In the first one, Robbie (voiced by Ardal O'Hanlon), the son of Rudolph arrives at the North Pole in August to become the leader of Santa's sleigh. Unfortunately, he's out of shape and not particularly dedicated. Blitzen in particular is angered at the lazy reindeer, who also is in love with Blitzen's girl, Vixen. Robbie gets kicked off the reindeer team and has to work humiliating odd jobs, but he can't even do those right and thus considers himself a failure until Donner convinces him to participate in the Reindeer Games.
Robbie is then coached by Old Jingle, whose mental faculties are in question. Although he does get shaped up somewhat, Robbie ends up lagging in the race after having to rescue Old Jingle from his falling house. After a kiss from Donner, Robbie then starts breaking records in all of the Reindeer Games events. It comes down to a photo finish; Blitzen won by a nose, but is disqualified for taking drugs, so that means, of course, that Robbie won!
The first special was well received in the UK, where it's a Christmastime staple on the BBC. It was comparatively unknown stateside (having aired on Fox Family and all) until 2002, when CBS re-dubbed the entire special with American voices (and of course, a few dialogue changes). Ben Stiller took the title role, and other celebs who particpated include Brad Garrett, Britney Spears, James Belushi, Hugh Grant, Dick Enberg and Ben's dad, Jerry Stiller. The Americanised dub has been fairly popular in its own right and has re-aired several times through CBS.
Two sequels have followed: Legend of the Lost Tribe (2002) and Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (2007). In the former, Robbie discovers a tribe of lost Vikings, and in the latter, Donner is kidnapped by aliens. Clearly, neither special was Christmas-oriented.
Tropes present in Hooves of Fire:
- Adaptational Villainy: Blitzen, full stop. The specials turn one of Santa's reindeer into the Big Bad of the first two specials, who is not above attempted murder, kidnapping, mind control, etc.
- Ambiguous Syntax: When he welcomes Robbie and Donner to his home, Old Jingle says "Let me put the kettle on." Only instead of putting the kettle on the stove to brew tea, he puts it on his head as a hat.
- And This Is for...: Blitzen pushes Robbie with a reasoning of "this is for you", then moves one of the race obstacles while saying "and this is for Daddy!"
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: A variant; the female reindeer clearly have breasts and presumably nipple-hiding fur á la Sally Acorn.
- Betty and Veronica: Donner and Vixen for Robbie.
- Chekhov's Gun: The toys Robbie puts together from spare parts in the elves' factory are later used to rescue Old Jingle from being crushed by his house.
- Christmas Special: Duh, it is a special about one of Santa's reindeer, after all.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Old Jingle.
- Dartboard of Hate: Blitzen has one with Robbie's picture on it.
- Denial of Animality: Old Jingle somehow doesn't realize that he's a Reindeer until Robbie points it out.
- Disney Death: Parodied. Robbie's mentor, Old Jingle, appears to die tragically in his arms. Then Jingle starts snoring.
- Disproportionate Retribution: A surprisingly dark example. Alan Snowman comments that he always said Robbie had it in him to be a champion, Des Yeti points out that he couldn't have always said that as they only just learned of Robbie's existence and attempts to melt Alan to death with a portable heater for lying.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: Blitzen wins a race but runner-up Robbie is declared the winner once Blitzen is disqualified for racing while under the effect of drugs.
- Eccentric Mentor: Old Jingle.
- Exposed Animal Belly Button: Robbie and Prancer.
- False Friend: Blitzen acts like he wants to be Robbie's pal, but it's just a facade. "Any problems, come see me. No problems? See me anyway, and we'll celebrate your lack of problems."
- Gibberish of Love: Robbie, by his own admission, cannot talk to girls he's in love with. It's the first sign that he's shifted his affections from Vixen to Donner at the Reindeer Games.
- Gilligan Cut: With Old Jingle: "I'd have to be raving mad to push my house up the hill." Guess what he does in the next shot.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Shows up during the Reindeer Games; Vixen, Donner, and Robbie are all wearing only shirts and shoes. Old Jingle wears a pair of Y-fronts and nothing else.
- Hartman Hips: Every female reindeer.
- Hufflepuff House: Dasher, Dancer, Comet and Cupid are seen hanging around in the background but get no characterisation, plot, or dialogue. Blitzen describes them as "and the rest" after introducing himself, Vixen, Donner and Prancer.
- Humanlike Foot Anatomy: Averted; they have relatively normal hooves. Their hands, however...
- Inksuit Actor: Or possibly typecasting - Santa (in the British version) is voiced by Ricky Tomlinson, who is in fact a big fat man with a beard.
- It's Personal: Parodied. Old Jingle is horrified to hear that Blitzen is after Robbie, despite having "never heard of him."
- Jerkass: Blitzen really has it out for Robbie.
- Love Triangle: Robbie and Blitzen are both in love with Vixen. Robbie falls in love with Donner at the end though.
- Noodle Incident: At some point Old Jingle tried to become Pope, and he assumes that he was rejected for being a reindeer.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: British sportscasters Alan Hansen and Des Lynam are caricatured as Alan Snowman and Des Yeti.
- Oh, Crap!: Blitzen when Santa's elves figure out he used steroids to cheat at the Reindeer Games.
- Pop-Star Composer: Mark Knopfler did the music.
- Power of Love: After receiving a Big Damn Kiss from Donner, Robbie starts to outperform Blitzen at every other event.
- Rasputinian Death:Blitzen: Let's crush him, trample him into dust, then throw the remains of the dust to the wolves, then blow up the wolves!Prancer: You don't like him, do you?Blitzen: Not especially, no.
- The Resenter: Blitzen hates Robbie because he's jealous and frustrated by all of the fame and attention Robbie's dad got after that One Foggy Night. "I've been captain of the Sleigh team for years, but Robbie's dad, ohhh no, he's the famous one!"
- Same Language Dub: The CBS dub.
- Santa Claus: Naturally.
- The Scottish Trope: One Running Gag involves Blitzen preventing anyone from saying Rudolph's name (due to copyright issues) or even singing the song.
- Shout-Out: Robbie, believing he'll be a burden to the team, walks out into a blizzard and quotes Captain Oates of the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition: "I'm going outside. I may be some time."
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Between Donner and Robbie near the end.
- Standard Snippet: "Chariots of Fire" in one montage.
- Stealth Pun: Seal, the musician, as a singing seal.
- Stop Motion: Yep.
- Suddenly Shouting: "Prancer, Vixen. We have a new reindeer on the team. And as senior reindeer, I would like it if you could make it Hell for him!"
- Tempting Fate: Robbie thinks his red nose will exempt him from having to earn a spot like the others but technology marched on and Santa's sleigh now has a device that turned the red nose obsolete as a navigation system.
- Training Montage: Robbie goes through one under Old Jingle in preparation for the Reindeer Games.
- Villain Has a Point: Blitzen may have been actively sabotaging Robbie's chances for making the sleigh team by encouraging his lazy habits, but the older reindeer is right that it wouldn't be fair if Robbie got on simply because of his dad, and a more fit reindeer had to be cut.
- Through a Face Full of Fur: Happens to Robbie when Donner kisses him for the first time.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Due to copyright issues, Robbie's father cannot be referenced by name. Whenever someone tries to, Blitzen interrupts them. (It helps that the name is a Berserk Button for Blitzen).
Tropes present in Legend of the Lost Tribe:
- Amusement Park of Doom: Blitzen's Reindeer World theme park. He plans to use Robbie's friends as tourist attractions.
- The Artifact: At some point after the first short the reindeer stopped being Santa's Sleigh Team, something that was integral to the premise of Hooves of Fire. There's a single reference to Santa in this short and he won't be mentioned at all in the next one.
- It's briefly mentioned that the reindeer quit working for Santa after he started giving away presents for free and thus couldn't pay them to pull the sleigh anymore.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as Robbie is about to fall into a Death Trap at Reindeer World, the tourists on the ride turn out to be the Vikings, who save Robbie in the nick of time.
- Denial of Animality: "No one wants to stay in huts, they're not animals! Well, they are animals, but that's beside the point."
- Denser and Wackier: Hooves of Fire has a relatively down to earth plot where Robbie trains for a race, and a lot of the humor is dry and dialogue-based. This special has a much zanier tone, with a fantasy plot involving mind control devices and plenty of exaggerated humor. This is reflected in Lost Tribe's more colorful art style and revamped character designs.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Old Jingle claims that the last Viking was so desperate for someone to fight, he ripped his own arm off and beat himself to death with it.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Blitzen was given a prion sentence of over 50 years for cheating at the Reindeer Games.
- Flashback Effects: Old Jingle and the Vikings start flashbacks by wobbling their fingers and saying "wibble wobble".
- Hair-Raising Hare: Long-Eared Jack and his rabbit thugs.
- Horny Vikings: Subverted; the Vikings aren't terribly interested in pillaging.
- I Know Karate:Robbie: You can't escape, Blitzen!Blitzen: Is that right? Do you know what I practiced every day in prison?Robbie: Was it the flute?Blitzen: No!Robbie: Conversational Spanish?Blitzen: No! Kung fu!Robbie: Oh, I was hoping it wasn't gonna be that...
- Master of Disguise: Parodied with Long-Eared Jack, who is supposed to be one and has a succession of Latex Perfection masks that all look practically the same, resembling his normal face wearing a Paper-Thin Disguise (such as a wig and lipstick, eyeglasses, a ninja hood, etc.). Until it turns out he's actually Carlos the Hamster in a mechanized rabbit suit.
- Mid-Battle Tea Break: While Robbie is fighting Blitzen, Donner complains to him about how she feels he doesn't appreciate her, and Robbie just tells her they'll talk later. Finally, tired of hearing them quarrel (because "How can we have a decent fight if you're going to have some ghastly heart-to-heart?!"), Blitzen ends up pausing the battle so they can settle things between them.
- Planet of Steves: The vikings are all called Magnus. Even the women.
- Technologically Blind Elders: Old Jingle is answering a phone.Old Jingle: Yes, I'll send you an e-mail. [picks up the computer] Anyone else going to the post box?
- Tempting Fate:Old Jingle: If a Viking turned up here and rang the doorbell, I'd happily eat this sofa! [doorbell rings] ...I may need some ketchup.
Tropes present in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind:
- Alien Invasion: By the Nargathrons.
- Casting Gag:
- Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame was cast as an alien invader.
- Ozzy Osbourne as a bat.
- I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: Just before dying, Gariiiiiii tells Robbie to hide the Nargathron crystal which powers their Super Weapon.
- Flanderization: In the previous shorts, Old Jingle is an adequate mentor who will occasionally do or say something nonsensical. Here, he seems barely lucid.
- Punny Title: A play on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
- Sequel Escalation: Over the three shorts, the stakes are raised from saving Robbie's job, to rescuing the reindeer from a kidnapping, to protecting the Earth from extraterrestrials.
- Vanilla Edition: The only DVD extra for this special is a short montage of the voice actors recording their lines, compared to the commentaries and interviews available with the previous two. It's only available as a bundle with the other shorts, so presumably their extras were seen as enough content for a single disc release.
