YMMV / Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

• Adaptation Displacement:
  • "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" originated with a book published in 1939 for a department store's Christmas marketing, which pre-dates the Rankin/Bass special by twenty-five years, the song by ten years, and is almost forgotten from future generations. The book has little in common with the Rankin & Bass special and focuses only on Rudolph being shunned for his nose before Santa asks him to lead the reindeer team. Hermey the Elf, the Abominable Snowman, Yukon, and Clarice were all created for the Rankin & Bass special and do not appear at all in the book. Ask anyone if they know Rudolph, and they'll either answer with the song or the Rankin & Bass special, and be very surprised if you mention the original book and even more shocked that it gained an official sequel◊ called Rudolph Shines Again ^note  Originally known as "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shines Again" in 1954. Then there's the third story titled Rudolph to the Rescue (originally known as Rudolph's Second Christmas) that was given a posthumous release in 1992 ^note  Manuscripts of the story dates back to 1947 . The original book is still fondly remembered from people that grew up during the Baby Boomer Generation and the Silent Generation since Rudolph's design between 1939 till the early 1960s were all based on Denver Gillen's original design for the titular character.
  • The song is another example of this for the book, by the Rankin & Bass animators. Even though it was written in 1949 by Johnny Marks, the brother-in-law of the book's author Robert May, the song was the basic inspiration & theme-music for the Rankin & Bass special, as the animators had only heard of the song and hadn't owned the original book.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Rather than being an "abusive" parent, it could be argued that Donner, having grown up in that environment, knew the pain and suffering in store for Rudolph and wanted to spare him.
  • However, there also is a chance Donner wanted Rudolph to stand up for himself and drive his character development by being cruel to him on purpose. After all, he does say, “I knew that nose would be useful someday. I knew it all along!” when Rudolph is chosen to guide Santa’s sleigh towards the end.
  • Did Comet exclude Rudolph from the reindeer games out of prejudice, or was it for the good of the other young reindeer who might be distracted and, in the heat of the moment, chose the wrong words in Rudolph's presence?
  • In this special, Santa is portrayed as naturally thin and being told to gain weight every year by his wife. Throughout most of the special while he's still thin, he acts like a jerkass, but after he becomes fat at the end, he reverts back to his typical jolly friendly self. Some have theorized his weight correlates to his mood, and that his wife's urges for him to eat and gain weight are because she knows it'll make him happier.
  • The Bumble's hatred for all things Christmas-related seems like a half-hearted throwaway line to make us root against him even if he weren't so terrifying. Pay attention to his hair and eyes whenever he spots Rudolph's nose. You don't get that agitated by something by simply being a Card-Carrying Villain who has an Irrational Hatred. Just what in god's name happened to make him despise Christmas so much?
  • When Santa berates Donner when Rudolph's nose is revealed during the reindeer games, he shouts out, "Donner, you should be ashamed of yourself!". Was he also shaming Rudolph and by proxy his father, for the former's red nose? Or was he upset that Donner had forced his son to compete with a painful nose cap on and was only upset at Donner for putting Rudolph in that situation? Considering Santa was already aware of the red nose in Rudolph's birth, most viewers tend to think the latter is the case.
  • Although Fireball joins in with the other yearling bucks in making fun of Rudolph, there is a split second where he stays behind after they all leave, looking at Rudolph and seemingly conflicted on what to do. Perhaps Fireball only bullied Rudolph because everyone else did, and was too weak-willed to go against the crowd.
  • When Donner forbids his wife from going with him to find Rudolph with the justification "this is man's work" was it him being sexist, or could it have been that Donner wanted to reconcile with Rudolph alone, figuring that everything that happened was because of him?
• Angst Aversion: The scenes of Rudolph being verbally abused by nearly every adult from his own father to freaking Santa Claus has caused this special to fall into this in the modern day, resulting in it becoming very controversial due to Values Dissonance. Even Channel Chasers acknowledged this.
• Audience-Coloring Adaptation:
  • While Rudolph has been around since 1939 (such as getting adapted into an animated short by Max Fleischer in 1948, a song by Gene Autry in 1949, and a DC Comics series that ran from 1950-1962). This special has left a very strong impression on the general public's perception of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (mainly in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Non-American and Canadian locations such as Europe, Asia, and Japan are familiar with the Rankin/Bass special, the original story, and the song). While the public is familiar with the song, a lot of people are more familiar with this special than the original story/poem by Robert L May from 1939. It's gotten to the point that non-Rankin-Bass adaptations that are faithful adaptations of the original story (such as Rudolph's Lessons For Life by Montgomery Ward from 1996, and the Max Fleischer short) have people questioning where Hermey, Yukon Cornelus, Clarice, and The Misfit Toys are.
  • The special even shaped the public perception about how Rudolph's own red nose works. The special made Rudolph's red nose smaller and had it work like a flashlight (such as being able to glow randomly), complete with sound effect coming from his nose. Compared to the original story, the 1948 Fleischer short, and Rudolph's Lessons for Life (the latter two are direct adaptations of the original story) where Rudolph's red nose always glowed (such as his nose being so shiny that it glistened during the day, and his nose still glowing as he's sleeping◊), and his nose was notably bigger than the other reindeer. After 1964, future illustrations and media featuring Rudolph would have his red nose work like it did in the special. Even the 1998 feature film was influenced by the 1964 stop-motion special by having his nose work the same as the special including sound effects when it starts glowing. However the 1998 movie retained Rudolph's original nose size being notably bigger than the other reindeer.
• Awesome Music: Every song in this special is memorable and iconic to some degree, but special mention goes to "There's Always Tomorrow", a touching and emotional tune sung by Clarice to lift Rudolph's spirits after he is bullied. Especially when you consider her voice actress Janis Orenstein was only fifteen at the time of recording, and she performed the version we hear in one take. Even better is that Orenstein would later become an opera singer and performed in Germany after the special's airing.
• Base-Breaking Character: This incarnation of Santa, while not a full-on Bad Santa, is jarringly short-tempered and egotistical. His voice actor pre-dates the more traditionally jolly and wise Mickey Rooney Santa seen in later Rankin-Bass specials, and here he's a useless authority figure in the face of the bullying Rudolph suffers. Some fans are understandably put off by this, but others find the contrast hilarious, or appreciate the message that authority figures — even Santa — can be in the wrong sometimes.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: As beautiful as the song is, the insertion of "Silver and Gold" into the special is rather messy. Sam uses Yukon Cornelius' motive of prospecting for gold as an excuse to sing the song, but the lyrics themselves don't relate to Yukon, Sam himself has no direct involvement in the story, and unlike the other songs in the special, it doesn't advance the plot. This may have to do with how this song was originally going to be sung by Yukon.
• Can't Un-Hear It: Just try reading any of the other adaptations of the story, be it books or comics, without hearing Billie Mae Richards' iconic Rudolph voice or the Rankin-Bass specials interpretation of the classic song.
• Common Knowledge: Many people argue that the special carries the implication of "differences should only be tolerated if they prove useful or can be exploited" since Rudolph is only accepted after Santa realizes his nose can be used to see through the storm. However, while that may apply in the original song, in the actual show, Rudolph is accepted back in Christmas town before he saves Christmas with his nose, and his friends and family realize that it was wrong to mistreat him even earlier, upon seeing his bravery and survival skills.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Rudolph scaring a fellow buck that he just befriended when the cover comes off his nose. The fact that said buck has Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises and is pleading "Get away from me!" as he was looking at an abomination when it's just a glowing red nose is just as funny as it is depressing.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • All of the Misfit Toys, not only for being The Woobie, but because most were perfectly good toys, and even the ones that weren't would still delight a child. The particular stand-out is the doll ("A Dolly for Sue"), who had only a few lines outside of the ensemble cast, yet she's beloved for how tragic she is.
  • Yukon Cornelius. Just look at that moustache!
  • King Moonracer, Also doubles as a One-Scene Wonder.
  • The Abominable Snowmonster has just as many fans who love him for his fear factor as there are who were genuinely scared of him as children (and continues into adulthood). His reforming at the end certainly helped.
  • The Boss Elf, thanks to being a hilariously hammy Jerkass. There is also his memetic "WHY WEREN'T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE?!" line.
  • Clarice is considered to be one of the most fondly remembered characters of the special to the general public. While she doesn't have as much screen time as Hermey and Yukon Cornelius, she's one of the few characters from the original special who isn't rude or cold-hearted toward Rudolph. Not to mention the beautifully performed musical number "There's Always Tomorrow," which is considered by fans to be one of the most underappreciated Christmas songs. In recent years, Clarice has been featured in tons of Rudolph-related merchandise, makes meetable appearances at theme parks (such as SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, and Dollywood) and non-theme park events during the Christmas season alongside Rudolph, Bumble, and Yukon, and was given a major role in the 2001 sequel. It helps that Janis Orenstein's beautiful singing performance for Clarice's song "There's Always Tomorrow" really made the character extra endearing and lovable.
  • Mrs. Claus only appears in a couple of scenes, but she's quite loved and her scenes trying to get Santa to fatten up are frequently quoted.
  • Sam the Snowman, due to Burl Ives' warm narration and excellent musical contributions.
• Fair for Its Day: In spite of the criticism the 1964 special has received today for most of the characters being mean to Rudolph, the special clearly shows that Rudolph was adversely affected by the ostracism he received. And as for Donner's harsh parenting skills, when he finds out that Rudolph has run away, he realizes that he Was Too Hard on Him. Towards the end of the special, everyone, including All of the Other Reindeer, apologizes to him for their mistreatment of him, even before they realize that his red nose could be useful to anybody.
• First Installment Wins: None of the sequels will ever hold a candle to the original 1964 special. Note, however, it is not the first Rudolph film altogether (that honour goes to the Max Fleischer short, which is received well, but is far more obscure).
• Fountain of Memes: Yukon Cornelius. Being a Large Ham and the only adult who isn't a Jerkass helps.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a talking snowman before?". Fast forward to 1969, the same studio would make Frosty the Snowman.
  • Hermey is scolded for altering some dolls to have working teeth as "we don't need any chewing dolls". Flash forward to present and we've seen several popular toys that were dolls that chew/otherwise eat and thus would need semi-realistic mouths.
  • The cowboy doll who rode an ostrich might have been ahead of the curve by a few decades.
  • Almost thirty years later, another stop-motion animated production would end up featuring a prominent location with the name of Christmas Town.
• Hype Backlash: While the special is still regarded as one of the big Christmas classics, it has endured plenty of criticism over the years for featuring what many deem to be an unpleasant, bully-infested North Pole, which hurts its attempts at portraying Christmas cheer. There is also criticism leveled at the sexist language used in the special that was unfortunately prevalent during its time.
• Jerkass Woobie: Donner. He's aloof to his son, and tries to get him to hide the glowing red nose, but when it's revealed, Santa is downright cruel to Donner. And when Rudolph runs away, Donner is the first to go and look for him.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Bumbles the Abominable Snow Monster is quite memorable among viewers, even putting aside his Heel–Face Turn. Even the Jerkass Head Elf is entertaining for his Large Ham tendencies. By contrast, most of the North Pole citizens (Comet and Fireball in particular) are deeply unlikable for their realistically mean-spirited abuse of Rudolph.
• Love to Hate: The Head Elf is as mean to Hermey as the reindeer are to Rudolph, but he avoids full-on Hate Sink by being so over-the-top hilarious with his temper that you can't help but adore his scenes.
• Mandela Effect
  • Many viewers claim there is a version where instead of Hermey ripping out the Bumble's teeth, the Bumble had a toothache that Hermey fixed. While the special has seen many edits over the years, there is no evidence of this version existing.
  • There's a semi-common conception that the Misfit Doll's problem was that she cries ice cubes.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "You eat what you like, and I'll eat what I like!"
  • "I'm cute! I'm cute! She said I'm CUTE!" Preferably said as though one has a stuffed nose: "She said I'm CYUUUUUUUUUDE!"
  • "WHY WEREN'T YOU AT ELF PRACTICE?" exploded in popularity in December 2017. Similar to Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You", this line would become a seasonal internet meme mainly used close to the Christmas season beginning in mid to late November.
  • "Quick, douse the light!"
  • "Bumbles BOUNCE!"
  • "No! This is MAN'S work!"
• Misaimed Merchandising: Most merchandise for the special portrays Bumble as a Gentle Giant and one of Rudolph's friends, which has caused many modern viewers to forget that for most of the runtime, he was portrayed as a terrifying monster with intent to harm the main characters, and he only made his Heel–Face Turn in the last ten minutes of the special, after Hermey rips out all his teeth.
• Moe:
  • As expected, Rudolph due to his awkward and timid personality and behavior. While he becomes more confident near the end of the special, he's already dearly beloved due to how cute and sweet he is. This even extends to future Rankin-Bass Specials starring him such as Rudolph's Shiny New Year and the feature film Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.
  • While not having as much screen time as Hermey and Yukon Cornelius, Clarice has became very beloved by the public over the years due to her kindhearted personality and soft-spoken nature. While Clarice doesn't have that many lines, Janis Orenstein's memorable and charming vocal performance as her really made her very charming. She appears in tons of Rudolph related merchandise alongside Rudolph himself and even gotten a bigger role in the 2001 unofficial sequel by GoodTimes Entertainment. Older fans of the special were notably upset when she didn't show up or mentioned by any of the characters (notably Santa and Rudolph) in the 1976 special Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
  • Hermey is quite cute due to his design of a rounder, softer face setting him apart from the other elves, sweet nature, and meek personality despite having some shades of a more snarky side. Like Rudolph and Clarice, he is remembered by a lot of fans for how loveable he is.
  • The female doll who sung "A Dolly for Sue" is also beloved by fans of the special due to her tragic backstory. Especially when she starts crying after she alongside the other Mistfit Toys believe Santa and Rudolph aren't coming due to a foggy Christmas Eve. You just want to hug her.
  • Spotted Elephant is a stuffed elephant with bead eyes and red polka dots. His design makes many fans wonder who on earth wouldn’t want to take him home and cuddle him.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • Rudolph has clearly taken King Moonracer's advice to heart, as the next time he's confronted by all of the other reindeer, he simply ignores them and continues on his way home.
  • Yukon smashing Bumble over the head with a boulder. Doubly so since he unknowingly paid the beast back for his conking of Rudolph earlier.
    • Hermey defanging the beast counts as well. Dentist extraordinaire!
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • While Billie Mae Richards' performance as Rudolph is already charming, Rudolph's voice as an infant has to be one of the cutest moments in the special. Mainly when his first words being "Papa", "Mama", "Santa", and saying "Bye, bye" to Santa as he leaves his home.
  • While some find it unnerving, the noise coming from Rudolph's red nose as it starts glowing is also very memorable. Follow up Rudolph specials did change the sound of his red noise to sound more natural but still charming nonetheless.
  • Similar to Billie Mae Richards, Janis Orenstein's performance as Clarice is also very sweet. Especially when she sings "There's Always Tomorrow" where Clarice's singing voice is so angelic. Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff who voiced her in Rudolph & The Island of Misfit Toys actually took cues from Orenstein's performance complete with a similar singing performance as Orenstein for "The Best Christmas Ever" musical number.
  • Burl Ives' voice as Sam. His calm, soothing tone when he speaks is quite the welcome sound, and his singing is just delightful.
• Narm Charm: The special isn't the best written or animated; the handling of its message has seen its share of critique. However, the overall presentation is agreed to be quite endearing. And while the message's execution may leave a bit to be desired, the theme of acceptance is still appreciated nonetheless.
• Never Live It Down
  • Fans generally never forgave Donner for what he did to Rudolph and felt his Jerkass Realization was not enough.
  • Likewise, many felt the realization Santa had of his errors wasn't enough either.
• Nightmare Retardant: If you don't find the Bumble to be Nightmare Fuel, you'll see him as a big, white Muppet, complete with permanently crossed eyes. Once Bumble has been touched with the Spirit of Christmas, he becomes the cutest thing ever.
• Rainbow Lens: Hermey's desire to become a dentist (probably unintentionally, as this was released in 1964) resembles a Coming-Out Story. Rudolph's struggles are also relatable to the LGBT community.
• Ron the Death Eater:
  • While the other reindeer and Santa himself were unquestionably jerks to Rudolph, there's a conception that they learned nothing and only accepted Rudolph because his unique trait could be used for their own ends. However, this isn't the case in the special itself, as they apologized and accepted Rudolph back before learning his red nose can navigate through the snowstorm.
  • Rudolph's father Donner will never live down the fact that at first he's ashamed of his son's red nose and makes him wear a false black one, then doesn't defend him from All of the Other Reindeer's bullying. Some pages on this very wiki label him an abusive parent. But the special makes it clear that despite his mistakes, he does love his son and just wants Santa to accept him, and when Rudolph runs away, he realizes how wrong he was, sets out on a dangerous journey to find him, and apologizes to him when they reunite.
• Sacred Cow: Although there's plenty to mock due to Values Dissonance as seen above with Fair for Its Day, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been a beloved part of many people's childhoods and is the go-to Christmas Special. Its numerous fans will shred you to pieces if you dare speak ill of it.
• Saved by the Fans: After the first airing of the special, fans were quick to note how the Misfit Toys didn't end up getting a happy ending, and sent in tons of fan mail to NBC asking them to revise this slight. They listened, and the next year, they rebroadcast the special with a new ending showing Rudolph and Santa finally making it to the Island of Misfit Toys and providing them with new homes.
• The Problem with Licensed Games: The Wii version of the video game adaptation is horrendous. It’s advertised as a party minigame collection but there are only four of them that are piss-easy, revolve around motion controls, and can often feel the same in places.
• Special Effect Failure: Hermey's mouth movements frequently don't match the words he's saying, which at times can be unintentionally hilarious.
• Ugly Cute: The Bumble! You can't deny that underneath all that stop motion fur he's kinda cute. Even before he makes his Heel–Face Turn his design is endearing. And after, he's absolutely adorable.
• Values Dissonance: This special is chock full of ‘em. But here are the most notable examples.
  • There were a few sexist lines in the original that were cut in later broadcasts. Among them was Donner telling his wife that finding Rudolph was "man's work" and "the best thing to do is get the women back to Christmas Town." When Donner's wife and Clarice ignore the first line and try to help find Rudolph, they only get captured by the Abominable, along with Donner, who needs to be rescued.
  • In 1964, the squirt gun from the Island of Misfit Toys was a misfit because it squirted jelly rather than water. Now it's a misfit because it's a toy gun that looks like a real gun, which is no longer legal or acceptable. Not helping is real-life incidents where children have been shot and even killed by police because they were carrying toy guns that were mistaken for real guns.
  • Donner's forcing Rudolph to wear an uncomfortable false nose instead of supporting and defending him from All of the Other Reindeer is this. By 1964 parenting standards, he's just a misguided but well-meaning father being strict with his son for what he thinks is his own good, but to many modern viewers, it comes across as more abusive and has become a Never Live It Down moment.
• Values Resonance:
  • The plot itself involves a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits who band together, a concept that has become increasingly relatable since the advent of the internet, and social media especially, that allows individuals with niche interests and lifestyles to join together.
  • Female audience members have praised Mrs. Donner and Clarice for trying to help Donner find Rudolph. It should also be noted that Donner also needs rescuing from the Bumble, making it feel less sexist to some than it otherwise might.
• Viewer Name Confusion: Is the name of the would-be dentist elf Hermey, Hermie, or Herbie? ("Hermey" is the official spelling as per the script.)
• The Woobie:
  • As is the case with any other adaptation of the story, Rudolph. He is bullied for having a red nose by almost everyone in Christmas town sans Clarice and Hermey, and later on blames himself for endangering Hermey and Yukon as he feels his glowing nose is giving them away, causing him to set off on and spend so much time on his own.
  • Like Rudolph, Hermey is outcasted and mocked for wanting to be a dentist rather than make toys like other elves. It doesn’t help that his Jerkass boss tells him to his face that he’ll never fit in. It all eventually drives him to run away.
  • All the misfit toys who are sent to an island for toys who don’t fit the standard conformity of most children’s toys. It doesn’t help that most of them have endearing designs. Especially the doll who even cries near the end when she thinks Rudolph and Santa aren’t coming for them.

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