Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (1964)

It's almost hard to explain why this movie has become such a classic. Yet I would be the first to agree that this film is a classic. The more I think about it the more I think the beauty comes from the simplicity. The story is very simple and non-cynical. This type of feeling works perfectly for Christmas time. It brings us back to the Christmas of our childhoods where we thrived on such simple and non-cynical tales. And at Christmas time naturally we are more open to these child-like feelings which this film captures perfectly. This 52 year old special stands as the longest running Christmas TV special.

However this is not saying there is nothing truly outstanding about this movie, as the soundtrack is truly fantastic. All the songs were written by Johnny Marks, who had written the original song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in 1949 (based on a 1939 book called Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer). There were 8 songs in this film and they are all beyond excellent and very catchy. In this about an hour long film, 16 minutes are spent with singing songs. For the soundtrack album, 21 minutes of instrumental versions of the song were added to make the album 37 minutes.

The story centers around a Reindeer with a red nose named Rudolph. Rudolph is made fun of for his red nose by the other Reindeer, and even Santa doesn't think he can use the poor young deer. Rudolph runs away with another misfit Herbie an elf that wants to be a dentist. They soon met another friend a miner named Yukon Cornelius. However Rudolph's red nose attracts a fearsome monster, and Rudolph runs away from them to spare his friends. Upon returning home he discovers his family got in trouble as they went out to find him. He goes out to save them, where he meets his friends Herbie and Yukon again. After his family is safe Santa finds that he can't do Christmas this year because he can't see though a storm. He then sees Rudolph's nose and knows that that bright nose can help him see, and Rudolph becomes the leader of the sleigh.

The scene at the end of the film involving Santa delivering the misfit toys to children's homes was not originally in the movie. However Rakin/Bass studios got letters asking what happened to the misfit toys. Because of this the studio animated a new sequence for future airings and that sequence sit airs today.

This is one of the only three films to be directed by Larry Roemer. The others were Return to Oz (1964) and The Ballad of Smokey the Bear. This two films were also done for the Rakin/Bass studio.

This movie is a must for all cartoon lovers and Christmas lovers. It is really charming.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/rankinbass-rudolph-on-records/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736392/?ref_=tt_ov_dr