Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rankin/Bass)
From Christmas Specials Wiki
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| Directed by: | Kizo Nagashima Larry Roemer |
| Written by: | Robert L. May (original story) Romeo Muller (screenplay) |
| Release date: | December 6, 1964 |
| Running time: | 51 minutes |
| Characters: | Santa Claus Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer |
| Available on: | VHS DVD |
Rudolph the Red–Nosed Reindeer is a long-running Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired on December 6, 1964 on NBC and is now the world's longest-running and highest rated television special of all time. It is based on the song by Johnny Marks, which in turn was based on the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May, who was an advertising copywriter for Mongomery Ward. Marks also wrote the music and lyrics for the songs in this special, and the background soundtrack includes two more songs he made famous: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".
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Synopsis
The special, narrated by Sam the Snowman, tells the tale of a shy, young reindeer named Rudolph whose spirit is dampened because his glowing red nose has made him the laughing stock of the Christmastown reindeer farm. And then there is Hermey, an Elf who is a social outcast because he would rather be a dentist than a toy maker.
Frustrated by their inability to fit in, Rudolph and his newfound friend Hermey leave Christmastown to set out to make it on their own. The two outcasts meet Yukon Cornelius, an eccentric arctic prospector who joins them on their journey.
The travelers find themselves pursued by the Abominable Snowmonster and then stranded on the Island of Misfit Toys, deep in the Arctic wilderness. The Island is a sanctuary for defective and unwanted toys ruled by King Moonracer, a winged lion. Rudoph vows to help these disregarded toys and decides to return to Christmastown to ask Santa for help.
Returning to Christmastown, they learn that bad weather may cause Christmas to be canceled. But Rudolph, with his "nose so bright" is able to save Christmas by serving as a guiding headlight on Santa's sleigh.
Songs
- "Jingle, Jingle, Jingle"
- "We Are Santa's Elves"
- "There's Always Tomorrow"
- "We're A Couple Of Misfits"
- "Fame and Fortune"
- "Silver And Gold"
- "The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year"
- "A Holly Jolly Christmas"
- "Ending Credits"
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album was released in 1964 on Decca Records. The album was available in mono (DL 4815) and stereo (DL 74815), and featured all of the songs from the special. Because General Electric was the sponsor from 1964 through 1966, this album was issued as a premium gift with a purchase of any GE item. The album was later reissued in 1973 on MCA 15003; it remains in print on CD to this day.
Production Notes
- The original network airings of the special were sponsored by General Electric, three special GE commercials staring the elves from the special were produced and aired alongside the show.
- The original pre-production work for the special did not include the character of Sam the Snowman. The songs sung by Sam, such as "Silver & Gold", were originally intended for Yukon Cornelius. Larry D. Mann had even recorded all of the songs as Yukon Cornelius prior to filming. However, Ives was brought on at the last minute to give the special "star power" that would help sell the special to the networks and so the character of Sam the narrating snowman was added to the special. Although Sam the Snowman resembles Ives, he was actually designed to look like the writer of the special, Romeo Muller.
Due to the last minute addition of Sam the Snowman, several scripted scenes were abandoned and never filmed. Once such scene included Rudolph being delivered to Donner and his wife by a stork.
- The original 1964 airing did not include the closing scene where Santa saves the misfit toys. Many complained that Santa was not shown fulfilling his promise to include them in his annual delivery. As a reaction, a new scene was produced with Santa making his first stop at the island to pick up the toys. The scene was added to the special for the 1965, and subsequent, broadcasts. However due to time constraints, some existing material had to be trimmed to make room for the addition of these new scenes.
Throughout the special Yukon Cornelius is seen throwing his pick axe into the ground, taking it out and licking it, he's checking neither for gold nor silver - originally Yukon was searching for an elusive peppermint mine. In the scene deleted from the 1964 special to make room for the misfits' scene, Cornelius pulled his pick from the ground, licked it and said, "Peppermint! What I've been searching for! I've found me a peppermint mine....yahoooo!" The scene was later restored and put back in the special as part of the 1998 restoration.
- When the special was rebroadcast in 1965 the song "We're A Couple of Misfits" was replaced with a newly produced musical sequence entitled "Fame and Fortune." The original scene was restored in 1998, bringing back "We're a Couple of Misfits" to its original place.
- In 1976 a sequel to the special was produced, entitled Rudolph's Shiny New Year and a second sequel was made in 1979 entitled Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. In 2001, a fourth film in the series was released titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys; this film, staring the same characters from the orginal, was produced entirely with computer animation as opposed to stop-motion animation.
Broadcast Rights
Rankin-Bass sold many of the pre-1973 specials and series (including The Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) to Broadway Video, headed by Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live fame. The collection was then sold several years later to Golden Books Home Video, and later spun off into Classic Media, part of the Entertainment Rights group in the United Kingdom until 2009, when the company was bought by Classic Media's successor, Boomerang Media. NBC ended their relationship with this special in 1971, and CBS acquired the rights to air this special the following year.
Cast
- Burl Ives: Sam the Snowman
- Billie Mae Richards: Rudolph
- Paul Soles: Hermey
- Larry Mann: Yukon Cornelius
- Stan Francis: Santa Claus, King Moonracer
- Paul Kligman: Donner, Comet the Coach
- Janet Orenstein: Clarice
- Alfie Scopp: Charlie-in-the-Box, other elves
- Carl Banas: Elf Foreman, Spotted Elephant, other toys
- Corinne Conley: Dolly for Sue, others
- Peg Dixon: Mrs. Claus, others
- Bernard Cowan: Clarice's father written
External Links
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on CBS.com
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the Internet Movie Database
- Rudolph! at tvparty.com
- A Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fan site
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