is voiced by Carl Banas, who also vo
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