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Characters / Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

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The cast of the classic story and its various adaptations.

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Titular Character

    Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rudy_8.jpg
"Why am I such a misfit?"
Voiced by: Unknown Voice Actress (1948 Max Fleischer adaptation), Billie Mae Richards (1964-1979), Joie Scott-Poster (Rudolph's Lessons for Life) Kathleen Barr (1998-2014, 1998 film, Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys) Eric Pospisil (1998 film, young) Melissa Hutchison (2010-present, Rudolph 4D)

The most famous reindeer of all. Has a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it—oh you get the idea.

  • Acquired Situational Narcissism: In the first Issue of the DC Comics series, two children (Jack and Judy) decide to visit the North Pole to ask Santa if they could find Rudolph. When he finally meets the children, Rudolph learns that he's very famous. Once his fame goes to his head (or as the reindeer call it "Goes to his red nose"), Rudolph becomes very egotistical and starts arguments with the elves and reindeer. As a result, Rudolph decides to briefly quit being part of Santa's team. One of Santa's reindeer even mentions that "He's getting too big for his nose." after Santa makes posters telling the elves and reindeer that Dasher will take Rudolph's place as head reindeer. It's gotten so bad that Santa actually took him off the Christmas list while Rudolph responds with a smug remark. Rudolph later realizes that his fame really did go to his nose and returns to being the lead reindeer.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness:
    • While Rudolph's design in the various illustrations of the books, the 1948 short cartoon and the DC comics miniseries wasn't by any means ugly (although Robert L. May's text does mention that Rudolph was considered "the ugliest reindeer", its an Informed Flaw at worst), he was noticeably gangly and lanky looking in physique◊. The Rankin-Bass special makes him much cuter and younger looking while making his proportions more stocky.
    • While Rudolph was lanky in the original book and 1954 sequel (mainly his neck and hooves), the Max Fleischer adaptation does shorten his neck and legs giving him a notably cuter and innocent appearance. Various media featuring Rudolph post-1948 (such as the DC Comics series) would combine Gillen's original design with his appearance from the Fleischer cartoon.
  • Adaptational Badass:
    • Downplayed. The Rankin-Bass Rudolph tends to see more direct action and conflict than in the books or DC comics, and while he's no superhero in the making, he proves formidable enough to come out on top against his opponents or at least make an effort to stand up to them, such as The Bumble and Winterbolt and his snakes.
    • The DC Comics Rudolph saw his fair share of action as well. Issue 11 has him dealing with armed western bandits, and he's able to focus the light of his nose to burn a rope trapping him. He even uses his nose to blind a gunman before he can fire his gun at him.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: In the original story and numerous adaptations, Rudolph is very shy, timid, and awkward. He is also very self-conscious with his red nose (notably in the 1948 adaptation and 1998 feature film) and doesn't became more confident until Santa wakes him up on Christmas Eve. In the 1996 adaptation, he's very upbeat and playful.
  • Adaptational Sympathy: Not that Rudolph getting bullied for his nose didn't already make him sympathetic, but the Rankin-Bass special shows how really troubled his life was when even his own father and Santa Claus treated him like crap—that and getting hunted by a giant Christmas-hating abominable snowman.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: But of course. His glowing nose makes him an outcast from his brethren until Santa realizes it can be useful.
  • All-Loving Hero: In all appearances, Rudolph is shown to hold no ill will towards villains and antagonists.
    • In the 1964 special, he just wants to get along with the other reindeer at the North Pole but gets mocked by them (with the exception of Clarice and his mother) due to his red nose. He and Hermey form a friendship due to their similarities as "Misfits" and closeness with Yukon Cornelius. While his relationship with Bumble has been sour during his life, Rudolph's relationship with the monster has gotten better by the end of the special.The direct-to-video sequel even shows Rudolph having a close friendship with Bumble.
    • In the 1998 movie, Rudolph is depicted closer to his original book counterpart where he's timid around everybody he encounters and meets. Though Stormella has remained enemies with Santa and the other citizens of the North Pole since he was a fawn, Rudolph instantly saves her from falling down a cliff outside her ice castle and instantly befriends him after he persuades her to promise be nice. Not only do he and Santa actually deliver presents to her on Christmas Eve, but she is later seen singing and playing the famous "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" song during the film's ending.
  • And Your Reward Is Edible: Near the end of the 1954 sequel Rudolph Shines Again, after Rudolph develops a selfless attitude and saving two rabbits from a group of rabbits. Santa decides to change Rudolph from working on toys and helping fill his sleigh (the latter was chosen by Santa's eight reindeer out of spite), to making Rudolph become an "Honorary Taste Tester" beginning the next Christmas season. Judging by Rudolph's thought bubble in the original illustration◊, he's overjoyed to taste out various Christmas candy and sweets.
  • Art Evolution: His design is somewhat overhauled for Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, but The Island of Misfit Toys reverts him back to his 1964 design. The sudden redesign in Shiny New Year is rather odd considering that it’s an Immediate Sequel to the original special.
  • Artistic License – Biology: Zigzagged. Rudolph's anatomy in the Rankin-Bass series isn't remotely accurate to the appearance of a reindeernote , looking closer to a white-tailed deer. However, the first special does acknowledge the very fast growth rate of real life deer, with Rudolph reaching a large size with antlers in only a matter of months, although this is oddly disregarded in the follow-ups by keeping him young.
  • Break the Haughty: In Issue #1 of the DC Comics series, after Rudolph becomes very arrogant with everybody else that ain't famous as him. He goes through a series of humiliating events (such as getting chased by a bear and wolf, getting his nose pecked by a woodpecker, and his red nose freezing causing it to turn purple and stop glowing) before breaking down in tears after realizing he might not help Santa on Christmas Eve.
  • Brought Down to Normal:
    • Downplayed in "Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July". He willingly extinguishes his glowing nose as part of his deal with Winterbolt to save Frosty and his families lives, but he's still able to fly.
    • In the 1954 sequel to the original book, Rudolph Shines Again, Rudolph's nose briefly loses its ability to glow due to feeling put upon since the other reindeer still don't respect him and give him a lot of work to do. He gets it back by the end after he rescues two lost rabbits and adopts a selfless attitude.
    • He almost invokes this The Island of Misfit Toys when he gets tired of being a celebrity at the North Pole, and gets offered a surgery to make his nose normal. He decides not to go through with it in the end.
  • The Cameo: Rudolph makes brief cameo appearances in two other Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey during the beginning and ending.
  • Chick Magnet: In the DC Comics series, Rudolph is popular with female reindeer around the North Pole. One issue featured a group of female reindeer asking for his autograph and giving him a series of kisses.
  • Child Prodigy: He demonstrates an immediate knack for flying during his first reindeer games, when he has not one, but two high-flying takeoffs thanks to Clarice calling him cute. Unfortunately for him, that's when his fake nose gets knocked off, and...
  • Crush Blush: Or rather a "Red Nose Blush" if you will. While Rudolph is never seen blushing, his red nose begins shining when ever he gets bashful or love-struck around Clarice:
    • In the original special, while waiting for his turn during the reindeer games. He gets a chance to finally meet Clarice and has a cute conversation with her. As Rudolph and Clarice continue talking, his shiny red nose (covered by the fake black one) begins glowing causing the glow to be a little visible.
      Clarice: "Nice day?"
      Rudolph (shyly): "Yup..."
      Clarice: "For takeoff practice, I mean."
      Rudolph: "Yup..."
      Clarice: "I bet you'll be the best"
      Rudolph (blushes): "Aw, I don't know."
      Clarice: "Something wrong with your nose? I mean, you talk kind of funny."
    • In Island of Misfit Toys, Rudolph's nose begins shining when Clarice begins flirting with him during a Christmas Party held at Santa's Castle. He's so love-struck that he's unaware that Hermey bumps into him before encouraging him on going out on a date with her.
  • Cursed with Awesome: His glowing nose makes him an outcast, but it soon proves to have its uses. Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July explains that Lady Boreal endowed his nose with magic to make it shine as a defense against the evil Winterbolt, and that its power lasts only as long as Rudolph uses his gift for good.
  • David Versus Goliath: His fight with The Bumble. He's absolutely no match for the giant creature in a fight, but he's brave enough to keep on fighting for the sake of his family and girlfriend.
  • Dramatic Irony: Rudolph's Red Nose got him ridiculed by the other reindeer. But in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, when he briefly loses it, he ends up an outcast again by losing what made him famous. And for extra irony, in The Island of Misfit Toys he seriously considers the idea of getting plastic surgery to remove his nose because he thinks its the only reason people like him.
  • "Eureka!" Moment: In Rudolph's Lessons for Life, as Rudolph is paying attention to Santa explaining his troubles on delivering presents on Christmas Eve due to traveling during a blizzard combined with heavy amounts of fog. Rudolph's red nose begins shining brighter and brighter until he tells Santa that his red nose could save the day.
    Santa (narrating): "I told Rudolph the reason for all our delay. The fog and dark clouds and losing our way, and as I spoke his shining red nose started twinkling. Brighter and brighter, glowing and twinkling until he cried out!"
    Rudolph: "Wait! I bet I could save the day! With my bright spotlight nose, I'll lead the way! Oh please Santa let me be on your team."
    Santa (gets a little agitated)
    Rudolph: "I know I could do it! It's always been my dream."
    Santa (narrating): "What a bright idea!" I cried out with glee. "You're the most brilliant reindeer in history!" And Rudolph reacted with such a huge grin! It went all the way from his ears to his chin."
  • Famed In-Story:
    • After saving Christmas in the original special, Rudolph quickly gains a reputation as a living legend in-universe. Hermey even hangs a lampshade on this in The Island of Misfit Toys when he notes that Rudolph is a "beloved holiday icon!"
    • The DC Comics also show Rudolph being well known in-universe. Issue #3 has Rudolph listening to his own theme song over the radio!
  • Fell Asleep Crying: In the 1948 Max Fleischer adaptation, while Rudolph at first is seen sleeping peacefully on Christmas Eve. However, words of the two male reindeer making fun of his nose begins echoing in his head causing him to start silently crying himself to sleep.
  • Flight: Is capable of this like all of Santa's reindeer.
  • Gag Nose: Downplayed. While Rudolph's red nose isn't comically large, the original book's text described the size of his red nose as "It's red as a beet! Twice as big! Twice as bright!" by the other reindeer. His standard design◊ between◊ 1939◊and 1964◊ note  kept his red nose◊ big. The 1964 Rankin-Bass special made his red nose smaller. Non-Rankin/Bass adaptations, such as the 1948 short film◊, the 1998 feature film, and the 1996 Montgomery Ward adaptation retained the original size of his red nose sticking closer to Denver Gillen's original design for him.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: In Diana Magnuson's illustrations of the story. Rudolph, along with the other reindeer, are seen wearing hats, coats, and scarves.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: A non death example in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, where he willingly takes the blame for the circus money getting stolen and sacrifices his glowing nose so Frosty and his family won't melt in the summer heat as part of a deal with Winterbolt.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Hermey in the original special and The Island of Misfit Toys and Frosty in Christmas in July. He willingly goes out of his way to help both of them with their plights (notably sacrificing his nose so the latter and his family wouldn't melt), and they both are utterly loyal friends in return.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal:
    • In the original special, he comes to hate how his glowing nose makes him an outcast from the other reindeer, but once his nose proves to be useful he comes to embrace it.
    • In Rudolph's Shiny New Year, he use his own nose and the story behind it to demonstrate to Happy why he shouldn't be ashamed of the things that make him unique (i.e. his giant ears).
    • Naturally, him (briefly) losing his glowing nose in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July is treated as a bad thing.
    • This ironically becomes a conflict again in The Island of Misfit Toys, as Rudolph thinks people only like him because of his nose and seriously considers getting plastic surgery to replace it with a normal nose, but Clarice talks him out of it.
  • Informed Deformity: While Rudolph's lightbulb nose is indeed bizarre, it certainly isn't something to be afraid of or have him ostracized over.
  • Innocently Insensitive: In Rudolph's Shiny New Year, when Rudolph convinces Happy to show him his giant ears, Rudolph laughs at the sight, which upsets the infant. However, Rudolph clarifies to him that he's not laughing out of mockery, but because the sight of Happy's ears had made him feel so wonderful that he had to laugh out loud, just like it had done with everyone else.
  • In-Series Nickname: The DC Comics sometimes have his friends shorten his name to Rudy out of convenience. The 1998 feature film also had some of the characters call him "Rudy" (notably his parents) besides Rudolph. This also extends to Dean Martin's cover of the song where Rudolph is sometimes referred as "Rudy" during the song.
  • Jerkass Realization: In the first issue of the DC Comics series, after he temporarily loses his ability for his nose to glow (due to the cold weather and red nose telling on him) and catches a cold. Rudolph is reduced to a sobbing mess as he is talking with a Gopher expressing remorse for how he treated everybody at the North Pole and realizing he might not make it that Christmas Eve. While he gets better, when he notices Santa still being unhappy with how he treated everyone. Rudolph is reduced to tears as he apologizes to Santa and his reindeer, with Santa deciding to remove him from The Naughty List and actually insists on becoming Santa's headlights for that year.
  • Lonely Together: Rudolph and Hermey immediately hit it off upon meeting due to both of them being misfits. Even after he and Rudolph find their place, they still remain close friends.
    Hermey: Hey, what do you say we both be independent together, huh?
    Rudolph: You wouldn't mind my red nose?
    Hermey: Not if you don't mind me being a dentist.
    Rudolph: It's a deal!
  • Luminescent Blush: In the original story, after the reindeer congratulate him on Christmas morning. Rudolph starts blushing, which causes his entire body to literally turn red that's as bright as his nose.◊
  • Nice Guy: He's all-around pleasant and selfless, always putting others needs before his own.
  • Non-Mammalian Hair: Rudolph is depicted with hair in the 1982 version of Rudolph Shines Again, where his hair is the same color as his fur◊. This design would be used by various Golden Book owned media (such as magazines, stockings, activity books etc) throughout the 1980s till the early 1990s. He has blonde hair in the 1998 movie by GoodTimes Entertainment.
  • Pride: Becomes a recurring character flaw in the DC Comics series. In #1, Rudolph's fame quickly goes to his hea... uh nose, after two children mention how popular he is with children and the general public. He does get better by apologizing to Santa and the other reindeer on his arrogant behavior. By #5 Rudolph doesn't mind getting praised by Santa for his glowing red nose, but Santa does go a bit overboard overpraising his nose which causes Rudolph's red nose to literally get swelled up with pride. In the Rankin-Bass specials, he is still proud of his nose, though not to an extreme extent, but he considers it such a key part of his identity that when he lets it go out to save Frosty and his family from melting, he goes into a Heroic BSoD.
  • Prone to Tears: While all adaptations show Rudolph crying over the other reindeer making fun of his red nose and calling him names. The DC Comics series has him crying a lot during unfortunate situations and terrible situations.
  • Shrinking Violet: In the original story and 1948 animated short, Rudolph is very shy and doesn't speak as frequently as the other reindeer. He does become more vocal after meeting Santa Claus (in the original story) and congratulated on Christmas morning (1939 story and 1948 cartoon). In the Mex Fleischer adaptation, he only has 2 lines of dialogue in the entire short compared to the other reindeer. Rudolph is also notably vocal in the 1996 adaptation Rudolph's Lessons for Life due to his upbeat and cheerful attitude.
  • Save the Villain: In the 1998 movie, Rudolph with the help of his friends, rescue the main antagonist of the film after almost falling off a cliff.
  • Snap Back: Strangely, all three of the follow-ups to the 1964 special ignore that Rudolph grew up into a stag at the end and treat him as if he's still a fawn or button buck.
  • Sneaky Departure: Rudolph feels he's endangering the others because his glowing nose always exposes them when the Abominable Snow Monster is near, so he leaves them in the middle of the night.
  • Sweet Tooth: In Rudolph Shines Again, he's revealed to be a lover of sweets and candy and is excited to be chosen as Santa's "Honorary Taste Tester". It's more notable with the original illustrations by Marion Guild who replaced Denver Gillen for the original version of the book.
  • 10-Minute Retirement: In one DC Comics Issue, Rudolph decides to briefly quiet being part of Santa's reindeer team due to refusing to cooperate with anybody that isn't "famous as him". He decides to run away from the North Pole and eventually his red nose stops glowing. By the end of the story, Rudolph apologizes to Santa and the other reindeer for his arrogant behavior. By the end of the story, Rudolph decides to work as "Santa's Tailights" by sitting on Santa's sleigh for once.
  • Tender Tears:
    • In the original 1939 illustrations, Rudolph is seen crying early in the story near a tree after the reindeer make fun of his nose. A close-up of Rudolph crying is also seen, complete with Rudolph's tears dropping between the text.
    • Rudolph is seen crying in the 1948 cartoon by Max Fleischer after the other reindeer make fun of him. He is later seen crying himself to sleep on Christmas Eve before Santa stops by his home.
    • In the 1964 special, he sheds a few tears while singing "Why Am I Such a Misfit?" after his father forces him to wear a false nose for the first time, and later sheds a Single Tear after Comet excludes him from the reindeer games.
    • He sheds a few in Christmas in July when his nose goes out, even singing a song, "No Bed of Roses", lamenting its loss.
    • In the 1998 movie, Rudolph is seen silently crying and starts shedding tears after the entire school of reindeer (except Zoey) begin laughing at his red nose. As tears start streaming down his face, his red nose begins glowing before marching out of school.
    • In Rudolph to the Rescue (originally titled Rudolph's Second Christmas), Rudolph instantly starts crying since he can hardly read Sonny and Sis's letter to him and decides to have Santa read it for him out loud.
  • The Pollyanna:
    • In Rudolph's Shiny New Year he remains hopeful on rescuing Happy the Baby New Year. Notably when Rudolph, alongside O.M., Sir 1023, and Sev enter The Sea of Dispair. O.M., Sir 1023, and Sev all begin losing up while Rudolph remains upbeat and even sings "Have A Little Faith In Me" to raise their spirits up.
    • Unlike other adaptations, Rudolph is very optimistic, easily excited, and cheerful in Rudolph's Lessons for Life.
  • Through a Face Full of Fur: Rudolph blushes after Clarice compliments him.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Finally through with running from his problems, Rudolph finds his family and Clarice at the mercy of the Bumble and wastes no time fighting the creature off to save them. He proves horribly outmatched, but his bravery after months of fleeing from the creature cannot be understated. And that's not even getting into how Father Time himself recruits Rudolph to rescue the Baby New Year from Aeon the Terrible, going on to challenge the ultimate Hate Sink Winterbolt, and chasing down the Toy Taker on a mine cart.
  • Took A Level In Cynicism: Downplayed in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys, where he becomes somewhat bitter about the fame his nose has brought him, thinking nobody would care about him if he didn't have it and even considers getting his nose removed via plastic surgery.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: In the first issue of the DC Comics series, Rudolph briefly becomes very uppity with the other reindeer after learning that he's very famous from children outside the North Pole. He temporarily quits being a member of Santa's Reindeer, starts an argument with a reindeer and elf at Santa's toy shop, and gets narcissistic about his own red nose. However, Rudolph later realizes how much his arrogance has hurt his reputation with the citizens of the North Pole. Although his pride attitude does manage to slip up from time to time during the comics run but not to an extreme degree.
  • True Companions: With Hermey and Yukon.
  • Truth in Television: While real life reindeer obviously don't have lightbulbs for noses, their noses do store a lot of their bodies heat exceptionally well, which was likely the inspiration for Rudolph's nose.
  • Vocal Evolution: Billie Mae Richards' voice for Rudolph subtly but noticeably changes to sound less stuffy and pouty in the first two sequel specials to reflect Rudolph maturing as a person. Strangely, Rudolph's voice does not change as he grows into a stag in the original special.
  • A Wizard Did It: Both the "Foggy night" and Rudolph's shiny nose are retconned into having supernatural origins in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July.

Rudolph's Parents

    Donner 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/static_6.jpg
"No, this is man's work"
Voiced By: Paul Kligman (1964) Don Messick (Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July)

Rudolph's father and part of Santa's famous sleigh team.

  • Abusive Parents: Donner's treatment of Rudolph due to his glowing red nose is emotionally abusive. Although when the creators were growing up and when the movie was released, it wasn't intended to come off that way and was meant to be a typical father-son relationship. Men being hard on their sons was considered the norm in the 1960s, whether it was fair or not. However, he does owe up to what a jerk he was and he's the first person to set out in search of him.
  • The Cameo: He gets cameo appearances in three other Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, The Year Without A Santa Claus, and Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
  • Composite Character: In the original story, Rudolph's father was an unnamed reindeer rather than a member of Santa's team.
  • Demoted to Extra: While he appears in all three of the sequels to the Rankin-Bass special, they're only minor cameo roles. In Rudolph & The Island Of Misfit Toys Donner isn't given a speaking role unlike Comet.
  • Jerk Ass Has A Point: Subverted. While it was true he would have been ostracized if his red nose was discovered, him forcing Rudolph to wear the fake nose only made things worse and it is the very thing that drove his son away.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Donner deeply regrets how he treated Rudolph after his son runs away.
  • Opinion Flip-Flop: So, Rudolph is now popular because they figured out a way for his red nose to be useful. His father chimes in, saying "I knew that nose would be useful someday." However, it bears noting that he made up with Rudolph before it was revealed his nose could be useful.
  • Papa Wolf: Donner goes out to look after Rudolph when the big winter storm hits.
Sam the Snowman: Now you can bet old Donner felt pretty bad about the way he had treated Rudolph, and he knew that the only thing to do was to go out and look for his little buck. Mrs. Donner wanted to go along, naturally, but Donner said: "No, this is man's work."
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: Even though this was the norm during the time, he is prejudiced towards Rudolph’s nose and forces him to hide it. He also orders his wife and Clarice to stay home because his search for Rudolph is “Man’s work”
  • Related in the Adaptation: He's Rudolph's father in the special and future Rankin-Bass specials. While he was part of Santa's sleigh team in the original story, Rudolph wasn't related to Donner due to having different parents that were unnamed.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: When Donner's wife asks if she can help look for Rudolph, he responds, "No. This is man's work." Joined by Clarice, she follows up, though, and it gets worse for both of them when they all three get captured by the Abominable Snow Monster.
  • Took a Level in Kindness:
    • While he only appears in a flashback as Rudolph is telling the story of his red nose in Rudolph's Shiny New Year. He's notably nicer and not abusive towards his son when it comes to his red nose. Mainly when he gently puts on the fake black nose on Rudolph and smiles at him compared to the original special where he does it out of frustration.
    • Similar to Rudolph's Shiny New Year, while Donner only had a brief speaking appearance in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July. He's a lot kinder and less aggressive toward Rudolph than in his previous appearance and he appears to have learned his lesson.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Donner and his son's relationship can be summed up this way.
    I knew that nose would be useful someday. I knew it all along!

    Mrs. Donner 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imagemdryrnr.jpg
"Rudolph is a lovely name. Rudolph"
Voiced By: Peg Dixon (1964) Cynthia Adler (Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July)

Rudolph's mother.

  • Clean, Pretty Childbirth: During a flashback to Rudolph as a newborn fawn in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July. Mrs. Donner is seen taking a peaceful and quite nap moments after giving birth to Rudolph which causes her to miss Rudolph's brief encounter with Lady Boreal of the Northern Lights. While it's not shown, she's clearly exhausted over giving birth to her son while Rudolph is completely clean.
  • Demoted to Extra: Already having a modest role in the 1964 special, her only appearances in follow-ups are cameos via flashback in Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July, and she's completely absent from Rudolph & The Island Of Misfit Toys.
  • Flat Character; Beyond being a kind and caring parent to Rudolph regardless of his nose, she doesn't have much of a personality going for her.
  • Good Parents: In stark contrast to Donner's tough parenting, she's a loving mother who never once judges Rudolph for his nose, and its implied she didn't like going along with Donner's desire to cover it up. She even takes the initiative to try and find Rudolph herself after Donner sets out and tells her to stay put.
  • No Name Given: Her first name isn't given even in supplemental materials.
  • Tears of Joy: As she watches her son leading Santa's Reindeer Team on Christmas Eve. She is seen shedding tears of joy next to her husband and Clarice.
  • Women Are Wiser: She, like does and other female characters, not discriminate against Rudolph nor him for his nose unlike her husband, who clearly drives discrimination to the ground.

Rudolph's Friends

    Santa Claus 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/santa_0.jpg
"Rudolph with your nose so bright. Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Voiced By: Unknown Voice Actor (1948 Max Fleischer adaptation), Stan Francis (1964), Paul Frees (Frosty the Snowman, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Rudolph's Shiny New Year), Mickey Rooney (Santa Claus Is Comin To Town, A Year Without A Santa Claus, and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July), Bob McFadden (Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, singing) Joel Cory (Rudolph's Lessons for Life), John Goodman (1998 film), Gary Chalk (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys), James Grayson (Rudolph 4D)

The jolly old elf.

  • Adaptational Jerkass: Santa in the Rankin-Bass special isn't quite as jolly as he is in the other takes on the Rudolph story, being rather dismissive of his elves and being downright rude towards Rudolph and Donner once the formers nose is revealed. However, he comes around humbled in the end after the winter storm forces him to seek Rudolph's help to save Christmas, and he is much nicer in the sequels.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: The 1998 movie and Rudolph's Lessons for Life makes Santa closer to how he's portrayed in the original Rudolph books by having him not shun Rudolph for his nose. In Lessons for Life, he quickly scolds his reindeer team for laughing about Rudolph's red nose before he deliver presents to Rudolph's home, while in the 1998 film, he gives the young reindeer encouragement when the poor fellow is chased out of the schoolhouse for his nose.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the special, Santa has known Rudolph since the day of his birth. While he doesn't bully Rudolph, he doesn't approve of his red nose after it is accidentally revealed during the reindeer games. He does slowly start warming up to Rudolph's red nose once he becomes a young adult. In the original story and non-Rankin Bass adaptations (except the 1998 feature film), Rudolph doesn't meet Santa until Christmas Eve, when the jolly old elf is having a difficult time delivering presents due to the fogginess not only making it difficult to travel (such as almost falling of his sleigh after bumping into trees), but causing houses and rooms to become very dark, making Santa almost trip on household items in the middle of his delivery. The titular reindeer finally meets him after Santa has a "Eureka!" Moment when he notices Rudolph's nose fully lighting up his bedroom as he's sleeping. He also doesn't shun Rudolph for his red nose, as he did in the 1964 special. In Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, he's portrayed similar to his original counterpart from the first two Rudolph books.
  • Art Evolution: His design in the Rankin-Bass specials sequels are noticeably less cartoony than in the original 1964 special. This is presumably due to the shift in character designers (the first special had Antony Peters design the characters, while Paul Coker Jr. handled the designs for Shiny New Year and Christmas in July. However, The Island of Misfit Toys relapses him back to his 1964 design, but keeps the whites in his eyes.
  • Bad Santa: His early behavior towards Rudolph and his unique feature qualifies. There's also the fact that he could have flat-out ordered a stop to the harassment Rudolph endured, but didn't bother.
  • Balloon Belly: In the course of one day, he eats enough to fatten up to the usual fat and jolly Santa physique people are familiar with. He’d noticeably put it off until the day before Christmas Eve.
  • Big Eater: Surprisingly averted. Santa is surprisingly lean in the first Rankin-Bass special, with his small (but slightly pudgy) body being several times smaller than his noggin. Mrs. Claus even chastises him for not eating his dinner, saying "Nobody wants a skinny Santa!" It's implied that his preparations for Christmas make him so busy that he Forgets to Eat, which makes him lose weight every year, but Mrs. Claus always fattens him up in time for the holiday. Sure enough, near the end of the special when he's finally free of stress, he finally does eat and gains his traditional rotund figure.
  • Black Bead Eyes: He has these in the original special, loses them in the three follow-ups.
  • Breakout Character: A few years later, he got to headline his own prequel specials Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (which outright confirms its set in the same world as the 1964 Rudolph special) and The Year Without a Santa Claus.
  • "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: If Santa had bothered to invest in some fog lamps or headlights for his sleigh, he probably wouldn't have needed to seek out Rudolph's help in the first place due to the winter storm. This humorously gets acknowledged in The Island of Misfit Toys.
Hermey: (As Rudolph is considering plastic surgery to get a normal nose) "But, what if there's another foggy Christmas Eve?"
Queen Camilla: "Santa can't afford headlights?"
  • Demoted to Extra: His role in Rudolph's Shiny New Year is smaller than in the 1964 special since he only appears in the beginning and ending, and is a minor character alongside his wife in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, but The Island of Misfit Toys gives him a bigger supporting role once again.
  • "Eureka!" Moment:
    • In the original story, after Santa finishes delivering Rudolph's presents. He instantly decides to have Rudolph join his reindeer team after noticing the brightness of his red nose illuminating his bedroom like a flashlight.
    • In the Rankin-Bass special, Santa is saddened after an elf notifies him that he won't be able to make his annual Christmas Eve journey and almost cancels Christmas for that year. Suddenly Rudolph's red nose begins shining bright, causing Santa to tell him to please dim it down before suddenly being amazed by the brightness and politely asking him to join his reindeer team.
  • Jerkass: While All of the Other Reindeer naturally qualify, Santa Claus himself is actually quite abrasive in this edition, first tersely dismissing the elves' song, and storming out, and later, after Rudolph's nose is made public, he not only doesn't stop the other reindeer from ridiculing him, but actually treats Rudolph just as bad as they do. He even tells Donner he should be ashamed, but its not exactly clear if it was for covering up his nose or because his son has an uncontrollable, uncurable physical abnormality in the first place. However, he and everyone else have a Heel Realization upon hearing Rudolph and Hermey's story about their travels and realizing their abnormalities can be put to good use after all.
  • Jerk Ass Has A Point: While he definetely could've handled the situation better, he was absolutely in the right to chastise Donner for covering up Rudolph's nose.
  • Kick the Dog: He tells Donner he should be ashamed of himself for his son having a red nose.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After his jerkish behaviour throughout the 1964 special, karma bites him in the rear hard when a bad winter stormnote  grounds his sleigh and forces him to seek out the aid of Rudolph and his nose to help him out.
  • Narrator: In Rudolph's Lessons for Life, Santa is the main narrator and tells the story of Rudolph from his point of view. He also provides the opening narration for Christmas in July, explaining how Winterbolt ruled the North Pole before he came there.
  • Santa Claus: You were expecting maybe the Addams Family?
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Considering what a pleasant person he is in Santa Claus Is Coming to Town and The Year Without A Santa Claus, he's much less nice in the 1964 special, although he relapses back into being nicer again in the Rudolph sequels.
  • What the Hell, Hero?:
    • In the first issue of the DC Comics series, he is very upset with Rudolph's arrogant and rude behavior with his reindeer and elves due to being very popular with people. Santa even puts him on his Naughty List and temporarily discharges Rudolph from his reindeer team. By the end of the comic, he's still unhappy with Rudolph's behavior shown earlier that day with the reindeer reduced to tears and instantly apologizes to him and his reindeer. Luckily, Santa removes him from his Naughty List and makes Rudolph serve as his sleigh's headlights to make up for his behavior.
    • In Rudolph's Lessons for Life, when Santa is preparing to deliver presents to Rudolph's home on Christmas Eve. His eight reindeer all begin mocking Rudolph for his red nose before he quickly calls them out. This causes the reindeer to act much kinder with Rudolph before he even wakes up.
  • Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Santa's harsh reaction when Rudolph's fake nose cap comes off leads Coach Comet and the others to shun Rudolph, embarrasses Rudolph and makes Donner feel ashamed of his son.
  • The Workaholic: The apparently main reason why Santa is skinny for much of the time: when Mrs. Claus urges him to eat, he claims to be too busy with Christmas coming up.

    Mrs. Claus 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrsclaus.jpg
Whoever heard of a skinny Santa? Eat! EAT!
Voiced By: Peg Dixton (1964), Robie Lester (Santa Claus Is Comin To Town), Shirley Booth (A Year Without A Santa Claus), Darlene Conley (Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July), Kathleen Barr (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island of Misfit Toys)

Santa's wife who keeps her husband in check.

  • A Day in the Limelight: She's the main protagonist of the 1974 Special The Year Without a Santa Claus where she's reluctant with Santa deciding to not have Christmas for one year. Throughout the special, she watches over her husband who becomes sick and decides to leave the North Pole to check on people who starts to forget Santa. She even has her own song fantasizing about taking her husband's job for a single year. She serves in a similar capacity for it's sequel, A Miser Brothers Christmas, where she's left in charge of the North Pole after the bickering Misers apparently injure Santa and is forced to supervise the two when they're made to take over for the injured Claus.
  • Black Bead Eyes: Just like Santa, she's depicted with plain black eyes. Future Rankin-Bass specials and Island of Misfit Toys does depict her with pupils just like her husband.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She leaves snarky and humorous comments around her husband. Notably telling him to eat and giving a humorous "Ho Ho Ho" at Santa before taking off on Christmas Eve.
  • Flat Character: In the 1998 feature film, she has the least amount of depth. She is mostly seen attending ceremonies and showing support for her husband and never interacts with Rudolph.
  • Team Mom: She is way nicer and supportive than her husband and unconditionally loves everyone. She even acts this way when he eats his steak at the beginning.
  • You Don't Look Like You: She was given a newer design for the other Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials beginning with Santa Claus Is Comin To Town till Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July. The unofficial sequel In The Island Of Misfit Toys brings back her original design but given pupils alongside Santa.

    Hermey the Elf 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hermey.jpg
"I want to be... a dentist!"
Voiced By: Paul Soles (1964), Scott McNeil (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys)

The deuteragonist of the 1964 special. One of Santa's many elves who works year-round making toys, he harbors a desire to become a dentist instead.

  • All of the Other Reindeer: Hermey's peculiar desire to become a dentist instead of a toy-making elf gets him ostracized by his fellow elves and the Head Elf. Naturally, he and Rudolph instantly hit it off once they find common ground with each other.
  • All There in the Manual: For years, there was a lot of confusion as to whether his name was Herbie or Hermie and how his name was spelled, but the original script shows his name to be spelled as Hermey.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: A sweet-natured guy and one of the first to befriend Rudolph with no judgment... but he also plays out a fantasy of punching his boss in the face with a snowman and later seems to relish the idea of doing painful dentistry on his mouth.
  • Career Not Taken: Being a Christmas elf, he builds toys for a living, but instead dreams of becoming a dentist. By the very end, it's implied that he becomes one for the other elves.
  • Chekhov's Skill: His profession as a dentist proves helpful on two occasions.
    • His dentistry skills prove instrumental in saving the others from The Bumble in the climax, using pliers to rip out his teeth.
    • In The Island of Misfit Toys, the dental floss he gives to Yukon proves instrumental in capturing the Toy Taker when it's improvised as a binding rope.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He's completely absent from Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, but once again plays a supporting role in Rudolph And The Island Of Misfit Toys.
  • Cool Car: In The Island of Misfit Toys, he owns a flying truck that allows both him and Rudolph to travel abroad.
  • Cursed with Awesome: His dentistry talents (or at least his peculiar desire to do it at the expense of his job and tradition) makes him an outcast among the other elves, but he uses it to save his friends from the Abominable.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has a slightly wry sense of humor and it shows in some of his lines.
    Yukon: "LAND HO!"
    Hermey: No kidding.
  • Depraved Dentist: Hermey is a rare heroic example. In the climax, he rips out the Bumble's teeth with pliers. In The Island of Misfit Toys, he uses a ridiculously large drill to make a root canal for the Head Elf, but he insists it "won't hurt a bit."
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Rudolph. They're clearly best friends with each other.
  • Nice Guy: He is a sweet, friendly little guy who bonds with Rudolph immediately over their differences that make them ‘misfits’.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: To help sell the idea that he's a misfit, his appearance was deliberately designed to be distinct from the other elves, having blonde hair poking out, whites in his eyes, a small nose, and round ears.
  • Our Elves Are Different: In this case, Hermey harbors no desire to make toys and wants to become a dentist instead. He gets his wish in the end, and is running his own clinic in The Island of Misfit Toys.
  • Take This Job and Shove It: He silently leaves the toy factory after being told by the Head Elf that he would never fit in.
  • Romantic Wingman: Hermey plays this role in The Island of Misfit Toys. He's very aware of Rudolph's crush on Clarice and mentions that "Everyone in Christmas Town are aware". During Santa's Christmas Party, Hermey silently signals Rudolph to spend his first date with the doe. When the two are traveling to The Island of Misfit Toys to take care of King Moonracer's toothache. Hermey tells Rudolph about the time he developed a crush on The Tooth Fairy and fainted after The Fairy gives him his diploma as an "Official Dentist". Happily this causes Rudolph to finally confess his love to Clarice.

    Yukon Cornelius 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yukon.jpeg
"Who am I? The name's Yukon Cornelius, the greatest prospector in the North!"
Voiced By: Larry D. Mann (1964) Scott McNeil (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys) Ron Peterson (Rudolph 4D)

A traveling prospector hoping to strike it rich by finding gold.

  • Badass Normal: Amidst a North Pole filled with flying reindeer, elves, monsters, living toys, and freaking Santa Claus, Yukon is... a normal guy. Yet he can fight and back off the Bumble when push comes to shove, and he is usually the one carrying his sleigh with at least 6 if not 8 dogs on top of it - and one time including young Rudolph and Hermey while running from the Bumble.
  • Brains Evil, Brawn Good: Yukon Cornelius is a big, strong, tough guy; and he's the only adult in the 1964 special (with the exception of Mrs. Donner and King Moonracer) who isn't mean to poor Rudolph. Not that he's exactly dumb, more just incredibly quirky, but it doesn't change the fact that the strong guy is the nice guy.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He's completely absent from Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, but returns in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys and plays an important role in defeating the Toy Taker.
  • Disney Death: He seemingly falls to his death with the Bumble, but he shows up no worse for wear afterward.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: Subverted: he seemingly falls to his death saving his friends from The Bumble, but it turns out "Bumbles bounce!"
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He willingly and literally takes the fall to save his friends from the Bumble.
  • Large Ham: Next to the Head Elf, he's probably the most bombastic character in the whole special.
  • Nice Guy: Notably, he's pretty much the only adult who is nice to Rudolph in spite of his nose, and this is before it's discovered his nose has benefits. Also, after failing to get his sled dogs to mush, he winds up just pulling the sled himself, with his dogs dozing on board.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He somehow manages to reform the Bumble during the period both of them were thought to be dead.
  • Only Sane Man: He’s the only adult who is not a jerk to Rudolph at all. He was friends with him and Heremey before everyone else.
  • Sniff Sniff Nom: Occasionally tastes the end of his pickaxe after it's touched something, to see if he's struck gold. Not as insane as it sounds, since he's actually looking for peppermint.

    Fireball 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fireball_9.png
Hi. My name's Fireball. What's yours?
Voiced By: Alfie Scopp
A young reindeer who briefly befriends Rudolph at the reindeer games, only to turn on him because of his nose.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: He freaks out at the sight of Rudolph's nose, telling him to stay away from him.
  • Bait the Dog: He's perfectly friendly and encouraging to Rudolph, until he finds out about his nose. Then he leads the bullying on.
  • The Bully: Like the other bucks, he joins in on the abuse of Rudolph.
  • First Friend: To Rudolph, for all of five minutes.
  • Jerk Jock: He is a tough, boyish Jerkass and begins to hate Rudolph for his nose.
  • Kids Are Cruel: He turns on Rudolph because of his red nose, inciting the other reindeer to start taunting him.

    Comet 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/comet_6.jpg
From now on, gang, we won't let Rudolph join in any reindeer games, right?
Voiced By: Paul Klingman (1964), Scott McNeil (Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys)

Reindeer games coach and part of Santa's famous sleigh team.

    Clarice 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clarice.jpg
"There's always tomorrow..."
Voiced By: Janis Orenstein (1964), Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys) Carla Delaney (2010-present, Rudolph 4D)

Rudolph's girlfriend.

  • Ascended Extra: In the 2001 sequel The Island Of Misfit Toys, Clarice has a larger role complete with her own subplot about learning how to fly like Rudolph. Such as Rudolph training her how to fly, a sequence of Rudolph and Clarice dating during Santa's Christmas Party, and Clarice alongside Rudolph chasing The Toy Taker inside a Peppermint Mine.
  • The Cameo: Despite later Rudolph specials having a different continuity than the original special. Clarice made two non-speaking cameo appearances in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July. She is seen during a flashback, and an autographed picture of Clarice can be seen in Rudolph's trailer outside the circus during the song "No Bed of Roses". Unlike Rudolph's parents, who made two more appearances in other Rankin/Bass specials, note  Clarice was absent for 15 years between 1964 and 1979. note 
  • Canon Foreigner: Rudolph had no love interest in the original story.
  • Damsel in Distress: When she goes off to find Rudolph, she unwittingly gets herself and Rudolph's family captured by The Bumble, forcing Rudolph and friends to rescue her.
  • Dating What Daddy Hates: After Rudolph's nose cap comes off, he walks Clarice home. Her dad orders her to get inside at once, telling Rudolph that no daughter of his will be seen with a red-nosed reindeer.
  • Expy: She's very clearly inspired by Faline, in that she's a doe who is a love interest to the lead character and has been friends with him since childhood.
  • Flight: In The Island of Misfit Toys, she learns how to do this with the help of Rudolph.
  • Forbidden Romance: She and Rudolph hit it off almost immediately after meeting and she tries to stick with him even after his nose is revealed, but her father intervenes and forbids her from staying with him. In The Island of Misfit Toys, they become a couple.
  • Innocently Insensitive: A mild example occurs when Clarice politely asks him if something's wrong with his nose and notices Rudolph talks kind of funny. Rudolph gets mildly upset, before she sweetly tells him to not get angry and actually doesn't mind it. She quickly calms him down by calling him "cute" which causes him to go head over heels for her.
  • Leitmotif:
    • In the original special, her character theme is "There's Always Tommorow", which is first heard when she and Rudolph have a heartfelt conversation during the reindeer games. She later performs this song to cheer up Rudolph and to lift his spirits up.
    • In The Island of Misfit Toys, her theme is "Beyond The Stars", which serves as Rudolph and Clarice's love theme first performed when the two are dating during Santa's Christmas Party.
  • Nice Girl: Even after Rudolph's nose is revealed, she remains loyal and kind to him.
  • Official Couple: With her boyfriend Rudolph.
  • Only Friend: Excluding Rudolph's mother Clarice is the only deer who does not laugh at Rudolph’s nose; Rudolph does get other good friends later on though.
  • Out of Focus: Strangely, she's completely absent from Rudolph's Shiny New Year and only gets a cameo appearance (via a photo and flashback) in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July.note  She gets bumped back up to a supporting role in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys and helps with defeating the Toy Taker.
  • Satellite Love Interest: Her role in the story is pretty much just to give Rudolph a love interest, although The Island of Misfit Toys does try to flesh out her character a bit more.
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: She has a red bow and huge eyelashes to distinguish herself as a doe from the bucks. Alongside making her stick out more between the two unnamed female does that are seen giggling at Rudolph and Fireball.
  • Token Good Teammate: She's the only reindeer who remains nice to Rudolph after his nose is revealed.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In The Island Of Misfit Toys, she learns to fly and takes part in helping Rudolph and his friends stop the Toy Taker.
  • Undying Loyalty: She's the only reindeer who remains loyal with Rudolph after his red nose gets revealed. While she reluctantly listens to her father, Clarice still loves him to the point that she alongside Mrs. Donner spend months searching for Rudolph. This even extends to ''The Island Of Misfits" where she helps Rudolph catch the Toy Taker.
  • Vocal Dissonance: Even as a fawn, she sounds a lot older than Rudolph despite being the same age as him. note 
  • Women Are Wiser: She, like the other does, are the only reindeer who simply love Rudolph and accept him for who he is.

    The Head Elf / Elf Foreman 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/head_elf.jpg
"You don't like to make toys?!"
Voiced by: Carl Banas (1964) Peter Kelamis (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys)
"WHY WEREN'T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE?!"

Santa's head elf and Hermey's boss.

  • Aesop Amnesia: He suffers this in The Island of Misfit Toys, where he chastises Hermey for leaving the toy factory to pursue his dreams to become a dentist, apparently furious for leaving his staff one elf short, despite having accepted his dreams of dentistry at the end of the original movie.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He has a squeaky little elf voice and has a friendly demeanor when he’s speaking to Santa. But then he goes back to his big, booming boss voice, and reverts back to his bossy attitude when he is out of earshot from his superiors.
  • Demoted to Extra: He's completely absent from Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, and in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys, he only plays a small cameo role.
  • Fantasy-Forbidding Father: He believes Hermey’s dentist dream is a waste of time and that it’s not what elves do.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Boss Elf finally realizes that Hermey's dentistry dream really does have potential after hearing how he pulled out the Abominable Snowmonster's teeth and lets Hermey open shop as a dentist, with the first appointments set for as early as the week after Christmas. Ironically, he's is the first one to need an appointment.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: While he definitely could've been nicer about it, he is perfectly in his right to be annoyed at Hermey goofing off from toy-making and choir practice by harboring what seems to be a completely impractical and bizarre desire to be a dentist.
  • Kick the Dog: Him cruelly telling Hermie to his face that "You'll never fit in!"
  • Large Ham: Even when he's not shouting, he speaks in a loud, boisterous, and demanding voice.
  • Larynx Dissonance: His voice strangely changes briefly at one point due to one of his lines being added in late by another uncredited actor.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After spending the special mocking and shunning Hermey for his desire to be a dentist, he's forced to seek out his aid in the end when he gets a rotten tooth. The Island of Misfit Toys even has Hermey give him a root canal via a ridiculously oversized drill.
  • Mean Boss: He isn't evil, but he is a tactless bully to Hermey and a strict hardass to the other elves. He comes around once Hermey returns a hero, although having a dental problem himself probably had a hand in him finally accepting Hermey's desire to become a dentist.
  • No Indoor Voice: Almost all of his lines are loud and boisterous.
  • No Name Given: He's just credited as "The Head Elf" in the original special and as "Elf Foreman" in The Island of Misfit Toys.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Played straight from what little we see of him, seeing that he's a stop motion character and everything, even when and while he's not always angry nor upset throughout most of the film, the only time we see him smiling is at the very end of The Island of Misfit Toys in a post-credits scene, where he visits Hermey in the Toothmobile for a dentist appointment.
  • Professional Butt-Kisser: The guy is practically the walking embodiment of this trope, though it's most evident when Santa is watching over the Elf Practice session.

    Sam the Snowman 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sam_snowman.jpg
Well, folks, as for the rest of the story, he went down in history!
Voiced By: Burl Ives (1964), Jason C. Kane (2010-present, Rudolph 4D)

The narrator of the 1964 Rankin-Bass special.

  • Alliterative Name: Sam the Snowman.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Strangely, he's completely absent from all of the sequels, although Rudolph & The Island Of Misfit Toys gives him a Suspiciously Similar Substitute in the form of Scoop the Snowman. He didn't appear again in the series until the 2010 Nintendo Wii game, CBS promos for the special's 50th Anniversary in 2014, and the 2016 short Rudolph 4D. Beginning in 2014, Sam has become a meetable character alongside Rudolph, Clarice, Yukon, and Bumble at SeaWorld owned resorts (such as Busch Gardens, Sea World, Sesame Place, and Dollywood).
  • First-Person Peripheral Narrator: His only raison d'etre besides telling the audience the story is to sing and perform on the banjo songs that are only tangentially related to the plot.
  • Greek Chorus: He doesn't interact with the characters and just serves as the narrator for the 1964 special (though he does claim he was the one who pointed Heremy and Yukon in the right direction to find Rudolph).
  • Ink-Suit Actor: The face of Sam the Snowman was intentionally designed to resemble singer-actor Burl Ives, who provided the voice for the character.
  • Narrator: This is his prominent role in the 1964 special, telling the audience how Rudolph became a Christmas legend.

    The Misfit Toys 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misfittoys.jpg
We're on the Island of Misfit Toys. Here we don't want to stay. We want to travel with Santa Claus in his magic sleigh!
Voiced By: Alfie Scoop (Charlie-In-A-Box, 1964) Lee Tockar (Charlie-in-a-Box 2001, Windup Mouse) Carl Banas (Spotted Elephant, other toys) Corinne Conley (Dolly, 1964) Kathleen Barr (Dolly 2001, Peggy the Pig, Rocking Horse) Scott McNeil (Boomerang) Alec Willows (Kite) Bruce Roberts (Kite, singing)

A group of toys inhabiting the Island of Misfit Toys after being abandoned or unwanted for being defective or just odd toys.

  • Advertised Extra: While the island they hail from does indeed appear in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys and they do play a modest role in the third act, the actual island is only featured briefly for a few minutes in the film and they get far less screentime than the other characters.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: According to the novel "The Island of Misfit Toys", Dolly for Sue was left behind when her owner Sue accidentally forgot about her when she was moving away.
  • Heroic BSoD: At the end, before Santa arrives, many toys get sad due to thinking that Rudolph broke his promise to go back for them due to the foggy night. Thankfully, The Spotted Elephant quickly notices Rudolph's red nose glowing in the sky and hearing bells jingling from a distance and alerts the other Misfit Toys.
  • Hero of Another Story: In the novel "The Island of Misfit Toys", is it explained that while Rudolph was saving his parents from the Bumble, they were rescuing Charlie-in-the-Box, who got himself lost in the sea during the terrible snowstorm.
  • I Just Want to Be Loved: Despite being rejected, all of them want to be loved by children like any other regular toy.
  • Informed Flaw: Despite being misfits, most of their flaws are minor at worst or informal.
  • Living Toys: They are sentient toys who are sad about being neglected and unwanted.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Charlie's voice is based on Ed Wynn (best known as the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney's Alice in Wonderland).
  • No Name Given: Charlie in a Box and Dolly the Doll are the only toys given names in the '64 special.
  • Sad Clown: Charlie-in-the-Box, who is a sad variant of jack-in-the-box expressing sadness due to being on the island of misfit toys and feeling that no child wants to play with him.

    King Moonracer 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_moonracer_1.png
When someday, you return to Christmas Town, would you tell Santa about our homeless toys?
Voiced By: Stan Francis (1964) Colin Murdock (Rudolph & The Island Of Misfit Toys)

The ruler of The Island of Misfit Toys.

  • Demoted to Extra: In The Island of Misfit Toys, he only has a few scenes relating to his toothache, and one, non-speaking scene where Rudolph asks for his help in baiting a trap for the Toy Taker.
  • King of Beasts: He's a lion and the king of the Island of Misfit Toys.
  • Mix-and-Match Critter: He has the body of a lion but has bird-like wings, not unlike a griffin.
  • Not So Above It All: Despite being a wise and kingly figure, he's in such discomfort with a toothache that he practically passes out when Hermey pulls out a giant drill to give him a root canal. He even utters "Mommy" just before he faints.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to the other judgemental adults (sans Mrs. Donner and Yukon) that Rudolph meets in the special, Moonracer is downright nice in comparison, if stern and imposing. While he refuses to let Rudolph and his friends live on The Island of Misfit Toys (since they're not toys), he does let them stay overnight in a cozy cottage to rest up in exchange for promising to tell Santa about the misfit toys so they can find homes, even though he must know that should they succeed, he'll be left alone on the island. To say nothing of his generosity in giving a group of abandoned toys a place to call home in the first place.
  • Same Character, But Different: In the original '64 special, he was a wise if stern ruler who never showed signs of silliness. The Island of Misfit Toys completely does away with that image and makes him sound borderline Upper-Class Twit with a campier voice and has him whine about a toothache (which, to be fair, would've made anyone uncomfortable) even fainting while begging for his momma.
  • The Tooth Hurts: The poor guy gets this in the sequel, to the point the plot is kicked off when he specifically requests that Hermey come help take care of the problem.
  • Your Size May Vary: The original special had him tower over the misfits and was probably second-in-size to Bumble. In The Island of Misfit Toys has him not nearly as large and is only a head and a half taller than Rudolph and Hermie.

    Father Time 
Voiced By: Red Skelton
The keeper of all the time in the Universe. His most important job is making sure the new year begins at midnight on December 31st.
  • Big Good: Like Santa, he's this to all of time, of which he's responsible for maintaining.
  • Fiery Redhead: He mentions he was this back in his youth, with the only trace of this being a few red streaks left in his beard.
  • Narrator: He's the narrator of Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

    General Ticker 
Voiced By: Paul Frees
A good friend of Father Time. He is a clockwork soldier who keeps military time for the military forces of the whole world. Rudolph journeys with him to the Archipelago of Last Years in Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

    The Great Quarter Past Five 
Voiced By: Paul Frees
A camel with a clock between his humps. He is a good friend of Father Time and journeys with Rudolph to the Archipelago of Last Years in Rudolph's Shiny New Year. His nickname is Quart (a nickname he initially didn't like but came around to once he realized it was quicker to say, and time was something they were running out of).

    One Million B.C. 
Voiced By: Morey Amsterdam
A jolly caveman who lives on the prehistoric island of One Million B.C. and befriends Rudolph during his search for Happy. His nickname is O.M.
  • The Pollyanna: He encourages positivity and optimism to Rudolph and his friends.

    Sir 1023 
Voiced By: Frank Gorshin
The owner of the island of 1023 where many of the fairy tales by The Brothers Grimm and nursery rhymes by Mother Goose take place and where many of those characters live. He befriends Rudolph during his search for Shiny. He speaks in a Ye Olde English fashion.

    Sev 
Voiced By: Paul Frees
The owner of the island of 1776 which is celebrating a perpetual American Independence Day.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Sev is clearly based off of Benjamin Franklin.

    Big Ben 
Voiced By: Harold Peary

A whale who resides in the waters surrounding the Archipelago of Last Years. Rudolph first meets him in Rudolph's Shiny New Year, where he helps him save Happy from Aeon the Terrible.

  • The Cameo: He plays a small but important role in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July, even helping save Frosty and his family in the end by bringing Jack Frost over to restore them after being melted.
  • The Dreaded: A heroic example. Big Ben is the one thing Aeon fears aside from death itself.
  • Gentle Giant: He's big enough to swallow Rudolph whole, but he has a pleasant, genial personality and more than willingly helps Rudolph in his quest.
  • Meaningful Name: Being a whale, he easily dwarfs all of the other characters in size. His name being a reference to the famous clock tower is also apt due to him having a clock attached to his tailflukes.

    Happy 
The Baby New Year who ran away after people laughed at his giant ears. Rudolph befriends Happy telling him that he's faced the same problems with his nose but also manages to encourage him that people are laughing at Happy because he makes them feel good.

    Frosty the Snowman 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frosty.jpeg
Voiced By: Jackie Vernon (Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July)

The famous snowman. He, his family and Rudolph are shown to be friends in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July.

To see his character tropes, please see the character page for his respective special.

    Scoop the Snowman 
Voiced By: Richard Dreyfuss

The narrator of Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys

  • Alliterative Name: Scoop the Snowman.
  • Greek Chorus: Like Sam the Snowman, he pops up to comment or narrate the story.
  • Punny Name: On "getting the scoop (news)" since he's a news reporter and scooping (shoveling) snow, since he's a snowman.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He's clearly meant to be a stand-in for Sam the Snowman from the '64 special, as Burl Ives had died by this point, and the Vancouver talent pool of actors presumably didn't have a good enough impersonator.

Rudolph's Foes

    The Bumble, AKA the Abominable Snow Monster 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bumble_6.jpg
Voiced By: Larry D. Mann (1964), Gary Chalk (Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys)

A giant monster that terrorized the wintery wastes of the North Pole and anyone unlucky enough to cross his path.

  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He's a massive creature that absolutely towers over Rudolph and the other characters, and is (initially) evil.
  • Berserk Button: Anything to do with Christmas, including a certain reindeer's shining red nose. Notably, he visibly becomes crazed upon Rudolph challenging him in his own lair and uses a stalactite to hammer the poor buck into unconsciousness.
  • Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: He fits the archetypal depiction of a yeti, complete with white fur, but is much larger than usual.
  • The Big Guy: Becomes this to the North Pole quite literally in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, where he acts as the muscle for the group. Unfortunately for him, his size doesn't help in their plan to stop the Toy Taker when he proves to be too big for his blimp to carry off.
  • The Bully: He liked to toy with his prey before devouring them, which turned out to be his downfall.
  • Character Tics: Whenever enraged, his pupils dilate briefly before they shrink into a Kubrick Stare with his hair tuff standing on end. It is best seen when Rudolph makes himself known to the beast in the cave.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Inflicts this on Rudolph when he attempts to rescue Clarice and his parents from the monster. Namely, he tears off a stalactite and smashes it over the red-nosed buck's head, knocking him out cold.
  • Defanged Horrors: Played for Laughs when Hermie removes all of his teeth. He gets a nice set of dentures to replace them in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys.
  • Demoted to Extra: He's completely absent from the other two Rankin-Bass Rudolph specials, but gets a bit player role in The Island of Misfit Toys.
  • Disney Villain Death: Subverted: as while he seemingly falls to his death with Yukon, but it turns out "Bumbles bounce!"
  • The Dreaded: The mere thought of him makes Sam the Snowman shiver in fear, and not without reason. Subverted later on once he becomes a good guy.
  • Evil Laugh: Lets out a disturbingly cruel one after he clubs Rudolph with a stalactite. It's honestly quite terrifying.
  • Expressive Hair: Has a tuft of fur on his head that stands on end whenever he's pissed...namely whenever he catches sight of Rudolph.
  • For the Evulz: He fell somewhere into this as he had no clearly defined motive for why Christmas-related things made him so angry. Thankfully, he reforms himself after losing his original teeth.
  • The Grinch: He's described as mean, nasty, and hating everything to do with Christmas. Subverted when Yukon reforms him, at which point he becomes the North Pole's official tree-topper.
  • Heel–Face Turn: After he gets his teeth yanked out and falls off a cliff, Yukon manages to reform him into being a helpful monster.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Before his Heel–Face Turn, his presence provides a disturbing amount of nightmare fuel for such a lighthearted special.
  • Kubrick Stare: Pulls this off pretty well for a limited animated puppet from the '60s. Notably, his pupils dilate and soon contract whenever he sees Rudolph, signifying just how much he despises Christmas.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Yukon unknowingly paid him back for conking Rudolph earlier by smashing him over the head with a frozen boulder. Hermey proceeded to remove his fangs and that was that.
  • Living Crashpad: The reason he's able to survive a very high fall off a cliff with Yukon is that "Bumbles bounce!"
  • Noisy Nature: Hardly goes a moment without letting out a growl or snarl. Lampshaded:
    Yukon: "Only thing I hate is a noisy bumble snow monster!"
  • Oh, Crap!: Realizes his teeth are missing too late to do anything about it. Has another one when Cornelious begins to back him towards the cliff just before they both go over.
  • Sadist: When he was evil, he hungrily pursued Rudolph and Hermey across the snowdrifts just to be rid of Rudolph's red nose and cruelly dragged out his potential feeding on Clarice and the Donner family despite them being precious little food for him. There's also that disturbing as all hell laugh he made after clubbing Rudolph over the head with a stalactite.
  • Super Drowning Skills: He can't swim, so when Rudolph and his friends escape on an ice flow his attempt at pursuing them sees him sink like a stone before scrambling back to shore and shaking his fist in impotent rage at them as they drift away.
  • Smug Snake: During his villainous stage, while he does have the brute strength to back up his threats, his main weapons are his fangs that he uses to instill terror before his victims can properly react and flee. Once he loses his teeth, however, as Cornelious points out, his intimidation becomes significantly less.
  • The Speechless: He only communicates in roars, grunts, and wheezes.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: After losing all his teeth in the first special, The Island Of Misfit Toys ends with Hermey fitting him some nice dentures (though thankfully far less scary than his original fangs).
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Spelled out by Clarice when he has her and the entire Donner family totally at his mercy. Seems he enjoyed instilling terror in his prey before devouring them.

    Aeon the Terrible 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eon_6.jpg
Voiced By: Paul Frees

The villain of Rudolph's Shiny New Year, a giant millenium-old vulture.

  • Anti-Villain: While he's not a pleasant person, he has a perfectly understandable, if selfish, reason for trying to stop the New Year from coming — he's been alive for almost a thousand years, and he is understandably terrified of death.
  • Big Bad: Of Rudolph's Shiny New Year, where he tries to stop the new year from coming by kidnapping the infant Happy New Year so he won't turn into ice from old age.
  • Feathered Fiend: A giant vulture who acts antagonistic towards Rudolph and friends, at least until the end.
  • Giant Flyer: While nowhere as big as the Bumble, he's still a very large vulture that easily dwarfs Rudolph and his friends.
  • Heel–Face Turn: He turns good at the end when seeing Happy's giant ears makes him laugh so much that it permanently warms his heart, ensuring he won't pass away.
  • Immortals Fear Death: Aeon's motivation. He's not technically immortal, but he's lived several millennia, and as such he's terrified of dying, and thinks he can stave off death by kidnapping the New Year. (And he succeeds, just not the way he figured.)
  • Meaningful Name: Given he's lived for just about a millennium, Aeon is a rather fitting name for him.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yes, kidnapping an infant and trying to avert the coming of the new year is a jerk move, but Aeon can only live for one eon (hence his name), and if the new year comes, that deadline will finally be up and he'll be reduced to ice and snow. In short, Aeon isn't so much malicious as he is terrified of dying. Fortunately, Rudolph and Happy manage to avert that fate for him.

    Winterbolt 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winterbolt.jpg
Voiced By: Paul Frees

The villain of Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.

  • And I Must Scream: At the end of the special, Winterbolt transforms into a tree after Lilly destroys his scepter.
  • Beard of Evil: Winterbolt has a long, white beard to emphasize his evil nature.
  • Big Bad: He's the driving conflict in Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas In July.
  • Bullying a Dragon: Winterbolt tries to freeze Lady Boreal with his staff at the beginning of the film, but she deflects it and puts him into a deep sleep for many years.
  • Create Your Own Hero: It's revealed that his actions indirectly led to Rudolph getting his nose and thwarting the winter storm he conjured in the '64 special.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Winterbolt has a powerful and deep voice befitting for a villain as a result of him being voiced by Paul Frees.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Winterbolt shows himself before Rudolph, Frosty, and co. posing as a friendly snow fairy godfather offering a way for the snow family to go to the United States without melting - long after he's been established as a terrible villain to viewers.
  • Flight: He is capable of this due to his magical powers.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: He's revealed to have been not only the cause of the winter storm in the '64 special, but he was indirectly the reason Rudolph has his iconic nose in the first place.
  • An Ice Person: Winterbolt can use his scepter to freeze anything into ice.
  • Just Think of the Potential!: When Winterbolt learns of Frosty's magic hat, he decides to get it so he can use it to build an army of animate snowmen!
  • Knight of Cerebus: Compared to villains of previous and later Rankin-Bass specials- Bumble the Abominable Snowman, Prof. Hinkle, Burgermeister Meisterburger, January Q. Irontail, the Miser Brothers, Queen Lily, Brutus, Aeon the Terrible, Kubla Kraus, Mag- Winterbolt stands out. He's got power, cunning, and the ruthlessness to use them! Every other villain was either a Large Ham, Laughably Evil, an Anti-Villain, or all three.
  • Mr. Exposition: Winterbolt has a "Genie of the ice scepter", who acts more like a soothsayer and brings Winterbolt up to speed on elements of the Rankin-Bass universe we already know.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
    • Had Winterbolt not used his Snow Dragons to create that foggy storm on Christmas Eve, Rudolph would have never been chosen to guide Santa's sleigh and gained the respect of his peers.
    • After Winterbolt succeeds at dousing Rudolph's nose and breaking his spirit, he cons Frosty out of his magic hat. In doing so, he gives Rudolph the impetus to stand up and fight against the villain redeeming himself and reigniting his nose.
  • No Ontological Inertia: When Winterbolt is defeated, his magic is undone, resulting in all the snowmen temporarily melting.
  • Sorcerous Overlord: Winterbolt ruled the North Pole long before Santa arrived, using his magic scepter to freeze anyone who stood in his way.
  • Take Over the World: Upon learning about Frosty's magic hat, he plans to create an army of snowmen to take over the world. It wouldn't have worked, mind you, since, even if they were impervious to melting, they'd be no match for the combined armies of the NATO and Warsaw Pact (since a threat like Winterbolt would necessitate an Enemy Mine between the Americans and Soviets).
  • Transflormation: After his scepter is shattered, Winterbolt loses his powers and turns into a tree.

    The Toy Taker, AKA Mr. Cuddles 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toy_taker.jpg
Click here to see his true appearance
Voiced By: Rick Moranis, Bruce Roberts (singing voice), Don Brown (Laughter)

The villain of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys. He was a teddy bear who was (accidentally) abandoned by his former owner, which set him off on a quest to "rescue" other toys from meeting a similar fate to his.

  • Alliterative Name: His non de plume villain name Toy Taker.
  • Anti-Villain: While it was indeed wrong of him to kidnap toys from their owners and steal Santa's entire supply of gifts, he has a rather sympathetic, if misguided, motive for doing so.
  • Big Bad: Of Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys, although it turns out he's not really evil, just misguided.
  • Costumes Change Your Size: His Toy Taker disguise noticeably changes his size and appearance, when in reality he's even shorter than Hermey. This is justified in-universe, as he was walking on stilts the whole time.
  • Evil Counterpart: To King Moonracer. Whereas Moonracer is a benevolent if stern ruler who seeks out abandoned or unwanted toys in order to give them a home until they find a new owner, Mr. Cuddles kidnaps any toy he can get his hands on, even those who still have owners, in hopes of ensuring they won't have to face being abandoned or thrown out by their owners or any potential owners in the future.
  • Evil Laugh: A high-pitched cackle that's pretty unsettling. It was done by a different actor, Don Brown, rather than his main speaking voice, Rick Moranis.
  • Freudian Excuse: What started his quest was his owner gradually losing interest in playing with him, getting left in a box in a closet for years, and then getting thrown out by his owner and winding up in a landfill, which deeply hurt him and made him want to spare other toys of the same fate. However, It turns out that him getting thrown out was an accident.
  • Fluffy the Terrible: His real name, apt for a teddy bear such as him.
  • "I Am" Song: His villain song "The Toy Taker".
  • Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: It's not explained where or how he got the Magic Flute that lets him hypnotize other toys.
  • Villain Has a Point: While he crosses the line by stealing toys from innocent kids and shanghaiing Santa's entire stock of gifts, he's not wrong in his belief that toys can and are neglected and carelessly thrown out by owners without a thought, using his own experience of being thrown out as proof (although it turns out that the latter was an accident and that his owner had every intention of giving him to his daughter as a gift). Even Santa Claus at least concedes that he's correct that children eventually do outgrow their toys. While him discovering the truth does demonstrate to him that toys have hope even when their owners outgrow them, it only conditionally debunks his theory.
  • Villain Song: "The Toy Taker", which he sings to the toys he kidnapped in an attempt to sway them over to his side.
  • Vocal Dissonance: As The Toy Taker, he speaks with a raspy, deep voice, but his true self speaks much more softly and gentle. Justified since Mr. Cuddles is anything but terrifying.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: His modus operandi for stealing people's toys, including Santa's stock of Christmas gifts, was just to "save" toys from a seemingly inevitable fate of being abandoned or thrown out by their owners.

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