Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: “We’re all Misfits!”
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is, without a single doubt, the most recognized and beloved holiday special in Rankin/Bass’s wacky library. When it first aired in “living color” on December 6th, 1964 as a part of General Electric’s Fantasy Hour on NBC, it changed television history forever, created potential for future programming for Rankin/Bass, as well as entertainment for both children and the holidays, and influenced stop-motion and 3D animation to come.
The original TV promo for ‘Rudolph’ from 1964, as well as a collection of Animagic commercials for numerous General Electric products that played with it.
Everyone knows Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; a reindeer born with a shiny nose gets mistreated by his peers until a foggy Christmas Eve rolls in. Santa invites the reindeer to guide his sleigh with the nose, and Christmas is saved! Robert L. May’s original short story was expanded with the addition of fun, new characters and imaginative settings. The accompanying music and new songs added extra emotion that enhanced the story and its themes. Many who worked on the special, like screenwriter Romeo Muller and composer Maury Laws, became Rankin/Bass staples and would find more success to come.
Rudolph has never been my favorite Rankin/Bass special due to its overrated nature and dated themes, but watching it every December is still a fun and nostalgic experience. However, the more I revisit it, the more I realize how dark the special’s story and messages are. Rudolph is a dark piece of holiday media with foreboding themes that grow more noticeable the more you age (and press the pause button to contemplate, like I do).
Rudolph’s story is told by Sam the Snowman, who is both voiced by and resembles the popular folk singer Burl Ives. When Sam brings up the North Pole’s beauty (or Christmas Town as he calls it), he calls the snowy landscape “A nice place to live, y’know.” The story the inksuit snowman tells us actually reveals that the North Pole is a miserable patriarchal society where those who don’t fit in are subject to face the worst. The North Pole is not a good place to live.
The North Pole is run by a not-so-jolly, skinny and underfed Santa Claus, who lives the life of a king, judging others, ignoring their requests, and encouraging a conformist environment (I mean, he literally lives in a castle and sits on a throne). When Santa visits a newborn Rudolph (voiced by Canadian voice actress Billie May Richards) and glances at his whistling red nose, his father Donner assures, ”Now, I’m sure it will stop as soon as he grows up”. Santa replies, “Well, let's hope so if he wants to make the sleigh team someday”. Rudolph’s nose has often been perceived by viewers be a metaphor for two minority traits: homosexuality or a handicap. Santa wants all of the reindeer guiding his sleigh to be identical and fit his strict sanctions. Santa’s attitude and personality have been questioned throughout the years, as well as that of Donner, a very mean-spirited, masculine father that reflects the strict, authoritative parenting style that was common at the time. Donner covers Rudolph’s so-called “nonconformity” with dirt from the ground not only to help his son fit in with the other reindeer, but to protect his own pride as the male figure of his household and maintain his high rank among the reindeer. Self-respect is more prioritized in Donner’s household than comfort.
Meanwhile, at Santa’s workshop, we meet Hermey (voiced by Paul Soles), a dentistry-loving elf that has trouble fitting in with the others at Santa’s workshop. The other elves are clearly a part of a traditional, gender-conforming environment, where all of the male elves are bald and wear blue suits, while the female elves have matching blonde hair, and wear pink dresses. Hermey, sporting girlish blond hair, doesn’t like making toys like the others. He tries to use his talents to help with the dolls, but his harsh boss tells him he’ll never fit in no matter what. Characters like Santa, Donner, the head elf, and even Coach Comet are all obvious and unlikable antagonists that share one thing in common. They are all hyper-masculine men in charge that encourage the young boys to belittle, shame, and mock Rudolph and Hermey for their differences.
All of Santa’s elves (except Hermey) line up before Santa Claus to sing a song praising him and the work they do for him. Notice in this continuous mise-en-scène how the sad, purple surroundings bring the characters out on the screen!
Christmas Town is a toxic environment to those who don’t fit the profile of the dominating male characters. Inside Santa’s castle, everything from the walls, the furniture, and even the food and tools on the table are a gloomy shade of purple. Not only does this clever set design avert the eyes to the brightly lit characters, but it portrays Santa’s home in a unique manner that had never been done before. It resembles an old, depressing sweatshop and dungeon more than a fairy-tale landscape like in other Christmas media.
When Rudolph and Hermey meet, they instantly become friends after realizing how much they have in common and run away together. This was a common action pulled off by real misfits of the time. Outcasts that had been ostracized from the communities would rely on each other for love and support, and “be independent together”. Rudolph has no clue what a dentist is and Hermey doesn’t care about Rudolph’s nose, but they still form one of the closest and iconic chemistries in any Christmas special.
The two of them eventually meet their new father figure, a grown-up misfit named Yukon Cornelius (voiced by comedian Larry Mann). Yukon is a vagabond that claims the land as his, and has been searching throughout it for silver and gold. He may be an adult man, but unlike the other male characters, he is soft and caring, and uses his masculine traits, such as physical strength and stubbornness for good. Yukon takes Rudolph and Hermey in like the lost children they are, and offers to share his potential treasures with them.
The “villain” of the special, the abominable snowman, is a misunderstood representation of fear that the misfits run away from, and eventually have to outsmart and tackle. The true antagonists in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are the men running the North Pole that cause them to flee home in the first place. Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius build their own family of choice and look for fortune together.
Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius find themselves on the Island of Misfit Toys, where they encounter a Charlie-in-the-Box, a Dolly for Sue, a spotted Elephant, and other unhappy toys with various quirks.
The female characters in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, although hastily written to be minor to the plot, are the true subjects viewers should emulate in our modern world. The special portrays kindness and tolerance as feminine at first, but then teaches us that it doesn’t have to be connected to gender; it is just common sense. Rudolph’s mother, Mrs. Donner, after discovering her newborn child’s shining nose solemnly states “Well, we’ll simply have to overlook it”. It is obvious later on that the nose’s presence is permanent, but she states it in a kind and loving manner. While Mrs. Donner wants to overlook Rudolph’s nose and focus on what really matters about him, Clarice, Rudolph’s doe-friend, believes it's a beautiful trait that makes Rudolph “cute” and unique. She is sweet, honest, supportive, and sees all of the potential in Rudolph that comes out later.
Rudolph, sadly, has many sexist, misogynistic moments that are barely acknowledged by it’s true fans. Taking place in a patriarchal setting, women are treated as trophies and potential babymakers (except for Mrs. Claus, Santa’s annoying and insistent wife). In one infamous scene, Mrs. Donner asks Donner to let her help him find their bullied child, he states “No, this is Man’s work” (f*** you, Donner). However, Mrs. Donner, in the daring manner of a tenacious, loving mother, sets off with Clarice to find him instead of wait for her husband. This aspect of the two women forming a relationship and setting off to find Rudolph together could have been played off in a compelling manner, but alas, they don’t even share one line of dialogue with each other within earshot.
After abandoning themselves from society and escaping their fears, Rudolph, Hermey, and Cornelius land on the Island of Misfit Toys, a purgatory and last resort for unwanted toys. When they learn that it’s a sanctuary for the unwanted and ask King Moonracer, the winged-lion to let them live on the island, he refuses because they are not toys. The noble lion wisely states “Unlike playthings, a living creature cannot hide himself on an island.” This line strikes out as one of the most important lessons from the special. Rudolph realizes after leaving Hermey and Yukon behind and growing up that running away from his troubles and fear was never a valid choice in the first place. Rudolph has formed a strong bond between other misfits, but he and his friends have to return to the North Pole and help each other tackle their fears, which they eventually do. Hermey puts his wisdom in dentistry to good use to remove the abominable snowman’s sharp teeth, and is allowed to open his own shop. Yukon Cornelius literally tackles his fears down a cliff, reforms it in a way that it helps others (erasing his status of a vagabond), and finds what he was looking for the whole time: a home (in the form of a secret peppermint mine).
The Abominable Snowman is not the true villain of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’. However, the film did begin a common trope in Rankin/Bass specials in which the villain learns their lesson and changes for good, or simply disappears rather than facing violent and deadly consequences like in a Disney film.
Rudolph finds the most acceptance from the North Pole residents when he returns home. Sam the Snowman states that “When everybody hears their story, they start to realize they were a little hard on the misfits. Maybe, misfits have a place too. Even Santa realizes that maybe he was wrong”. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a story about finding love and acceptance, and conquering your fears. It proves that “misfits” can be more worthy and powerful than the people in charge. Santa’s attitude undergoes several changes when Rudolph returns, and inspires him to go back to being the jolly, accepting, plump, and enthusiastic Santa Claus everyone knows and loves. Rudolph leads Santa’s sleigh instead of his father (who stands behind and watches him take off), and flies down to the Island of Misfit Toys as he promised to help the toys find new homes. Rudolph’s name goes down in history not only for helping Santa navigate through a foggy Christmas night, but for being a misfit that stands out to other misfits. A true hero indeed!
While cowboys in Westerns ride off into the sunset, Santa and his reindeer ride off through the night into the moon.
8 Fun Facts:
This special was not the first adaptation of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story. The first was done in traditional animation by Max Fleisher in 1948. The following year, Jewish-American songwriter Johnny Marks (who just so happened to be the brother-in-law of Rudolph’s creator, Robert L. May) turned it into an unexpectedly popular song covered by Gene Autry that sold over 12 million copies.
Johnny Marks and Rudolph’s producer, Arthur Rankin Jr., happened to be next door neighbors! Rankin Jr. had to heavily convince Marks that adapting his song into a special was a great idea. The two of them collaborated on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, as well as three more Animagic specials (all of which are terrible): The Ballad of Smokey the Bear, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July.
Ives’ appearance as Sam the Snowman in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer garnered a lot of attention from the public, and was an early use of inksuit acting, a trope in which an animated character heavily resembles their celebrity counterpart. Rudolph was not the last time Rankin/Bass would use inksuit actors, or have a celebrity narrate the story. Later on, Rankin/Bass would invite other stars, including Jimmy Durante, Fred Astaire, and Danny Kaye to voice their narrators and characters. Inksuit acting is still frequently used in animation today as a box-office gimmick to attract audiences. The Shrek series and Moana are two extremely popular examples of modern animated films that feature ink suit actors.
Inksuit characters are essentially animated caricatures of the stars playing them. This image shows nine film, television, stage, and music stars that played inksuit characters in nine different Rankin/Bass films and specials. (Listed from left to right and top to bottom, Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, Andy Griffith, Vincent Price, Phyllis Diller, Dave Garroway, Fred Astaire, George S. Irving, and Burl Ives). How many of these Rankin/Bass Characters do you recognize?
The deer in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, as well as many other Rankin/Bass films and specials, resemble small, graceful forest deer rather than big, brawny reindeer (also known as caribou) you would actually find in the North Pole. Tadahito Mochinaga and his animation team took a 10-hour train ride from the animation studio in Tokyo to Nara, Japan, to spend two days at Nara Deer Park, a popular tourist attraction and habitat to over 1,000 wild deer, to study and find inspiration for the reindeer characters. Nara Park’s deer are well-known for their friendly behavior to humans. Unlike other species of deer, all real life reindeer grow strong, fuzzy antlers regardless of sex.
Ever wondered why the Dolly for Sue was on the Island of Misfit Toys? Arthur Rankin Jr. revealed in multiple interviews that the reason why she was on the island was because she had depression, as well as many other psychological illnesses due to possibly being abandoned by Sue.
A ton of official and unofficial merchandise such as toys, candy, decorations, games, and collectables have come out of Rudolph's success. However, many of these products have misspelled Hermey’s name as Hermie, Herbie, or Herbey.
A special message found on Rankin/Bass.com made for merchandise companies on how to spell the dentistry-loving elf’s name
The first broadcast of Rudolph in 1964 actually didn’t include the scene where Santa picks up the misfit toys from the island, and the credit’s sequence was completely different. This implied that Rudolph and his friends deliberately lied to King Moonracer, which made many viewers, particularly children, upset. The following year, Rankin/Bass created the new scene to satisfy viewers, as well as a new song and sequence called “Fame and Fortune”, a happier and shorter substitute for “We’re a Couple of Misfits”.
Many older cuts of the special dropped the scene where Yukon discovers the peppermint mine, meaning Yukon’s goal of finding treasure was never completed. This disappointed and confused many viewers who had never seen the original airing for many years.
External Links:
-Watch the full special here!: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer FULL MOVIE 1080P HD
-Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer!
-Column: Specials are about more than Christmas - The Suffolk Times